The Shared Leadership Initiative

When developing a protocol for filling the positions of school leaders, it is important that

the process is streamlined, aligns with the school’s mission and vision, and is unbiased. The

objectives and criteria for determining the best candidate would be based on the leadership role

needed, for example, a football coach would need extensive knowledge of football as well as

some type of experience with scheduling, communication between parents and community

members, and some type of physical education background or something similar. The objectives

and criteria for leaders should also align with the mission and vision, for example our school

vision states “Kickapoo High School will be a nationally recognized and comprehensive high

school that: offers an engaging and rigorous curriculum, continually increases the use of the

latest technology, promotes a highly competitive and wide-ranging array of MSHSAA-sponsored

and extra-curricular activities, develops mutually beneficial partnerships with students, parents,

and community, and maintains a safe and positive learning environment,” while non-academic

leaders may not hit every point, they should be willing to promote and exemplify aspects of our

vision as well as goals.

In order to ensure the selection process is unbiased, balanced, and ensures positive

collaboration is occurring; the process should include different stakeholders involved in the

decision-making process as well as uniform expectations. To guarantee there is collaboration and

trust, each candidate for their specific roles should be given the same opportunities to apply, as

well as given the same set of interview questions if necessary. Each stakeholder should also be

considered and invited to the table during the decision-making process in order to build trust and

a positive community. In developing a process, it is important to have open communication and

transparency in order to encourage openness and willingness to participate and be vulnerable.

This will help the team as a whole build community and trust as well as make the right decisions.