Your Own Leadership Growth Plan

Introduction
For leaders to develop and take full responsibility for their professional growth and career plans, they need to receive accurate information that informs them about their competencies. This was the subject of the last unit.

In many cases, the feedback that leaders receive is limited to the performance appraisal process, which is conducted on an annual basis by a supervisor. However, it has long been acknowledged that feedback from one source does not necessarily constitute accurate feedback, nor is it necessarily a catalyst for change. Leaders need a complete and objective picture. They need a process that provides them with accurate information so that they understand the effect of their behaviours on others and the range of possibilities for change

Each leader or potential leader interacts on a daily basis with many colleagues at various levels of responsibility or students and stakeholders with a variety of expectations. Such interactions provide great opportunities for leaders to receive honest and specific feedback. Through reflection and analysis of comments from multiple sources, they gain a clearer picture of their competencies and levels of performance. This information can be of high value in guiding their professional growth.

In this unit we will look at the various sources of feedback available to you and use these and the competency model in the last unit to create a plan for your own development of leadership skills.

Individual study time: 3 hours

Learning outcomes
After working through this unit, you should be able to:

§ have a better understanding of the variety of methods of receiving feedback about your leadership competencies
§ recognise the sources available to you for feedback
§ create your own leadership growth plan
§ use examples of leadership growth plans to improve your own plan
§ understand the purpose of a leadership portfolio

Feedback Strategies
Below you will find a number of strategies that you can use to find out more about your performance:

1) Feedback questionnaires
The most common methods of obtaining feedback from multiple sources is through the administration of instruments specifically tailored to each job description and completed anonymously by several people with whom the leader interacts. The results are fed back to the leader. In the previous unit, we showed you an example of such a tool for the analysis of headteacher competencies. This could be adapted to meet the needs of different leadership levels. What is required is simplicity and flexibility within a process that has a specific focus on the competencies that leaders need or wish to develop.

2) Alternate feedback strategies
Alternatives to the use of formal instruments are required to develop an open and communicative culture. Responsive feedback strategies that provide confidential information and data for professional development must be available to everyone in both formal and informal leadership positions. Although the strategies may lack the objectivity and formality, they are, nevertheless, important in creating a climate of openness, communication and collaboration, in the interest of realising the mission of the organisation. You may wish to use some of the following:-

§ Sharing performance objectives and soliciting feedback from teachers, children, parents and other stakeholders
§ One-on-one conversations with stakeholders
§ Group meetings
§ Suggestion boxes
§ Formal, systematic completion of questionnaires
§ Listening to the views of others
§ Open door policies
§ School reviews
§ Departmental reports

3) Sources of feedback
Everyone around you is a potential source of information about your performance. This can be informal and formal.

Activity 7.1
1) List those persons who you feel would be able to give you honest feedback about your performance.
2) Devise some ways of finding out what you want to know without directly asking them about your own personal performance.

Comments
You will be able to get feedback from:

§ District Education Officers
§ Support staff
§ Teachers
§ Parents
§ Pupils
§ Colleagues in workshops
§ Professional development sessions
§ Performance reports

Except for your line manager, whose duty it is to provide you with an assessment of your performance, few others would be prepared to answer a direct question about how well you were doing. However, when couched in a different way, which referred more to projects, strategies and systems, you are likely to get an honest response. In other words if you asked “How do you think I am performing?” persons would be reluctant to answer but to ask “Do you think the new policy on homework is producing results?” people will tell you honestly what they feel.



1) Getting the information you need
You might like to use some of the following questions to illicit honest answers about your performance:

§ In what way does the school leadership assist you in achieving your goals?
§ What could management have done differently?
§ How would you approach this situation differently?
§ What additional leadership was required to…?
§ As a team leader, what could I have done differently to facilitate your work?
§ What progress do you think we made in creating a vision / mission statement?
§ What do you think we should start, stop or continue to do?
§ Are there other ways that I might have consulted, involved or informed others?

2) The benefits of multi-source feedback
Assessing, reflecting upon and responding to feedback from many sources can contribute significantly to strengthening leadership capabilities in the following ways:

§ Deepens self-understanding
§ Guides continuous improvement
§ Increases communication
§ Increases accountability and follow-through for individuals growth and development
§ Facilitates collaborative relationships with colleagues and teams
§ Creates workforces with high involvement
§ Helps to detect barriers to success

Your leadership growth plan
Schools are constantly developing institutions and change requires new learning. This needs to be intentional and focused and will be assisted by having a “Leadership Growth Plan”. This outlines where you are, the directions you intend to follow and, as a result, what you hope to achieve for yourself and your school. The purpose of the plan is to focus your thinking on improving your professional practice and identify strategies for achieving your objectives. Additionally, you will need to provide criteria for measuring your progress.

The preparation of a Leadership Growth Plan requires that you determine your goals, objectives, strategies and evaluate the outcomes of your professional growth.

Performance considerations
You will need to consider the implications for your work as a result of the following:

§ Strategic direction of the Ministry of Education
§ Your school vision and SIP
§ Performance expectations
§ Ministry of Education training policies
§ Existing realities

Learning considerations
You will have to focus on how you will accomplish the work through the development of competencies. The Competency Profile that you completed in the last unit is a useful framework to help you develop your plan. You should focus on the competencies that are:

§ Critical to your current job
§ Needed in the future
§ Required to address emerging school conditions
§ Identified as gaps between your current position and the profile you completed
§ Related to personal and career goals
§ Suggested by feedback from those you have consulted about your performance

Your AIM is the statement that identifies the general topic you have chosen for your area of focus. Based on your aim, you will select the competencies on which you intend to focus your leadership development. From the competencies you have identified, you develop your objectives.

