6. Communicationa. Formulate and carry out plans for internal and external communications
b. Demonstrate facilitation skills c. Recognize and apply understanding of group and individual behavior in normal and stressful situations d. Facilitate teamwork e. Demonstrate an understanding of conflict resolution and problem solving skills f. Make presentations that are clear and easy to understand g. Respond, review, and summarize information for groups h. Communicate appropriately, speak, listen and write for different audiences i. Understand and utilize appropriate communication technology |
The art of communication is essential for effective leadership. A leader must have the skills to share information and ideas clearly and creatively in order to ignite passion and collaboration in his or her team. Furthermore, leadership in the 21st Century requires technology literacy and application skills for proficient communication. While leadership requires talent in execution of communication, an even more important element is a dedication to listening and an unending desire to understand the communication of others.
During the year I spent in Singapore, the company I worked for, LogicMills, capitalized on my presentation skills by having me conduct numerous trainings with their staff as well as teachers in schools where they consulted. My largest presentation was a two-session training with more than 100 Singaporean teachers. The presentation was on student engagement strategies, but feedback on the exit slips from the first session showed that they really wanted more student management information. So, for the second session, I modified the agenda to include more of that information. In this presentation, I included a few videos to help teachers see the strategies in action (Artifact 1).
In my current position as Q Comp Coordinator, I have a multitude of responsibilities each requiring specific communication skills. One on-going responsibility is conducting presentations and trainings for groups of teachers, administrators, and the School Board. I begin each year by providing three days of training for new staff, observation coaches, and professional learning community (PLC) leaders and I end each year with a presentation to the School Board summarizing the Q Comp annual report.
Throughout the school year, I facilitate a number of meetings with various staff members. I lead monthly meetings with PLC and observation coaches, teaching them processes for documentation for their group, checking in on their documentation related to Q Comp requirements and finding solutions to their concerns and challenges with their groups. I also lead three half day and one full day Q Comp Core Committee meetings per year with the group that oversees the Q Comp Plan at the district level. These meetings include reviewing feedback and outcomes related to Q Comp processes, writing proposed Plan changes and making decisions on problems and challenges based on the Q Comp Plan (Artifact 2).
Last year we had a challenging decision to make in the spring. It was a challenge from a teacher who had not submitted his baseline data for his individual goal in the fall as requested by his PLC leader and me (the Q Comp coordinator). After I had clarifying meetings with the teacher and his PLC leader, I put together a fact document for the Core Committee, and scheduled a meeting to rule on the issue. The Committee decided that due to not having a starting value to compare to for his growth, we could not issue performance pay. After the committee’s decision, I had to write an email to the teacher sharing the unfortunate news and continue that dialog to completion (Artifact 3).
School leadership requires shared vision, strong relationships, teacher empowerment, and organizational management, none of which can be accomplished without communication. Individual output of communication is essential as a leader, but also important is the expectation and organization of the communication structure within the school system. Community facing communication must be flawless, frequent, and consistent from all school staff. An important part of the principal’s job, beyond managing personal communication, is planning and controlling school-wide communication.
During the year I spent in Singapore, the company I worked for, LogicMills, capitalized on my presentation skills by having me conduct numerous trainings with their staff as well as teachers in schools where they consulted. My largest presentation was a two-session training with more than 100 Singaporean teachers. The presentation was on student engagement strategies, but feedback on the exit slips from the first session showed that they really wanted more student management information. So, for the second session, I modified the agenda to include more of that information. In this presentation, I included a few videos to help teachers see the strategies in action (Artifact 1).
In my current position as Q Comp Coordinator, I have a multitude of responsibilities each requiring specific communication skills. One on-going responsibility is conducting presentations and trainings for groups of teachers, administrators, and the School Board. I begin each year by providing three days of training for new staff, observation coaches, and professional learning community (PLC) leaders and I end each year with a presentation to the School Board summarizing the Q Comp annual report.
Throughout the school year, I facilitate a number of meetings with various staff members. I lead monthly meetings with PLC and observation coaches, teaching them processes for documentation for their group, checking in on their documentation related to Q Comp requirements and finding solutions to their concerns and challenges with their groups. I also lead three half day and one full day Q Comp Core Committee meetings per year with the group that oversees the Q Comp Plan at the district level. These meetings include reviewing feedback and outcomes related to Q Comp processes, writing proposed Plan changes and making decisions on problems and challenges based on the Q Comp Plan (Artifact 2).
Last year we had a challenging decision to make in the spring. It was a challenge from a teacher who had not submitted his baseline data for his individual goal in the fall as requested by his PLC leader and me (the Q Comp coordinator). After I had clarifying meetings with the teacher and his PLC leader, I put together a fact document for the Core Committee, and scheduled a meeting to rule on the issue. The Committee decided that due to not having a starting value to compare to for his growth, we could not issue performance pay. After the committee’s decision, I had to write an email to the teacher sharing the unfortunate news and continue that dialog to completion (Artifact 3).
School leadership requires shared vision, strong relationships, teacher empowerment, and organizational management, none of which can be accomplished without communication. Individual output of communication is essential as a leader, but also important is the expectation and organization of the communication structure within the school system. Community facing communication must be flawless, frequent, and consistent from all school staff. An important part of the principal’s job, beyond managing personal communication, is planning and controlling school-wide communication.