Leadership Thru Relationships

As I “peruse” thru the class readings, the overarching theme of highly successful school leaders is weighted heavily on the side of relationships. I find it fascinating how such a simple, innate people skill is the focus of so many articles and is often referred to in our class discussions. I will discuss a few of the articles and how they emphasize the nature of relationships and so heavely influence the character and quality of schools and student achievement. (Barth, 2006)

Barth, in Educational Leadership, goes on to say that the relationship between teachers and administrators can either enrich or diminish their schools. Another school principal (Glover, 2007), talks about “the Power of Dialogue” to engage teachers in conversations that would affect their teaching and draw them out as leaders. He goes on to explain that a principal’s responsibility is to explore change with teachers and enlist administrators in supporting teacher initiatives. This, he believes, begins with listening.

Barth, 2006, builds a case of congenial and collegial relationships, which are requirements to strengthen our practice and improve our schools. He talks of teachers talking about practice and sharing craft knowledge. He gives examples of ways to encourage teachers observing one another and rooting for one another. He reminds us of the times when we stand afar as a beginning teacher is worked over by a tough classroom of kids and we do nothing. Relationship building is necessary to erase this scene.

(Barth, 2006)further states ways leaders could support a more collegial environment-----stating relationship expectations explicitly, model collegiality, reward those who behave as colleagues, and protect those who engage in collegial behaviors. This, Barth says, is when empowerment, recognition, satisfaction, and success come to evolve from a school.

A deeper component of relationship building is “trust”. Bryk & Schneider, 2003, refer to research that shows that trust among teachers, parents, and school leaders is a key resource for reform. They go on to show how improving culture, climate, and interpersonal relationships in schools has a major impact on successfully restructuring schools. Furthermore, they bring to light how all school participants remain dependent on others to achieve desired outcomes and feel empowered by their efforts. They argue that this is possible with relational trust---respect, personal regard, competence