Sarah Sharkey

9/28/2014
S2C
Explain these leadership styles and how they affect the school environment and the
use/advantage of one or the other?
A principal plays many roles in the school community. Often, stakeholders in the
school community pull the principal in many directions at once. There are two types of
roles a principal may play a Principal as a Manager and a Principal as a Leader.
Different moments require the principal to take on different roles. Many day-to-day tasks
require some management techniques. More often than not, a principal will utilize a
variety of leadership roles to help move the school forward toward a shared vision.
Principal as a Manager
A Principal as a Manager runs a school with the idea of positive public perception
as a top priority. Decisions are made to keep peace between the community, families,
teachers, staff, and students. The principal implements new and innovative ideas help
students succeed. Under the leadership of a principal as a manager, the school will run
and students can be successful. For example, the principal may feel, not all children can
achieve at high levels, so we must support them at the level at which they can succeed
(Kelly 142). A continuum on management focuses on the importance a manager may
place on tasks, relationships, collaboration, accountability, employee perception, and
delegation (Clark Slide 6).
Principal as a Leader
The literature about leadership frequently distinguishes between managers as
leaders by stating that a manager does things right and a leader does the right thing
(Mndez-Morse). Although there is a time and place to utilize the Principal as a Manager
style, the Principal as a Leader will make great change within a school. The principal as a
leader runs a school with student achievement as a top priority. Decisions are made to
address the vision of the school, which is created to ensure all students are learning at the
highest levels. The principal implements evidence-based innovative practice that

addresses the schools vision gaps. Barriers are removed and organizational structures
rebuilt to allow all students the opportunity to learn at the highest levels.
Leaders flow between various styles of leadership in order to adapt to any given
situation. It is impossible to successfully run an organization while stagnating in one
leadership style. The leadership style utilized depends on the situation. Thus, it is referred
to as Situational Leadership (Clark Slide 5). These nine Leadership styles refer to
various actions and decisions that can be made about the school. For example, at my
school a teacher approached the principal and asked if she could lead a team of teachers
in remodeling the teachers lounge to make it more welcoming and suitable for work
throughout the day, not only for lunch. In this instance, our principal took a Servant
approach to leadership as she supported the teacher with time and financial resources.
Our principal takes on a different style as the district roles out the Peer Coaching
model. Our school Peer Coaches have come together to form a team that meets regularly
to plan professional learning, problem solve, and discuss future endeavors Peer Coaches
can support. The principal in this case takes a Distributive approach as she takes part in
the team, but her specific role centers around communication with the district and
providing resources to those that need it.
To determine which leadership style should be utilized, the principal needs to find
a balance between participating in the field of action and taking a balcony view
(Heifetz). While the field allows the principal to participate in the day-to-day activities of
the school, taking a view of the school from the balcony allows the principal to see the
forest through the trees and make decisions as an objective observer (Heifetz). This in
turn allows for reflection, especially for adaptive challenges (Heifetz). Objective
observers are better able to utilize a decision-making framework. Principals are better
able to frame and address problems of practice as expert educational leaders and lead
into a moral purpose for the school (Kelley 138).
A moral purpose helps to shape leadership behavior and provides an inner sense
of purpose and direction that motivates and sustains the principal and helps to motivate
and shape the attitudes and behaviors of teachers, staff, parents, and community
members (Kelly 138). Having a moral purpose helps principals become expert problem
solvers who have a broad range of goals, explicit principles and values, the belief

constraints can be overcome in problems, the ability to review and consult information to
solve a problem, and the mindset to stay calm in the problem solving process (Kelley
139-140).
Principals who successfully put learning first use a Socio-Cognitive approach to
leadership. He or she engages educators, parents, stakeholders, and community members
in the school through a balance of a sense of urgency with a message of hope and
renewal (Kelly 144). Problems are shared both internally and externally, along with a
vision, to establish meaning and identity among community members (Kelly 117).
Once onboard, the school holds an open systems concept in which the community
remains fluid dependent on current events and demands (Kelly 140). Embracing that
community creates a collective leadership. Collective leadershiphas a stronger
influence on student learning than any individual source of leadership (Best 4).
Collective leadership is second in influencing student learning, thus demonstrating the
importance of a collaborative community approach to learning (Best 4).
Alan Harris, principal at East High School in the Midwest, learned the value of
utilizing the Balcony view of leadership and creating a Collective Leadership effort. He
reflected on various areas of the school, including community support, achievement of
students, the already positively embraced socioeconomic and diverse group of students,
as well as stress from multiple changes in leadership and data gaps. He used the strengths
of the school to create a shared vision that he presented to stakeholders. One specific
group caused him to reflect on his goals for the school. As he did, he found a more
thorough way of presenting his vision, one that included taking time to formulate
relationships, slowing down to listen to concerns, and communicate regularly in
transparent ways, such as a bimonthly newspaper contribution and newsletter (Kelley
p118-120). These actions helped the school continue forward on a learning first route to
high achievement.
While community engagement is a strong indicator for success, there are other
areas a principal must provide attention to while in a leadership role. Principals must
Advance Equity with data as the driving force, Utilize Resources creatively and
appropriately, and maintain Teacher Capacity to raise student success. Despite what
instinct may tell us, educational leaders advance equity by, Accelerating learning for

students who struggle and students who are not challenged (Kelly 64). This is a great
example of how leaders face data head on, create a vision where ALL students achieve
high levels of learning, share it with the school community to create a sense of urgency
with the message of hope and renewal. Continuing with this vision, a principal must
change thinking about resources as a fixed part of the school to a variable (Kelly 104).
Learning first leaders, consider what resources they can add to the mix and what
resources can be used more wisely to advance student learning goals (Kelly 104). This
includes financial, human and physical resources. Finally, Teacher Capacity is the
primary factor in student success, so principals must define strong teaching practice,
measure the practice, and continue to develop teachers to meet the vision (Kelly 85-86).
This is key, since, Students in strong teachers classrooms make significantly high gains
in learning, and these efforts are cumulative (Kelly 86).
In conclusion, a principal cannot ignore the Management aspect of promoting
school success. However, the Leadership style should be the primary factor in driving
student achievement. As a leader, it is key to take a balcony view in order to make
strong decisions. Remaining flexible in leadership styles allows for greater community
leadership, which results in higher student achievement. While I see some leadership
styles in my personality more than others, I understand there is a time and place for all of
them. I will be more conscious of my leadership approach in future endeavors.

Best Principals Espouse Collective Leadership, Research Finds. (2010,

September 1). NewsLeader, 4-5.
Clark, D. (1997, May 11). The Art and Science of Leadership. Retrieved
September 28, 2014.
Heifetz, R. (1997). The Work of Leadership. Harvard Business Review.
Kelley, C., & Shaw, J. (2009). Learning first!: A school leader's guide to closing
achievement gaps. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin.
Mndez-Morse, S. (1991). The Principal's Role in the Instructional Process:
Implications for At-Risk Students. Issues ...about Change, 1(3).