Effective Leadership Practice— An Integrated

BFK•Connect™
Effective Leadership Practice—
An Integrated Approach to Assessing
and Developing Principals’
Leadership Capacity
© 2013, Battelle for Kids. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
The role of the principal is more challenging than ever. The current reform agenda requires principals to
implement more robust teacher evaluation systems, lead whole school change around the Common Core State
Standards, and to transform schools into autonomous professional learning communities that embrace rather
than resist change (Moore, 2009). While these responsibilities are not directly tied to student
learning, they are
•
certainly related to it. In fact, recent principal research has demonstrated that leadership is second only to
BFK•Connect
classroom instruction among school-related factors associated with improving student learning (Leithwood,
Seashore Lewis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004). School leadership has
never been
more important.
FLEXIBILITY
& OPENNESS
™
At times, the competing demands for a principal’s time and
attention can be overwhelming. Principals need support
to filter out the noise and focus on leadership practices
that promote high academic gains. Battelle for Kids (BFK)
in collaboration with the Ohio University Voinovich School
of Leadership and Public Affairs developed the Integrated
Leadership Survey to provide principals with feedback on
critical aspects of their leadership practice. The surveyINTERNAL
is
based on some of the most prominent school leadership FOCUS
research along with BFK’s work with highly effective
principals and high-growth schools across the country.
Guidance to transform survey feedback into purposeful
action is provided by the BFK•Connect™ Framework. This
framework identifies and connects four core aspects of
effectiveness across all levels of the education system.
With this tool, educators are better able to understand
and leverage the creative tensions that arise when
collaboration, structure, performance, and creativity are all
valued in the pursuit of excellence. These same tensions
are reflected in leadership research, including “loosetight leadership” (Dufour, Dufour, & Eaker, 2008), avoiding
extremes (Fullan, 2008), “structures and autonomy” (Kanter,
1983), and “empathetic assertiveness” (Goleman, 1998).
THE BFK CONNECT
FRAMEWORK
Relationships
TM
Continuous
Improvement
•CONNECT
THE
BFK
• Collaboration
• Adaptability
FRAMEWORK
• Student-Centered Focus
• Visioning
TM
BFK•Connect™
• Support
• Relevance
FLEXIBILITY &
& OPENNESS
OPENNESS
• Respect
• Creativity
FLEXIBILITY
• Care
• Experimentation
• Belonging
• Enthusiasm
Relationships
Continuous
Improvement
Relationships
Stable
• Collaboration
• Collaboration
• Student-Centered Focus
• Student-Centered Focus
• Support
• Support
• Respect
• Respect
• Care
• Care
Environment
• Belonging
• Belonging
• Structures
INTERNAL
INTERNAL
• Routines
FOCUS
FOCUS
• Efficiency
Stable Environment
Environment
Stable
• Management
• Structures
• Structures
Routines
• Content•• Routines
Knowledge
• Efficiency
• Efficiency
• Security
• Management
• Management
• Content Knowledge
• Content Knowledge
• Security
• Security
Continuous Improvement
• Adaptability
• Adaptability
• Visioning
• Visioning
• Relevance
• Relevance
• Creativity
• Creativity
• Experimentation
• Experimentation
High Expectations
• Enthusiasm
• Enthusiasm
• Goal Focus
• Accountability
• Assessment
High
Expectations
High Expectations
• Achievement
• Goal
Focus
• Goal Focus
• Accountability
• High-Quality Work
• Accountability
• Assessment
• Assessment
• Accomplishment
• Achievement
EXTERNAL
FOCUS
EXTERNAL
EXTERNAL
FOCUS
FOCUS
• Achievement
• High-Quality Work
• High-Quality Work
• Accomplishment
• Accomplishment
ORDER & CONTROL
ORDER &
& CONTROL
CONTROL
ORDER
Adapted
Competing Values
Framework
Adapted
fromfrom
thethe
Competing
Values
Framework
with permission from Quinn & Rohrbaugh (1983).
with permission from Quinn & Rohrbaugh (1983).
© 2013, Battelle for Kids. All Rights Reserved.
© 2013, Battelle for Kids. All Rights Reserved.
Feedback from the Integrated Leadership Survey, when used in conjunction with the BFKConnect™ Framework, provides a unique
platform for coaching, reflection, and powerful implementation of school improvement strategies.
