Establishing and Leading

Professional Collaborative
Communities

Dr. Sajid Masood

 Role of The Principal
• People have long been interested in
the work of managers, not to mention
whether or not their work makes a
difference (Heck & Hallinger, 2005).
• Study of educational leadership
evolved in last century to know
impact of principals on student
learning (Leithwood, Leonard & Sharratt, 1998;
Sergiovanni, 1998).
 Role of The Principal
• Educational management was not keeping
up with the needs of the educational
community (Moore, 1964).
• Educational management was “faulty,
unimaginative, and out of step with
community desires (Heck & Hallinger, 2005).
• No evidence of progress on important
issues was evident in researches from 1950
to 1960 (Erickson, 1967).
 Role of The Principal
• More things change the more they remain
same (Bridges, 1982).
• Paradigm shifted from exploring actions
and processes of educational leaders to
results (Bossert, Dwyer, Rowan, & Lee, 1982).
• During 1970s through 1990s two main
views of principal leadership became
widespread: instructional or
transformational (Marks & Printy, 2003).
 Role of The Principal
• Instructional leadership – principal as the
educational expert focusing on curriculum,
instruction, staff development, and
supervision (Leithwood, 1994; Leithwood & Duke, 1998).
• Transformational leadership focusing on
problem finding, problem solving,
collaboration with stakeholders with the
goal of improving organizational
performance (Marks & Printy, 2003).
 Role of The Principal
• In late 1990s that the language shifted from
“management to leadership (Bush, 2008).
• Paradigm of research shifts from studying
influence of principals on not only processes
but on outcomes or products, impact on student
learning (Hallinger & Heck, 1996;Leithwood, 1994; Marzano, Waters
and McNulty, 2003).
• At the school level all change flows through the
principal’s office (Murphy et al. 2009).
 Role of The Principal
• Focus is on developing leadership of those
within the organization, whether this is
referred to as distributed leadership (Hargreaves,
2006; Hargreaves & Fink, 2006; Murphy et l., 2009; Spillance, 2006),

shared instructional leadership (Marks & Printy, 2003),

building capacity for leadership (Slater, 2008),
balanced leadership (Marzano et al., 2005),
organizational leadership (Leithwood et al., 1998),
principal as professional developer (DuFour &
Berkey, 1995; Lindstorm & Speck, 2004).
 Leadership
• Lambert (1998) suggested a framework to
understand leadership:-
– Leadership is not trait theory; leadership and leader
are not the same.
– Leadership is about learning that leads to constructive
change.
– Everyone has the potential and right to work as a
leader.
– Leading is a shared endeavor.
– Leadership requires the redistribution of power and
authority.
 1 Tenet of Framework
st

• Leadership is not trait theory; leadership

and leader are not the same
– Leadership is not confined to one person i.e.
principal (Fullan, 2005) and leadership emerges
from different individuals based on the
situations in which they are placed (Hargreaves, 2006;
Hargreaves & Fink, 2006; Murphy et al., 2009; Spillane, 2006).
– Development of leadership skills and capacity
in the entire staff is to create a collaborative
environment (Fullan, 2005).
 1st Tenet of Framework
• Expectations from Principal
– Believing in the capacity of all staff of all staff to
serve in leadership capacities (Lambert, 2003)
– He / She must know how to distribute leadership and
have the repertoire of skills for doing it (Hargreaves, 2006;
Hargreaves & Fink, 2006; Murphy et al., 2009)
– he/she must know of structures, systems, and
processes to distribute the work of leadership
throughout the staff, and then successfully implement
those structures, systems, and processes (Marzano et al.,
2005; Mullen & Hutinger, 2008; Murphy et al., 2009).
 2 Tenet of Framework
nd

• Leadership is about learning that leads

to constructive change.
– There are no easy answers, no silver bullet
(Fullan, 2001; Sparks, 2005).
– Rather leadership is about facilitating
learning and seeking out adaptive solutions to
adaptive problems (Heifetz, 1994).
– This requires humility in one’s approach, and
a constant strive to improve (Fullan, 2001).
 2 Tenet of Framework
nd

