I. Title: School Leadership: A Distributed Perspective

II. List of handouts:

III. Presentation

What is Distributed Leadership?

Since distributed leadership is an emerging theory, most discussions begin with a definition. Distributed leadership is a framework for thinking about and studying leadership and management. It is both an analytic tool for studying all types leadership and a diagnostic tool available to those who make decisions about the day-to-day management of schools (Diamond, 2009)

We asked a few local principals about the issues they face every day. As you listen, think of the stakeholders who could help him or her deal with the day-to-day matters of running a school. Consider also what it would take if we had to incorporate every contingency that occurs each day into someone’s official job description.

VIDEO: What are some of the leadership issues you face as the principal of your school? Follow up question: When you need help beyond positional responsibilities, who do you look to for assistance? Why him/her?

Some advantages of distributed leadership follow:

Distributed leadership fosters community engagement.
It provides opportunities for professional and personal growth of all stakeholders.
It enables sustained progress despite inevitable changes in leadership over time.
With more people involved in problem solving, everyone quickly learns that there isn't "somebody else" who will make decisions for them. The result is greater involvement and ownership.

A sampling of school building level practices that may have their roots in the soil of distributed leadership theory.

When asked to describe the lines of authority operating in their schools, let's listen to what some school administrators had to say.

VIDEO: Describe the lines of authority operating in your school? Follow up question: What would make operations flow even more efficiently?

Principals in some schools are inclusive and flexible. They provide opportunities for staff, students and community members to gain necessary skills to be effective leaders and assume leadership roles, for example, stakeholders are placed on site councils, action research teams, and committees. These principals model collaborative learning and decision making through the way they engage and empower others.

Research by Kathleen Cotton, doing work for the Oregon Small Schools Initiative, reveals that this type of shared decision making is inversely related to achievement. So, where do teacher-leaders fit into this model? And who are the teacher-leaders? Let's take a look.

VIDEO: How would you describe a teacher-leader? Follow up question: What sets these teachers apart?

First, teacher-leaders are a vital component to the distributive model. Teacher leadership brings decision-making authority close to the classroom and gives teachers a new sense of responsibility and ownership in the school. Teacher leaders have responsibilities ranging from setting agendas and facilitating regular staff meetings to documenting work flows and keeping statistics on overall student development. Teacher leaders are important liaisons between staff, parents, and administrators. They keep all stakeholders abreast of information related to action research, professional development, events and policies.

A second practical way to move toward a distributed leadership model is to provide structured leadership opportunities for all stakeholders. A successful school cannot flourish (at least not for long) on the actions of one charismatic leader; schools need to develop leadership capacity in people who reflect the demographic diversity of the community.

VIDEO: Have you ever seen a situation in which a school thrived under one leader but faced considerable turbulence when that leader transferred out or retired? Follow up question: How long was that period of turbulence?

Effective schools provide teachers, students, parents and community members the chance to develop the skills necessary for leadership roles in the school. These schools then design and promote a variety of opportunities for all stakeholders to voice their opinions, participate in key decisions and take on leadership roles. For example, students participate in professional development days to learn the facilitation skills they need to lead community forums. Parents participate in training to learn to design surveys to collaboratively conduct research with teachers. Community members learn to analyze data so they can effectively inform the work of the school improvement committee they are in charge of. Schools, intentionally or unintentionally, practicing elements associated with a distributed leadership model create opportunities to spread skills, knowledge, authority and influence throughout the school community. Leaders know the demographics of their school and encourage all members, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, to participate. Leadership development and professional growth pathways are intended to build everyone's capacity. Building the capacity in this way enables sustained progress and support of the school, despite changes in leadership. while there is a place for a leader with ultimate responsibility, the diffusion of leadership seems to facilitate transition. Again, these are some practices at the local level that have the flavor of a distributed leadership model.

Third, redefine leadership as relationships. In traditional hierarchical schools, leadership is defined by what the persons in charge do for or to the other members of the community. In schools with distributed leadership, the focus shifts to how people interact with one another to make change happen. The process is collaborative and inclusionary. It is defined by people's relationships to one another--by their personal connections, mutual respect and shared knowledge. A person's status in such schools--be it student, teacher or parent--does not affect his or her legitimacy as a decision-maker. Anyone who supports the mission of the school and is committed to working collaboratively with a diverse group is valued and encouraged to participate.

Fourth, create representative leadership councils. In some smaller schools teachers, parents, students and community members representing diverse groups have high levels of participation in key leadership roles. They have voting privileges on committees and councils, a signal that their opinions are meaningful and their participation is welcomed. Creating representative leadership councils is an essential part of building community engagement.

Finally, gather feedback from stakeholders. Because not all stakeholders can participate in leadership roles, their opinions and perspectives should still be sought. Focus groups, home visits, surveys and one-to-one conversations are some ways to collect feedback from the broader community. To ensure representative participation, it is essential to ensure that materials and discussions reflect the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and socioeconomic diversity of the community.