Reflection on today's guest speaker

Today in class our guest speaker was the superintendant of the Lethbridge school district. After reflecting on his strengths as a leader, I was reminded of Michael Fullan’s list of leadership styles from our readings. Barry provided evidence as to how he met criteria for three of those styles. These styles are ones that Fullan identifies as having “a significant positive impact on climate and performances.”

Barry reiterated the importance of building relationships in a leadership role. Good leaders use communication (Carey?) to build relationships. This is evident in many of our course readings. Trust is a key characteristic of effective leadership; trust is a cornerstone of relationships; relationships are built upon communication. Therefore communication is an important characteristic of leadership. Barry has been honest with those he works with (he called it being open and up front with people) and this has earned him their trust. Because they trust him, they are willing to take the risks of making changes. He uses an affiliative leadership style; he is a people person with strong soft skills.

Barry noted that the most important part of the administrator’s job is “to hire good people and get out of their way”; a great leader can recognize when others do not need to be led. Barry is cognizant of his strengths (being a visionary) and weaknesses (not being creative). This honesty with and about himself add to his appeal; it makes him a people person. This type of person makes a good leader because people are not only willing to follow him, they want to follow him. This is where he demonstrates authoritative leadership skills.

IDENTIFY THE NEED! This is the main goal for finding a central direction for his district. By meeting with administrators and holding town hall meetings, he has helped all stakeholders identify the most pressing needs in the district. (Note that there again communication is a vehicle to change.) In his district’s case it is to have dependable technology within each school in an equitable manner. If the input into goal setting for the district comes from the stakeholders (and a few members-at-large) and they see those goals as obtainable, then those goals are far more likely to be met. Through this process Barry uses a democratic leadership style.

If we want to be effective leaders, Barry advises us to:

• learn from others; watch what they do in their situations and implement and adapt what we have seen into solutions for our circumstances.
• be able to develop a vision and therefore a plan.
• build relationships by making connections with colleagues through communication.
  

As the course progresses, I am sure that we will meet other strong leaders that will help us develop our own effective leadership styles. I hope they are all as informative as Barry!