Qualities of Highly Effective School Leaders

Qualities of Highly Effective School Leaders

Dispositions of Effective Leaders

Conclusion

• Four dimensions of leadership: understanding self and others, understanding the complexity of organizational life, building bridges through relationship, and engaging in leadership best practices (Green, 2013, p. 60-61).
• "Understanding self and others:" effective leaders understand their own values, and how their values and beliefs influence their behavior toward others.

Studies and research show that effective leaders exhibit behaviors that reflect similar dispositions and competencies, while still maintaining their unique styles and qualities as individuals.

Dispositions Found in the Descriptions of Effective Leaders

(Green, 2013, p. 12)

Dispositions: "values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors toward students, families, colleagues, and communities” (Helm, 2010).

Highly Effective Leaders

Influence of Core Competencies on Job Satisfaction

Qualities of Effective Leaders

• Correlation: Leader behaviors that reflect the core competencies have a positive influence on teachers.
• Motivational and hygiene factors influence job satisfaction. Leaders who meet these factors present behaviors that align with the core competencies.
• School leaders play a large role in the job satisfaction of teachers, thus showing the importance of leaders who act in a way that fulfills the 13 core competencies.

Leaders who possess personal incentives of accomplishment and affiliation are more likely to engage in behaviors that reflect key dispositions and competencies such as management, visionary leadership, instructional leadership, collaboration, and professionalism. These behaviors are those of more effective leaders.

Highly effective school leaders are those which posses the qualities to motivate and influence the greatest teachers within the highest achieving schools around the nation. These school leaders cannot necessarily be classified using an exclusive list of qualities and styles because effective leaders possess unique personalities and different mannerisms; yet, research has proven that in many scenarios effective school leaders tend to possess similar qualities and behaviors that aid them in being successful.

"Administrative support was found to be the most significant predictor of teachers' job satisfaction" (Crane & Green, 2013, p. 38).

References

Thirteen Core Competencies

These 13 competencies address behaviors that a school leader should exemplify in order to be successful and promote student achievement.

Crane, D., & Green, R.L. (2013). Exploring leader behavior informed by the thirteen core competencies and their influence on teacher job satisfaction. National Forum of Applied Educational Research Journal, 26 (1,2), 33-54.

Green, R.L. (2013). A response to the call for effective leadership in today’s schools: three essentials – preparation, competency, and dispositions. National Forum of Applied Educational Research Journal, 26 (1,2), 3-16.

Green, R. L. (2013). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to implementing the ISLLC standards. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Helm, C.M. (2010). Leadership dispositions: what are they and are they essential to good leadership. Academic Leadership, 8 (1). Retrieved from AcademicLeadership.org.

Maehr, M.L., Midgley, C., & Smith, J.B. (1992). Relationship between personal and contextual characteristics and principals’ administrative behaviors. Journal of Educational Research, 86 (2), 111-118.

• Visionary leadership
• Unity of purpose
• Learning community
• Instructional leadership
• Curriculum and instruction
• Professional Development
• Organizational Management
• Assessment
• Reflection
• Collaboration
• Diversity
• Inquiry
• Professionalism