In our work as cross-district teacher leaders, we have explored leadership and its many dimensions. Leadership in education has morphed over the past sixty years from institutions with a principal as manager and social pillar (Newsome, 1949) to more recent expectations of distributed leadership roles that include teachers, principals, district administration, and even reaching into communities as partners for a shared vision of learning and leadership (Lambert, 2002).
Recognizing that the demands and trends in the industry of education continue to outgrow the resources provided, the benefits of teacher leadership outweigh the costs. We need to embrace and nurture the concept of a “leadership disposition” among teacher leaders that includes these key characteristics. As we support one another in this important work of our children’s learning, we should intentionally develop adaptivity, problem-solving, and self-directedness, all grounded in servant leadership.
I do hope you have enjoyed this series of posts and taken the time to reflect on these dispositions in your own work environments. I am especially grateful to my co-author, Jessica Cotter, for contributing to the research and writing of this series.
Lambert, L. (2002). A framework for shared leadership. Educational Leadership, May 2002, pp. 37-40
Newsome, N.W. and Michelson, P.P. (1949). The Role of the Principal in the Modern Elementary School. The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 50, No. 1, Sep. 1949, pp. 20-27; University of Chicago Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/998273