Monday, 23 March 2015

Running an Effective Ship - Middle Leadership



This blog is dedicated to those who have felt that sinking feeling as they grapple to understand their role as a middle leader. 

I often get asked "Is there a check list of things that we should be doing as a middle leader?" and ultimatlythere is no right way of doing things as each school hold their own expectations over a middle leader role and what responsibilities go with that position. Unfortunatly there is very little in terms of resources supporting those moving into their first middle leader position without a mentor to guide them. So no, there is no magic checklist!

However, recently I met up with my colleague (Neville Meyers) who is based in Christchurch. He also felt this was a question/request he came across within many of the schools he visited. While Neville undertook research into this area he uncovered a framework which he felt was a valuable tool. Having viewed the piece, I feel it is a very good starting point as far a a concise set of descriptors go, although please note it is just an example and should be tweaked for your individual contexts.

What I like about it is the link to the NAG's which ultimatly is one of our guiding matricies of overarching responsibilities within a school. Have a read and please feel free to comment within the VLN space as to what you think......

 
 

There is also a ministry of education website dedicated to provide Information for middle and senior leaders and is worth a view. http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Middle-and-senior-leaders  

On this website there is a link to a resource published in the same vein "Leading from the middle: educational leadership for middle and senior leaders" that offers a guide to responsibilities, follow the link below. Leading from the middle: educational leadership for middle and senior leaders

I have also remember reading an article last year that discussed the importance of strong middle leadership. The education gazzette published a detailed case study that unpacks middle leadership in a large urban school. "Building leadership from the middle"
http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/Articles/Article.aspx?ArticleId=8910

Lastly, I am leaving you to digest all this information with a little bit of inspiration. "are business leadership skills transferable in an educational setting?" and if so what tips can we take on board from successful case studies Simon Sinek share the secrets of Inspirational leaders such as Martin Luther King to the Apple corporation. 

 


If you have any resources that you would like me to add to this blog for other middle leaders to enjoy please email me.




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