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Identifying Leader Positions

Sebrina Smellie

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

Developing and Empowering Instructional Leaders – EAD-533-0501

Professor Justin Greathouse

July 19, 2023

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Analyze the Case

Any school you enter as a first-year principal will present challenges as you learn about its

specific dynamics and culture. Since teahcers no longer wish to stay in such responsibilities,

there are issues with the teacher leadership group in this situation. In order to address this

problem, I would first speak with my administrative staff to learn more about the underlying

causes of the issues and to seek their feedback on potential future solutions as well as prior

workarounds. The principal must make sure they have a good relationship with the

administrative team in order to be able to lead with confidence and construct their organization

on a foundation of trust and collaboration.

The leadership team would be the target of my next conversation to hear their concerns

and immediately address the problems. It is critical to get their direct feedback to understand

how they view their responsibilities and what enhancements they would want to see. This would

take place in a group context, but as required, I would also invite instructors to meet with me in

private. They would be informed that I need to think about who doesn't want to be on this team

and what adjustments need to be made to move toward a more supportive and engaging culture

for teacher leadership as part of this conversation. The team member will be given the

opportunity to voluntarily leave the group once they understand where it is headed or to reapply

under the new criteria and expectations for team service.

My plan would give the present team members a month to decide before moving on to

recruit new team members and set up new guidelines and support for them. After that, the new

team will begin to develop plans for the rest of the year. I would like to have a mix of seasoned

members with wisdom and experience, as well as fresh faces and people who are open to new

ideas and changes. However, there would be an expectation that things would not be conducted
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as in the past, and all members would have to make a commitment to upholding the new norms.

Some of the initial teachers may feel differently about the importance of being a part of the

leadership team as a result of the principal's approach to establishing new standards, which could

re-energize the team. The article "Shared Leadership: A Primer and Teaching Recommendations

for Educators" claims that "Generally, the antecedents of SL (shared leadership) include: trust,

authenticity, collectivism, high interdependence, and external leader coaching and support. More

specifically, team members must see their duties as interconnected and their performance as a

group effort in order to support SL (Kalinovich, 2017, p. 208).

Identifying the Larger Issue

I would give everyone the choice to leave the team if they do not want to stay on it in an

effort to honor the accomplishments of the previous leadership team. Those that do want to stay

would go through an application screening procedure to make sure their attitudes and ideas align

with the team's new goals and that they will contribute positively. I want to encourage a couple

of the capable leaders and provide them the tools they need to keep serving. After these folks

become aware of some of the recent changes and a positive culture of cooperation and trust has

been formed, I think their opinions might change.

The status quo will be maintained by doing nothing to the leadership team, which will fuel

the already-present dissatisfaction and lack of motivation among the team's teachers. The issues

will persist and only become worse. The team may continue to adjust and adapt until things

eventually do better by pushing forward, even though taking action and making adjustments may

ruffle some feathers and there is a chance the changes could be positive or harmful. Those on the

front lines who are directly responsible for pupils need to be involved if true change or
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improvement is to happen. Their knowledge and support are crucial since they have the power to

succeed or fail with new projects (Levin 2017, p. 6).

Create an Action Plan

In order to create an environment where instructors are motivated to take up leadership

roles, I would start by explaining the requirements and commitments. Teachers need to know

that the school and the students expressly recognize their contributions, that they will have the

time and support they need to succeed, and that their efforts are appreciated.

Allowing the teachers to choose a prep period option rather than a stipend is the first step I

would take to put these ideas into practice. The professors in this situation weren't motivated by

the stipend because time is frequently more valuable than money. With an extra prep, the team

would have a regular time to meet once a month and the teacher could use the other days to

fulfill their leadership obligations. Step 2: To maintain fresh energy and avoid inefficiency, I

would institute term limitations and an application procedure. Step 3: Help people develop as

leaders by offering training and encouragement. New leaders will benefit professionally from

these tools in addition to information from the principal to help them in their new roles, and we

will collectively create our standards, expectations, goals, and obligations.

When building a new leadership team, I would expect to see resistance from teachers who

dislike change, a learning curve for finding and developing new teacher leaders, and time for the

culture to acclimate and come to trust the new procedure and standards.

By ensuring that the team recognizes the value and significance of teachers participating

in decision-making and developing the school, I will endeavor to win the support of the teachers.
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According to Trapanese (2017), Teachers have all sorts of great ideas about how to improve their

schools—we just need to give them opportunities to try them out is used.

No one will be forced to leave after the current group has seen the route the new

leadership team will take, but they will be expected to be supportive and constructively

contribute. Members have the option to resign, and if they do so, they will be required to reapply.

This will offer the principal total control over whether to keep the leadership team in place or

start anew. It also does not automatically presume that all former members have nothing to

contribute, thus releasing everyone is neither offensive norr dismissive. This will demonstrate the

principals' dedication to valuing the contributions of the staff, providing room for development,

and maintaining high standards for the leadership team.

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References

Kalinovich, Angelina, & Marrone, Jennifer (2017). Shared Leadership: A Primer and Teaching

Recommendations for Educators. Journal of Leadership Education, 16(1), 205 to 214.

Levin, Barbara, & Schrum, Lynne. (2017). Every Teacher a Leader: Developing the Needs Dispositions,

Knowledge and Skills for Teacher Leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin a Sage Company.

Mack Trapanese, Erin (2017). Helping Teachers Become Leaders. Education Digest, 83(3), 37–39.