In my assignment I referred to pacesetters and affiliative leaders because in the last 12 years, with 3 Principal changes (not including the acting ones), I have experienced both - pacesetter, then affiliative, and now pacesetter again. Interestingly, both pacesetters are female (and others I have observed) - I'm not sure if there is a connection. Maybe, to make it in the Principal realm, you have to be seen to be doing a lot in your tenure, proving how skilled you are, how many innovations you have initiated, etc etc.
When working with an affiliative leader, the length of discussions and the decision making process was sometimes frustrating. Also, during some of this time, the school had "pockets of excellence" but lacked a common theme or direction, particularly during our school's major redevelopment. The thinking behind this was that there was enough going on for teachers without adding extra pressure. I agree but the lack of common directions was sometimes difficult and it is lucky that most of the teachers I work with are highly professional and self-motivated.
Now I'm back to the Pacesetter . . . It is amazing how quickly the pacesetting approach has negatively affected our school. Within one term, our communication structures were either abolished or no longer had any power, people felt undervalued, and staff morale dropped significantly. (I have never had a Principal who, on their first day, having just met the staff and without knowing the school, its culture, and the people, felt it necessary to tell staff that we had to be at school between 8 and 4! - mouths dropped open and you could have heard a pin drop!!)
The most difficult thing for me with a pacesetting leader is not so much about having to work closely with her (I can't just stay in my classroom and shut the door), it has been watching the affect it is having on students, parents, my friends and colleagues. The lack of trust, lack of opportunities to collaborate, lack of vision, lack of understanding for the people who are actually doing the work is incredibly frustrating because, despite pretending to listen when I, and others, raised and continue to raise these issues, nothing changes. The other thing I find absolutely amazing is the fact that this leadership style is based on everything an effective teacher knows is bad teaching!! All of this made the writing of my assignment sometimes challenging as I had to work through the emotions of anger, frustration and helplessness that sometimes arose. Let me just say that this style of leadership makes going to work really difficult some days and the fact I otherwise work with a fantastic group of people, makes it bearable. (which is a good thing because we have another 3 1/2 years to go!!!)
No comments:
Post a Comment