2
Identifying Key Leadership Practices that Promote
Student Success
The Integrated Leadership Survey is comprised of 35 leadership practices organized into five broader
categories. The categories represent a range of leadership practices displayed by principals of high-growth and
high-achieving schools.
1. Setting Directions.
Facilitate the creation of shared meanings and understandings that support
the school’s vision. Identify and articulate a limited number of goals.
2. Developing People.
Build staff members’ skills and knowledge. Create a culture of trust
and collaboration.
3. Developing the Organization.
Build and sustain a supportive work environment. Establish structures and
routines that support the school’s goals and vision.
4. Improving the Instructional Program.
Maintain a focus on student learning. Monitor and provide support to improve
the quality of instruction.
5. Securing Accountability.
Promote collective responsibility for student learning. Establish connections
between school, district, and state goals.
The first four categories align with the findings of the Wallace Foundation’s Learning from Leadership Project, which examined the
relationship between educational leadership and student achievement. In addition, an important perspective emerged from the
Wallace Foundation’s research on leadership that directly aligns with BFK’s research on highly effective principals and schools:
Leaders who strike a proper balance between stability and change emphasize two priorities: they work
to develop and support people to do their best, and they work to redesign their organizations to improve
effectiveness (Wahlstrom, Seashore Louis, Leithwood, & Anderson, 2010, p. 7).
3
These categories were further elaborated by the findings of BFK’s Global Education Study in which study participants examined
schools from Finland; Hong Kong; Long Beach, California; Ontario, Canada; and Singapore. Ontario was especially noteworthy
with respect to their attention to leadership development. Dr. Kenneth Leithwood, one of the lead researchers for the Wallace
Foundation Project, helped the Ontario Ministry of Education design a framework to guide their work with leaders. The inclusion of
the fifth category—Securing Accountability—emerged from the Ontario Leadership Framework (Leithwood, 2012).
The survey development was also informed by BFK’s decade of experience leading SOAR, one of the largest collaboratives in the
United States, through which student growth data and leadership function as drivers for school improvement. The 35-item survey
instrument was finalized with feedback from principals of some of the highest-performing schools in Ohio, Atlanta Public Schools,
Lubbock Independent School District, and Tulsa Public Schools. We provided these principals with a list of more than 100 specific
leadership practices and asked them to identify six items from each of the five categories that they felt were most associated with
their students’ high academic gains.
Research Basis for the Development of the Integrated Leadership Survey
Leadership practices included in the survey are grounded in current education research including:
•
Wallace Foundation Learning from Leadership Project: From 2004 through 2010, researchers supported by
the Wallace Foundation conducted the largest ever study on school leadership. This study spanned nine
states, 43 districts, and 180 schools and captured survey data from 8,391 teachers and 471 administrators.
•
SOAR Collaborative: For the past 10 years, BFK has led SOAR, one of the largest school improvement
collaboratives in the United States. Today, SOAR is comprised of more than 120 Ohio school districts.
Through SOAR, BFK has conducted research to better understand how some schools, districts, principals,
and teachers are able to produce higher than expected student growth.
•
Global Education Study: In spring 2012, BFK organized visits to five of the highest-performing school
systems in the world to engage, observe, and learn from educators. The study identified six drivers of
student success that are common across the five school systems.
•
Ontario Leadership Framework: Developed for Ontario’s Ministry of Education by Ken Leithwood, this
framework added a fifth component (Securing Accountability) to the Wallace Foundation Research. It also
identifies a list of specific leadership practices that are associated with high-performing schools from an
extensive literature review.
4
Assessing Leadership Effectiveness
The BFK Integrated Leadership Survey collects responses on school leadership practices as perceived by
the principal and his/her teaching staff. These responses are useful for assessing leadership practice and
providing guidance on areas of improvement.
Why is staff feedback important?
A leader’s staff is in the best position to observe his/her ability to manage and lead (Greguras, Ford, & Brutus, 2003). While
supervisor observations are important, they are usually limited to hearsay or information from outside of the school environment.
Staff ratings create a much more accurate picture of performance because they offer a better overall assessment of the individual’s
daily leadership practices and dispositions (Fletcher & Baldry, 2003). Gathering feedback from teachers also provides a tremendous
opportunity to build trust and respect. When teachers have an anonymous method to offer input on the ways they are led, as well as
on the culture and support systems of the school, it gives them an opportunity to help create the world in which they work.
