Leadership Connector, Support
"When leaders provide support, they are saying, "You are important to me; you are important to our school. You are needed, wanted, and valued"
Support is a critical aspect to leadership that comes in different forms: financial, material, emotional, etc. As leaders, we need to realize the importance of supporting our staff to ensure that we are constantly building them up and supporting them. This can be done in many ways and through many venues. It is crucial for us to realize that support needs to be differentiated for staff members in order to meet their individual needs.
Being visible was one aspect of the chapter that stuck out to me the most. This is something that we have heard echoed from SUSD leaders, leaders at my school site, and now in this book. The visibility is important for students and parents because it shows that the leader is active in the school and with the students. The leader should be out greeting kids and parents in the morning and showing support for them. The leader should also be around to classrooms, visiting teachers during prep times, coaching, working with teachers, etc. to help build capacity and support for teachers.
I couldn't agree more! I also saw the many advantages to being a visible leader.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of principals being around during prep times and/or seating in on meetings, especially when you school is trying to implement something different like PLC's.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is very important to have a visible leader. The school community feels valued and supported. It creates the atmosphere of a school family. Great Post.
ReplyDeleteDebbie--'school family' is exactly what I was thinking. :)
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