Week 3 reflection

How has what you have learned so far in this course shaped your concept of an effective leader?


Phew, this first three weeks has been a lot of information. I was just telling my group this week that I feel the readings are starting to blend together in my mind, perhaps I should think about it as they are correlating to each other not blending! I have really enjoyed the readings and have done a lot of thinking about the current situation of my school and how perhaps had we not had such an ineffective leader(s) for the past two years we would not be in as dire of a situation, but then I remember the famous words of our superintendent, “Never waste a good crisis”. Change was needed in Alexandria, it was time for us to move into the 21st century and really give our students what they need, we have all the tools, great teachers, technology and amazing location and building, now we just needed effective leaders and a plan. So we have that now…perhaps we will once again get back to the top of Jay Matthews list (haha!). But in reality my concept of a leader has not changed, but I have been able to clarify the roles of the leader and how they can truly shape an organization for better or for worse.

Based on what you have learned so far, what are the top 3-5 characteristics you believe a successful principal must possess?

I would honestly say that communication would be on the top of my list, I feel that poor communication can break down all other goals you set. Collaboration would also top my list, collaborating with the staff, community, students, central office and other administrators to help with all the tasks of a large organization is essential. If you are able to collaborate and communicate I think you have won more than half the battle.

I think finally a vision or goals, if you don’t have something to aspire to then you are accepting the status quo and no organization is perfect, even Google and Microsoft have to work at things and improve, can you imagine if we had stopped at Windows 98 or if Google was still only a search engine? Any leader who wants to be effective must have vision for where the organization should move next.

Communication, Collaboration and Vision, three qualities you cannot live without in a leader.

21 Responsibilities of a School Leader

How do the results of the balanced leadership profile inventory compare with your own self-assessment of the 21 Responsibilities of a School Leader?

Initially I was having a hard time separating out my current school situation, the poor leadership we have been under for the past two years, my hopes for the new administrator and how I feel I would be as an administrator. It was really hard for me to choose my answers at first and I think I finally got the groove so I am not sure my results are entirely accurate. I also find it hard to think of myself as a principal as that is not in my immediate plans, but either way as a school leader, whether in my current position or in a central office position I will still need to possess these qualities, so putting myself in that frame of mind helped me complete the survey.

The results themselves really do match up, a couple even matched up perfectly. A few areas like discipline, order and outreach were much higher from the online survey than I gave myself credit for. On the other hand affirmation, contingent reward, and input were just the opposite, I gave myself more credit. Again I think some of this has to do with my struggle in the beginning to move past my current situation.

Consider your top seven strengths and top seven areas of improvement from your self-assessment. How do they correlate with student achievement (Fig 4.2, p. 63 of Marzano text)?

My strengths would be communication, focus, ideals and beliefs, involvement with CIA, knowledge of CIA, resources and relationships

My weakness would be affirmation, discipline, input, order, outreach, intellectual stimulation, and monitor and evaluate.


From Marzano’s chart, I think I am somewhere in the middle, in the 3rd, 4th and 5th highest ranked correlations, I believe those are my weaker areas, I really believe those are my weaker areas because I don’t believe in myself when it comes to those areas. I personally struggle with parent communication and community concerns, I have never been a disciplinarian and have also never been a test giver so those are areas where my confidence would be low which makes them my weakness, I know I could handle them as a leader but it would be areas I would like to focus on for my own personal improvement.


On the other side of that coin, my areas of strength that rank high on Marzano’s correlation chart would be order (#7), resources (#8) and knowledge of CIA (#9). In my current position all of those things are very important and something that I focus on daily so perhaps that was why I felt they were strengths, they are areas I feel comfortable and knowledgeable with them. If I were to have an administrative role (in or out of a school) I would let my strength in these areas help me to overcome my weakness in the other areas, I would use my knowledge of CIA to improve my monitoring and evaluating skills, my need for order to improve my discipline skills and my knowledge of resources to reach out to the community and create positive interactions with parents.

Reflection Log #1

• How do you define transformational leadership based on your reading?
• How can transformational leadership impact the way an administrator leads a school?
• How can transformational leadership impact the school administrator as he/she leads integrating technology with instruction?

The word transformation has come up a lot recently in Alexandria City Public Schools. TC Williams High School was recently awarded a special grant under the No Child Left Behind Act, citing the school as being “persistently low achieving”. This grant entitles the school to transform itself and create a better learning environment for students. Because of all of this the word transformation has been thrown around a lot, when reading about transformational leadership, one can’t help but think of schools that are in need of a complete transformation needing leadership like this. The two very much seem to go together.

Transformation itself is defined as “change in form, appearance, nature, or character. (“transformation”, 2010) according to Dictionary.com, in turn a transformational leader would be someone who is able to change their nature or form to evolve with the needs of the organization. This person would be able to grow as the organization grows. For a leader to be transformational they will need to be a person who is open to growth and change, this is not something common for most principals. Many principals run their schools in the same way that many teachers have been teaching the same classes for 20-30 years in a very traditional model. Transformation calls for a change; you cannot continue to operate under the same form as you did 20 years ago, not even 10 years ago. The world has been changed by technology and we are now in the 21st century.

A transformational leader can impact an entire school by setting the example for the change. If that principal takes it upon him/herself to be the example, much like the servant leader does, the staff and students will be more open to the change. A transformational leader does not get bogged down in the details of the day to day work of a school instead sees the daily lessons for the school as small parts of the overall vision. A transformation leader is one who changes the role that other staff plays in the bigger picture because that is what the growth model needs. A transformational leader is also one cares and values the work that everyone in the entire school organization is putting towards the school vision.

In regards to technology, a transformational leader would take advantage of the technologies available to them to implement the changes occurring in their organization. They would embrace the technologies that would make the transformation more user friendly and productive for all those involved, especially students. The transformational leader for TC Williams High School herself has already explained to the entire staff that using technology to enhance communication between parents, students, teachers and administrators is one of her top priorities and that using technology to keep students “powered up” is expected of all staff members. She strongly feels that students should not have to “power down” in a school environment, in order to be competitive in the 21st century, students need to learn to problem solve using the technologies around us. Because of her feelings towards instructional technology, she is showing the staff that she is a transformational leader because she is not looking at the day to day lessons happening in the classrooms as separate pieces, but rather one piece to the change we will over the next three years to the entire organization. She is seeing the entire vision rather than the daily events.

As schools across the country begin their own transformations, they will be looking for transformational leaders. Those who can envision the changes and play a part in those changes, leaders who can adapt to the changes and are ready to inspire the staff to change as well.



transformation. (2010). Dictionary.com. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/transformation