Self-Awareness
Managerial Self-Awareness (MSA) is the relationship between self-awareness and the perception of others. In general, managers
tend to rate themselves higher than others rate them in management competencies and leadership effectiveness (Alimo-Metcalfe,
1998). This is why self-assessments are considered less accurate than multi-rater assessments. Bass and Yammarino (1991) found
that the stronger the leader’s MSA, the more likely he/she is recognized as a transformational leaders by his/her staff.
Survey Reporting
Self and staff ratings are compiled in a summary report that gives principals a starting point for improving their leadership practice.
The report provides principals the opportunity to examine their practice from multiple perspectives.
1. Results are displayed for each of the
five categories of effective leadership
practice. Principals can use this
information to assess whether they are
engaging in the types of behaviors that
contribute to student success.
2. Results are displayed for each of the
four dimensions of the BFK•Connect™
Framework. When any of the four
dimensions are over or underemphasized,
performance deteriorates.
3. The report provides information on the
congruency between self and staff ratings
and highlights the items with the
greatest discrepancy between self and
staff ratings. Differences in self and other
perceptions provide fruitful areas for
professional development.
Relationships (Yellow Quadrant)
5
Using the BFK•Connect™ Framework to Develop
Leadership Capacity
The BFK•Connect™ Framework emerged from work with highly effective educators around the country. The framework identifies
four core dimensions of effectiveness: relationships, high expectations, stable environment, and continuous improvement. Effective
leaders not only possess skills in each of these areas; they are also able to connect them in powerful ways.
The framework is a useful tool for professional development because it captures the complex aspects of leadership in simple, visual
display. BFK has created a comprehensive set of tools, training, and resources to support leaders as they stretch and grow their
leadership practice using the framework.
Conclusion
To develop the most effective survey instrument possible, Battelle for Kids combined the results of recent research, performed by
respected scholars in the field of school leadership, with our own global and local education research studies. This enabled us to
create the BFK Integrated Leadership Survey to provide principals with targeted information aligned to effective leadership practices.
Empowering principals to lead schools into the next generation of school reform requires giving them access to reliable data and
the means of acting on that data. The BFK Integrated Leadership Survey provides the actionable data, and The BFK•Connect™
Framework provides the model for action.
6
References
Alimo-Metcalfe, B. (1998). 360 degree feedback and leadership development. International Journal of Selection and Assessment,
6(1), 35-44.
Bass, B. M., & Yammarino, F. J. (1991). Congruence of self and others’ leadership ratings of naval officers for understanding
successful performance. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 40, 437−454.
Dufour, R., Dufour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning community at work: New insights for improving schools.
Bloomington, IN: Solution-Tree.
Fletcher, C., & Baldry, C. (2003) Assessing self-awareness: Some issues and methods. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(5),
395−404.
Fullan, M. (2008). The six secrets of change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Greguras, G. J., Ford, J. M., & Brutus, S. (2003). Manager attention to multisource feedback. Journal of Management Development,
22, 345−361.
Kanter, R. M. (1983) The change masters: Innovations for productivity in the American corporation. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Leithwood, K., Seashore Lewis, K., Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How leadership influences student learning. New York:
Wallace Foundation.
Leithwood, K. (2012). The Ontario Leadership Framework (with a discussion of the Research Foundations). Toronto, ON: The
Institute for Education Leadership.
Moore, B. (2009, January/February). Improving the evaluation and feedback process for principals. National Association of
Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Principals Magazine, 38−41.
Wahlstrom, K.L., Seashore Louis, K., Leithwood, K., & Anderson, S.E. (2010). Investigating the links to improved student learning:
Executive summary of research findings. The Wallace Foundation.
7
About Battelle for Kids
Battelle for Kids is a national, not-for-profit organization that provides
counsel and solutions to advance the development of human capital,
the use of strategic measures, practices for improving educator
effectiveness, and communication with all stakeholders. At the heart
of this work is an unwavering focus on accelerating student growth.
BFK•Connect™
www.BattelleforKids.org
twitter.com/BattelleforKids |
www.facebook.com/battelleforkidsorg
© 2013, Battelle for Kids. All Rights Reserved.
8