– Posture of learning is critical to effective

leadership (Lambert, 1998).
– Deming (1986) identified key difference
between leadership and management is that
leadership is about finding and meeting needs of
everyone, whereas management is about
accommodating the unique individual needs of
each person
– Thus leadership is working on the system and its
continuous improvement by meeting needs.
 2 Tenet of Framework
nd

– Authoritarian situations arise, but for the

most part leadership requires attitude of
humility, learning, high expectations and
persistence (Blase & Blase, 1999; Fullan, 2001; NSDC, 2003;
Schmoker, 2006).
– Principal must be knowledgeable about
learning and must possess skills necessary to
create an atmosphere of learning (Schmoker, 2006).
 3 Tenet of Framework
rd

• Everyone has the potential and right to work

as a leader. Assuming that
– The staff have the capacity to work as leaders
(Pounder et al., 1995) and they are entitled to work of
leadership (DePree, 1989).
– Leadership playing field is leveled, if you will
– The leader’s function is to provide opportunities for
teachers to work together in self-managing teams to
improve their own instructions and learning, thus
leading instruction.
 3rd Tenet of Framework
– Teachers must be grouped in effective
teams for effective collaboration (NSDC,
2003).

– Designated leaders must believe in the

inherent ability of teachers to serve in
leadership capacities (Pounder et al., 1995).
– Opportunities for staff involvement in
important decisions are provided,
encouraged, and expected (Marks & Printy, 2003).
 3 Tenet of Framework
rd

– Leadership teams are empowered to

make decisions (NSDC, 2003).
– Risk taking is encouraged (Marzano et al., 2005)
– Protocols are in place to ensure that
leadership opportunities rotate between
and among staff (NSDC, 2003).
 3rd Tenet of Framework
• To do so expectations from leader are:-
– Trusting faculty to behave professionally and then
believe in the power of collaboration (DeFour et al., 2005).
– Believe that decisions arrived at by the collaborative
teams are correct and then work for implementation
(NSDC, 2003).
– Knowledge required includes effective grouping of
faculty, and protocols for use in specific situations
(Easton, 2004).
– Skills of encouraging, providing, and effective
collaboration (NSDC, 2003).
 4 Tenet of Framework
th

• Leading is a shared endeavor, all

working together
– Collective work, collaborative
environment, and collegiality
– If not sharing in the processes and
practices of school then it is not a shared
endeavor and it is not building capacity
for leading (Leithwood et al., 1998; Youngs & King, 2002).
 4 Tenet of Framework
th

• Look at this quote highlighting importance

of shared endeavor
– Leadership is not a solo act. In the thousands
of personal-best leadership cases we studied,
we have yet to encounter a single example of
extraordinary achievement that occurred
without the active involvement and support of
many people. Fostering collaboration is the
route to high performance (Kouzes & Posner, 1996).
 4 Tenet of Framework
th

– In schools we don’t need charismatic

leaders (Gronn, 1996) but those who understands
the importance and need of collaboration
and create collaborative environment are
more successful in longer run (Murphy et al., 2009;
Slater, 2008)

– Improving school is about working together

for success not about individuals
performing miracles (Gronn, 1996).
 5 Tenet of Framework
th

• Leadership requires redistribution of

power and authority
– The masses are now in charge – whether
through formal channels or unsolicited venues
(Hargreaves & Fink, 2006).
– Designated leader must consider how power
and authority can and should be redistributed;
otherwise, it redistributes itself with typically
unwanted and undesirable consequences (Murphy
et al., 2009).
 5 Tenet of Framework
th

– Skills of successful principals associated

with redistribution of power (Marzano et al., 2005)
• Providing opportunities for staff to be
involved in developing school policies
• Providing opportunities for staff input on
all important decisions and
• Using leadership teams in decision making
 5 Tenet of Framework
th

– Principals in professional learning

communities regard themselves as leaders
of leaders rather than leaders of followers
and broadening teachers’ leadership
becomes one of their priorities (DuFour et al.,
2005).
– Rightful title of instructional leader belongs
with the teacher and the principal is a
leaders of leaders (Mark & Printy, 2003).
 Can we say?
School leadership
is a team spirit
(Fullan, 2003)