OBJECTIVES are specific, measurable and observable statements that outline what you expect to accomplish in order to achieve your aim. An appropriate objective would be:

§ A meaningful statement that is easily understood
§ A precise statement of the focus of your professional growth
§ It will be supported by strategies that you will employ to achieve the objective
§ It will be described in terms of how you intend to change your behaviour or engage in new behaviour
§ The outcomes will be an articulation of the impact you expect on your professional growth

Reflect for a moment on what you think might be some of the priorities you would include in your Leadership Growth Plan based on the competency profile you completed in the last unit.

How to lay out the plan
It is important that you do not try to tackle too much at once. Remember that you have your job to do at the same time. This is why it is important to prioritise. The previous paragraph on Learning Considerations will help you with this. In the first instance, choose between two and five competencies that you would like to improve and are capable of doing.

You should write comments on each of the following competencies:

LEADERSHIP GROWTH PLAN

Time Frame

Competency

Objectives

Strategies

Expected Outcomes

Activity 7.2
Using the form above, select three to five competencies from the profile you completed in the last unit and fill in each of the four sections for each one. You will have one competency for each form and around two to three objectives, strategies and outcomes for each one. You will also decide on a realistic period of time in which to complete the work. It will be a good idea to discuss this with your line manager or DEO before working on this plan.

Comments
On completion of the plan, you will need to show the plan to your Master Trainer and include it in your portfolio. The purpose of the exercise is to learn how to design and write a plan. Whether you work on the strategies depends on your own circumstances at the present time. You may now wish to look at the following section which gives some examples of Growth Plans.

Examples of Leadership Growth Plans
You will find below two examples, each with one competency, of a LGP – one from a middle leader (HOD) and another from a member of a senior leadership team.

LEADERSHIP GROWTH PLAN – Curriculum Leader

Competency

Competency # 7 - Ability to set up systems for improvement

Objectives
§ Promote and facilitate an expanded use of learning strategies in the department
§ Develop staff use of these strategies

Strategies
§ Develop methodological links to curriculum activities
§ Create additional teaching and learning materials for staff use
§ Provide professional development opportunities for staff on performance-based assessment
§ Model classroom activities for staff

Expected Outcomes
§ Staff using new methodologies
§ Staff using new learning materials
§ Improved quality of teaching and learning in the subject area

Time Frame
September to December – Christmas Term

LEADERSHIP GROWTH PLAN – Senior Teacher
Competency
Competency # 2 - Ability to create teams and develop a teamwork approach

Objectives
§ Improve ability to create teams
§ Use teams to work on specific areas of the SIP

Strategies
§ Attend NCERD workshop on “Team-building”
§ Volunteer to plan and deliver a workshop in the school for potential leaders and new leaders
§ Appoint three leaders from those who attended the workshop
§ Develop three teams to work on three aspects of the SIP to report to the School Improvement Action Committee (SIAC)

Expected Outcomes
§ Improved team morale
§ Individual team members contribute more productively and work more collaboratively
§ Leadership is shared within the team
§ Teams produce more quality results despite constraints

Time Frame
April to July

Leadership Portfolios
Finally, we would like to introduce you to the concept of a leadership portfolio in which you store evidence of all of your activities relating to the assessment and development of your skills in this area. It would be used to document your progress and also as evidence when applying for promotion perhaps to a SLT post or as headteacher. In this instance, it would be shown to the interviewing panel of the Teaching Service Commission.

A portfolio is a deliberate collection of work, exhibits, artefacts and reflections which document experiences, efforts, progress, abilities to lead and achievements over a defined period of time. It is an authentic representation of the breadth, depth and growth of learning. This is a professional portfolio and is different from the one you are producing for this programme. It is a powerful tool and should be directly related to improving student achievement or personal performance. It emphasises accountability and the achievements of the past become catalysts for future success.

It is personal record of achievement and, in itself, encourages critical thinking, self directed learning and self-management. It helps individuals assess their competencies and prepare for promotion and more challenging positions. It focuses on progress over time rather than achievement at one point in time.

Consider for a moment whether you consider such a tool would be useful for your own personal growth and development.

You may consider including the following in your portfolio:

a. Background information
§ Curriculum Vitae or résumé
§ Current leadership role and future aspirations
§ Job description
§ Person specification
§ Educational philosophy
§ Vision of leadership
§ Vision in your current post

b. Leadership exhibits and reflections
§ Results of competency profile completed in Unit 6
§ Leadership Growth Plan completed in Unit 7
§ SIP or departmental improvement plan
§ Examples of successful leadership strategies
§ Reflections on the strategies
§ Other leadership experiences

c. Professional information
§ Recent and current professional activities
§ Performance data
§ Professional development attended
§ Professional development initiated
§ Letters of recommendation or reference
§ Professional qualifications
§ Appraisal reports

Summary
After working through the competency evaluation in Unit Six, it was essential that the information gained was used to inform further development of your leadership skills. To this end, you should now have a better understanding of the variety of methods of receiving feedback about your leadership competencies that are available to you and recognise the sources on hand for feedback about your performance.

We encouraged you to create your own leadership growth plan and use examples of leadership growth plans for middle and senior leaders to improve your own one. Finally, we encouraged the use of and described a leadership portfolio which would store your background and professional information as well as successful examples of your leadership activities and your reflections on them.