In the past few weeks I have been reflecting on teacher leadership, and more specifically, the roles of team lead, associate chair and chair. While the role might seem appealing to many, it strikes me that anyone considering taking on one of these roles might first need to do a bit of soul searching. Teacher leaders that I have worked with over the years have all shared how difficult the transition could be. One day they were just another colleague, sharing a laugh in the faculty lunch area and the next day they have “gone over to the dark side” and “become one of them”. Their motives, decisions, work habits and leadership style became fair game to be questioned by others, and they felt like they lived in a bit of a fish bowl. That is not to say that these people didn’t enjoy being in this leadership position, they just had to learn that actually working in the position was a little different from observing it as another instructor. Teacher leaders are called upon to provide real and timely leadership in three different ways; they need to provide professional, administrative and instructional leadership. Depending on the size of the department and the duties assigned, this can mean: advocating for students and faculty, balancing budgets, mapping out the scope and sequence of a program, assigning course loads, scheduling classes, problem solving, and dealing with challenging personalities. On top of all these tasks, teacher leaders must be change agents, advocating for quality practice, encouraging professional reflection, and pressing for improved student learning and achievement. Complicating all of this is the fact that roles like team lead or associate chair are usually term appointments and often come with a considerable teaching load in addition to leadership responsibilities. People in these roles have said that they feel caught between two worlds; they aren’t really in the overall leadership team and stream, but they are no longer in the community of instructors. Stepping into such leadership is not easy; the work cannot be done half-heartedly. So why would one bother to take on such a role? So why take on teacher leadership?Teacher leaders have a single guiding purpose - to build capacity in others. They use their talents to influence, shape, support, and catalyze change that results in increased student achievement. Their actions reveal their fundamental belief that they more they build capacity in others, the more they contribute to sustaining long-term, deep transformation that allows others to address today’s challenges and to be prepared for facing those that arise tomorrow. (Killion, 2011, p. 11) I love this quote from Joellen Killion. Although it refers more to those who take on teacher leadership roles in the K-12 system, I think it captures the essence of why instructors consider taking on academic leadership roles like team lead, project lead, associate chair, or chair. For the most part, people take on these roles because they want to make a difference, a difference for the students and for the staff that they have come to know so well. In addition to the need to make a difference for students and colleagues, those looking to move into leadership roles may also be enticed to do so for any combination of six different factors:
Who should take on such a role? From my experience, there is no one profile of the ideal candidate for an academic leadership position. I have seen very different types become very successful leaders. Some of these people saw an associate chair position as a stepping stone in their career; they had their sights on institutional leadership (Look out Carolyn, here I come!). Others were almost reluctant leaders. They hated to leave their classrooms and the students who gave them energy, but they also felt an obligation to the program, to their colleagues and to the students, to take on a leadership role that might ensure the viability of the program. Regardless of how or why each stepped into the role, all of these new leaders needed to develop a new set of skills. Working with students in an online or face-to-face environment is much different from working with colleagues who are masters in their own domain. A teacher leader’s greatest challenge is in building trust, gaining credibility, and establishing purposeful, productive relationships. These leaders are sometimes faced with apathetic, reluctant or resistant colleagues. Often, they are “caught in the middle”, having to roll out unpopular or demanding decisions or initiatives that they might have previously had questions about. This delicate challenge means that they must instead use credibility and kinship as practicing instructors to gently lead–through encouragement, support and even courageous conversations. As such, effective leadership involves constant negotiation and it requires tremendous flexibility, tact and perseverance. What are the keys to success? Some of the important leadership actions or processes that prospective teacher leaders might ask themselves about before making the leap have to do with:
Several years ago, I asked successful “teacher leaders” to share their strategies for creating positive working relationships with their colleagues. They suggested that life will go easier if you:
References: Killion, J. (2011). A bold move forward: consortium outlines new standards for teacher leaders. Journal of Staff Development, 32 (3), 10-12. Kuntz, J. (2015). Exploring the Experience of AISI Instructional Teacher Leaders. (Doctoral Thesis) University of Alberta. Department of Secondary Education. Accessed online at: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/downloads/41687m37h (Permanent link)
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AuthorJeff Kuntz Ph.D. ImagesExcept where indicated, images used in the blog posts are personal photos, images from NorQuest College or images from Pixabay. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. https://pixabay.com/ Archives
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