Effective Management

I recently read a study out of Stanford done on business management which stated, Firms across the globe that apply accepted management practices well perform significantly better than those that do not. (Bloom, Dorgan, Dowdy, & Van Reenen, 2007). It also listed three aspects of management that are critical to any business: 1. Operations management, 2. Performance management, and 3. People management. Though schools are not businesses focused on capital gain and profitability at all costs, these principals are relevant and the evidence of good management applies in regards to the importance of school performance. Operations management in schools revolves around the systems in place to keep the school functioning. Naturally, it is impossible for one person to manage a schools entire multitude of operations; therefore, a good principal does two things to ensure that the operations go not just smoothly but allow the school to thrive. Authors Conchie and Rath (2008) address the concepts of operations in schools and suggest that excellent leaders assess their personal strengths and weaknesses and focus on the development of their strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses, and that they team with other excellent leaders at a variety of levels to support the schools varied operations. In sum, I will recognize no one person can do all things; therefore, I will build upon my strengths and collaborate with others who possess complementary skills on a leadership team. Performance management is the business way of ensuring that profitability is being measured and corrected if necessary. The desired goal in education is that every student is learning. All too often this is measured by standardized tests which provide great data points for assessing if learning is occurring. They are, however, only one of many sources to measure effectiveness. As a result, a successful manager becomes an analyst of many data sources and looks for trends to either correct or enrich. A truly great principal will use a variety of check points to ensure that equity is being addressed. Frattura and Capper (2007) indicate that this type of data can raise the consciousness of educators about the strengths and the inequities happening in their own schools. As an effective manager within a school setting I will use a variety of data to assess if learning is happening for all students all of the time. Finally, people management has to do with the development of individuals and their skill sets. Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) define this as human capital or the skills people bring with them. They indicate that great teachers are made, not born, and identify two aspects, social and decisional capital, that ground the preparation of great teachers. The first, social capital is the ability of people to collaborate and work as respected colleagues in a professional setting. Decisional capital is the ability of those professionals to make choices about their environment and personal improvement.

I will do two things: focus on giving people the opportunities to work together and make decisions while promoting a sense of professionalism and respect as I know these two things combined will elevate the human capital, or skills, of those around me. With a focus on operational, performance, and people management and the discussed strategies, I believe I can lead a school to perform significantly better than a school that does not address these concepts. I embrace and look forward to the challenge.

Sources: Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional capital: transforming teaching in every school. London: Routledge. Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: great leaders, teams, and why people follow. New York: Gallup Press. Frattura, E. M., & Capper, C. A. (2007). Leading for social justice: transforming schools for all learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. http://www.stanford.edu/~nbloom/ManagementReport.pdf