MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

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My Philosophy of Educational Leadership
--
Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership
and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
--
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the
Master of Arts in Education
--
by
Savio Dmello
The American School of Bombay
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
July 14, 2013
--
Dr. Timothy Gilson
MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP


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My Philosophy of Leadership began when I was trying to reach beyond the realms of my
current job role. I have been in the technology department for eight academic years at the
American School of Bombay (ASB). Even though my current responsibility gives me the ability
to be an effective leader in the field of information technology, I felt there was a void between
being the person who provides leadership for the effective use of technology and a person who
aims to become an effective school leader. This made me understand that there is a gap in my
career that needs to be bridged, in order to strive to be an effective school leader. The challenge
to be different and give back to the community is what I believe will help me bridge this gap.
There is indeed no doubt that the support and recognition of my superiors and peers has led me
to reinforce my belief.
My current job allows me to interact with various members of the community, students,
teachers, parents and administrators, which has earned me the honor of gaining their trust. I
believe that the key to gain an edge now is to think and act differently and bring about an essence
of change for them. In his book Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way, Robert D. Ramsey (2006)
states that The ability to change things for the better is another mark of true leadership (p. 55).
At the American School of Bombay, change is the only constant and it reflects in the technology
improvement programs that I have been involved with, that puts our school in a 21
st
century
school environment. These programs that help build our technological leadership in education
have been the driving force in leading me to believe that managing change has been one level of
achievement but leading that change is one of the many ways where I will be able to demonstrate
the skill of being an effective leader. After joining the Masters of Arts in Education program and
going through the first course, Orientation to ISSL and Educational Leadership, it is clear that
some of the skill sets of being an effective school leader is visibly evident in my current job role
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but there are so many insights that I would gain from this course that will help me to refine them
better and will help me to shape my future as a successful school leader.
As a prospective school leader I believe it would be my duty to first weave myself into
the fabric of the schools culture. Fortunately for me, ASB has been a multi culture environment
that has aided me to gain a better understanding and has allowed myself to develop a deeper
meaning for respecting and building this culture. Building collaborative practices and delegating
necessary tasks that need colleagues to function independently and deliver the organizations
goals has given me the opportunity to take on additional roles. One such role is being a part of
the research and development team that sphere heads the innovation movement in the school.
This belief is echoed in The Teacher Leader Standards Domain II that emphasizes that Accessing
and Using Research to Improve Practice and Student Learning is the way a teacher leader can
improve student learning (Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium, 2011).
One of the essences that bring about the quality of a good leader is the ability to prioritize
and maintain a good relationship with the students and peers. This comes about by having an
attentive mind and balancing time to understand their needs. Ramsey (2006) states that Really
good leaders know the difference between busyness and productivity and have enough time for
everyone (p. 69). Every leader also needs to maintain a balanced life style, making room for
your family and yourself is very important. Ramsey further states that Living a balanced life is
another secret of sustained, successful leader-ship (p. 50).
When you set high standards, everybody in the community expects nothing short of the
high standards you should deliver but sometimes you could run into a setback. As a leader it is
important to have a positive mindset and spring back into action. In my experience at ASB, a
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similar situation has given me a better understanding of how a true leader can overcome potential
failures and avert disaster and be more prepared in the future. Springing back from a setback not
only builds your confidence but also makes others respect you and believe in you should disaster
strike again. An effective school leader should also possess good cognitive skills, think in
different directions, and have an out of the box approach to problems, should they arise. Another
aspect of effective leadership is to have preventive measures in place with key checks so that one
can brace themselves and lead others out of harms way. Successful planning is also a key
element that a leader should possess; it is only when you can see through obstacles that you are
able to realize the end in sight. Formulating strategies that work towards realizing the short term
and long term goals of the organization is one of the key elements that are needed by a leader.
Having a good vision and foresight helps you not only realize this goal but will also help you
understand what will and will not work in favor of your institution.
Schools exist for the purpose of learning, imparting life skills and building the citizens of
tomorrow today. Its important for teacher leaders to build and support an environment wherein
colleagues trust each other and use their collective skills and knowledge to create this
environment for our students. This is reflected in Teacher Leader Standards Domain I (Teacher
Leadership Exploratory Consortium, 2011). I believe more importantly in todays day and age it
is becoming the responsibility of every member of the community to fulfill this goal. Creating
student led groups and parent bodies are an important aspect wherein everyone shares the
collective responsibility of enhancing student learning.
Recognition and rewarding teachers is an important aspect of every school too. They
spend countless hours to create the perfect learning environment, and it is important that every
teacher is given a chance to share their ideas and also be recognized for their efforts. Asking
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them to lead task forces and demonstrate their success stories and skills to other peers is one of
the ways that we can bring recognition for their work. Making professional development
tailored to their individual needs is very important and I believe as a leader it is important to
understand the individual needs of teachers, to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity
and also is contributing to make sure that the goals of the school are met. Sometimes its
important to gain external influences from industry experts, who can provide great insights.
However, it is important for teachers to meet others in their field and acquire professional
development networks through broader means like online courses, social media groups, or by
attending conferences where they can find like minded individuals who share their beliefs. This
sentiment is also echoed in Teacher Leader Standards Domain III, where teachers need to find
means where they can promote professional learning for continuous improvement (Teacher
Leadership Exploratory Consortium, 2011).
A successful leader is evident as an individual in motivating a team to collaboratively
achieve the schools goals on an ongoing basis. This can be seen in the success that the students
bring in their journey of learning, in taking tough decisions that impact the institution at large
and holding in high esteem the morale of the institution that leads it to be ahead of the curve.
For me, being a successful leader comes with not just possessing the right qualities, but being an
inspiration to others like how I am inspired by The Director of Research and Development and
Technology: Dr. Shabbi Luthra, who has mentored me to lead by example for others to follow.
As a leader I believe that it is important for everyone to prove themselves to be
principled, good communicators, open-minded, and seekers of new knowledge. As a member of
the ASB family and working with colleagues who are dedicated to their work yet remain
balanced, who show empathy towards one another, and inspire each other are what have led me
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to believe that as a leader there is so much to give back and I could only do justice to the role if I
better myself. There is no doubt that there is much to learn, but I believe that pursuing the
Masters in Art of Education is the right way to bring about the leader in me. Ramsey (2006)
states effective school leaders are made, not born (p. xvii). I believe that this is very true as it
is only with time and practice and being dedicated to the people you serve that it makes you
better each day and brings me closer to being the leader that I aspire to be.













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References
Ramsey, R. D. (2006). Lead, follow or get out of the way: How to be a more effective
leader in todays schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium. (2011). Teacher Leader Model Standards.
Retrieved from
http://www.teacherleaderstandards.org/downloads/TLS_Brochure_sm.pdf