Process and Outcome: Collaboration

Collaboration

An important aspect of effective leadership is collaboration. Good collaboration can create an inclusive environment within a workplace. Collaboration is an ongoing process that includes talking with staff, team members and executives to ensure that a common goal is met. Relationships and trust can be created, interaction and feedback becomes a continuing process, and other perspectives and priorities can be understood. The advantage of collaborating with others is that there is the ability to combine skill, knowledge and creativity as well as draw upon the experience and diverse expertise of others. No leader can do it all.

In an educational institute, such as the college, decisions can be made without consultation or input. An example of this was the deletion of a course within our Office Administration program. A core course was cut by executive with no input or consultation with the instructors or coordinator. It was arbitrarily decided that this course could be cut from the program. This decision was met with hostility, anger, confusion and caused a complete lack of trust between our department and executive. If they can do this, what else will they decide to cut or do? If there was a system of collaboration then the staff, instructors, and coordinator could have voiced their opinions, put together a list of reasons to not cut the course or at the very least, given some feedback as to the position of the department. With the combined expertise, perspectives and opinions of the staff, a more intelligent and informed decision could have been made and mistrust could have been avoided.

Process and Outcome Evaluation

A core process that is imperative to an educational leader is the proper evaluation of instructors or students. This evaluation is used to benefit both the instructor and the students, in turn the institution. A good leader follows a number of steps to complete an in-depth evaluation. This could include sitting in a class, talking with instructors about how it is going, creating an open door policy for both the students and instructor alike, having formal and informal meetings with all staff, role modeling certain instructional practices, and pushing for professional development for staff. All of these steps combined assist in creating better teaching practices and working environments. A poor educational leader may find that the evaluation process and the feedback cause bad feelings and a poor working environment for the instructor, therefore ineffective leadership.

The person I feel has mastered the process of evaluation is a coordinator within the Human Services department of the college. This person ensures that her instructors feel good about what they are doing by helping to bring about the instructors personal teaching styles and using it to the best of their ability. She makes a point of visiting the classrooms and having an open dialogue throughout the school year. She also encourages her instructors to attend training days on teaching practices or other relevant issues when they are available. There are many other people that could learn from this style of leadership.

Process and Outcome

An exemplary core process that I have noted in an educational leader is the willingness to adapt. This willingness to adapt ensures that not only is this person open to change but that they have a good attitude towards learning and implementing new things.

The person I feel has this quality is the principal of my children’s school. His ultimate goal or outcome is to provide an up to date education for the children in his charge while staying true to the core needs of education. With the creation of a new school opening in September 2007 and the advanced technology that is to go into the school, this principal needs to show a willingness to implement the changes that are coming his way. He also needs to prepare the staff for not only the move to a new school but the new technology that they will be expected to use for lessons. Because he is willing to try new things he is a good role model for the staff that will be working with him, which should create a positive learning environment for the children.

Leadership (Empowerment)

Leadership Characteristic: Empowerment

A leadership characteristic that has become more popular lately is empowerment. Leaders that empower their team give them more decision making power, less supervision and more responsibility thereby giving them a greater sense of achievement, pride and ownership of the project or tasks. Empowering people can be as simple as delegating tasks or asking for input in a decision to being as complex as allowing a group or individual to expand upon an idea then implement the task.

This quality is not seen very often in my workplace however, there is an executive in a vice presidents role within our college who has this characteristic. She is a person who will schedule meetings at irregular intervals, buy us lunch, and discuss issues surrounding the college. As we are in the process of building a new campus, most of the discussion surrounds the building, equipment, layout and needs that we have as a campus. This person has empowered the staff in Cold Lake to make the building ours by asking us what we need and want, then returning later with new plans implementing our ideas. She has therefore created a sense of pride and ownership with relation to the new campus and shown herself to be a true leader in the process.

Leadership (charisma)

An important leadership quality or skill in my opinion is charisma. A charismatic leader is one who has the ability to inspire their followers or team members by his vision, personality, “likeability”, optimism and self confidence. This leadership skill is important when trying to inspire change or productivity. A person can have knowledge, skill, ability, and the credentials to “get the job done” but if that person is put in a leadership position, he needs to gain not only the confidence of the people working for him but also have them want to follow him.

The person that I think has a charismatic leadership style is an instructor within the business department at our college. This instructor has an optimistic and fun outgoing personality that creates a positive classroom environment. He has the ability to inspire his students to do their best which has a great impact on performance. Attendance is high in his class and students seem to want to do well in his class maybe because he makes every student feel like they have the ability to succeed or maybe simply because they want to please the instructor. This quality is very important to the success of a good leader.

Leadership (Empathy)

One of the characteristics that I feel is very important in a good leader is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand how another person feels and/or to be able to put yourself in the shoes of others Having a leader that can empathize with his team or staff not only allows the leader to understand what others are experiencing or feeling but makes the rest of the team or individual feel valued and significant.

The person I feel has this quality is in a position of authority as a program coordinator. He has ten staff members as well as numerous students that go to him for problems or issues relating to the program, instructors or students. This individual has the ability to make everything “OK” as he really seems to understand the issues of both staff and students alike. When students leave his office they feel that they were heard and understood and although they do not always get the desired outcome, they leave the office feeling better. Overall, I feel this is an attribute that makes for a good leader.