Educational Leadership Analysis

Individuals who have chosen to take the educational leadership route have a huge responsibility. They are responsible for developing and implementing a vision to meet the needs of the students they serve. The vision, mission, and goal designed must represent what the community intends for the students to achieve. In order for educational leaders to ensure achievement and the success of all students, they must monitor and continuously improve teaching and learning. Leaders are also responsible for maintaining a professional culture in which the learning opportunities are targeted to the vision and goals and differentiated appropriately to meet the needs of all students.

The difference between the goals that leaders strive for and the organizational “functions” through which they pursue them

Key Performance

Indicators (KPIs) are measures that can be used to review organizations progress against a goal it has set. When creating a KPI it needs to be flexible and reflect the changing goals of the organization. The only issue after receiving the data is that many do not know what to do with the results. When looking at the organizational processes, it facilitates a “we” versus an “I” mentality. Team improvement is what makes a difference. The majority of the functions under the standards listed used the word collaboration.

Changes in leadership philosophy and methods that have occurred with the increase in the number of women holding leadership positions
Powerful positions in the education field are the superintendent, principal, and vice principal position.

The philosophy and leadership skills of these individuals play a role in the education that will be provided to the students in their schools. As a leader in an organization, managing change involves preparing individuals for working differently and keeping them motivated to modify their behavior. For the past few years, there has been an increase in women’s leadership positions. “Women leaders have been found to gravitate toward various forms of collective leadership”. In a collective leadership environment, it is influenced by a combination of things, educators, parents, and others on school decisions. In the early twentieth century, women started to find ways to support others and gain what they needed to achieve their goals(Jossey). This was a change compared to how men leadership was viewed as being individuals, being decisive, and their vision. As women have taken into these roles as collective leaders, there has been an increase from the community expressing their ideas that may address equity and diversity issues which lead to productive

change.

The crucial role that systems thinking can play in broadening the leadership perspective and increasing its effectiveness
System thinking is a powerful way to get an understanding of ourselves, those around us, and the world that we live in. It is seen as an effective approach that can help an organization make sense of the interconnectedness of systems. The Iceberg Model is a good way to show a systems perspective. It has an effective means for helping leaders gain an understanding of the underlying structures, thinking, and beliefs that shape their organization. Finding the underlying issue is where the process must begin from. Like the iceberg, only a small part is visible to the eye if we have a surface perspective. Everything around us is hidden from our view until we dig deeper for an understanding. If the leader produces a concept map, a better understanding will be shown of the component parts when looking to make a change. System thinking allows leaders to step back and attempt to see the entire picture instead of parts of the picture. To be successful in the educational environment, the leader must require a different way of thinking. It is through system thinking that leaders are able to identify new possibilities and insights to deal with our most difficult problems.