Leadership through ACTION!

Leadership through ACTION!      Modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart, are some of the practices of exemplary leadership.  As stated in the Dana text, leaders will naturally engage in these practices day in and day out.  Although there are many insights that highlight my experience in this course, the one just mentioned has become my focal point when evaluating my skills and performance on tasks.  A new window has been opened in my mind and the possibilities are endless.  I have seen the importance of conducting action research as a form of overcoming some of the many obstacles that leaders in our community often face.       These practices… aren’t the private property of the people we studied or of a few select shining stars.  They’re available to anyone, in any organization or situation, who accepts the leadership challenge. (Kouzes & Posner, 2002, p.13) As I engaged in the lessons of this course I found solutions and steps to take in order to become an efficient leader.  My own action research on the Latino population in our school and the services offered aligned with their needs is turning out to be a huge stepping stone in the right direction.  Many are becoming involved in the change and are partaking in the challenge of making a difference in our community.      On one hand, our students are being served in a conscious learning centered environment.  While on the other, teachers are feeling connected to their students as we research ways of helping them improve their school performance.  It is a win-win situation all around.  The quality indicators back up the research in that is transferable and can be applied in other schools to help with their special populations.      Furthermore, this idea of conducting action research as an ongoing process can really make me a quality leader in my school as I aim to become an Administrator one day.  Using methods such as Delphi mentioned in the book Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action, will allow me to get others involved in the process and invest their wisdom to bring improvement to our school.   Everyone’s insight on a subject matter, for example the Latino community and how it can be improved, is responsibility of the entire school.  Cultivating a learning environment by taking into account the majority of our school population can be improved with the input of others.       To sum it all up, being a Leader in this day and age entails ACTION!  Not only is it good enough to know your school, you must be willing to accept the challenge of guiding and researching in order to make your environment the best it can be.