What does
it mean to you to be a leader? How does one become a leader? I've been contemplating these
questions for a few weeks now .
Defining the Role
My passion on the topic of leadership is around
what happens within a school. My work includes supporting my teachers to
develop them as leaders. Sometimes this happens within an instructional leadership team,
sometimes it happens less formally. Let us look at four attributes of
leadership: 1) Teachers who are
thinking outside of their classrooms, 2) Teachers who take risks within their
classroom, 3) Teachers who aren't afraid to say that they don't know something,
or who aren't afraid to share what they do know. 4) We look for those teachers
and we plan around how to develop their skills further so that they can lead
their colleagues in refining practice and collaborating more effectively.
Some
teachers know they want to move into leadership roles but many are comfortable
taking orders from Leaders. In my first three years as a Director I always felt
like I had no idea what I was doing, but around me were experienced teachers
who encouraged and nudged me into my so called leadership Role . I wasn't
confident earlier either, but they kept supporting me along the way . I now acknowledge that I had the strength to
Lead Little Angels School only due to their sustained support and
encouragement... and I'm so grateful to
those who helped me recognized that potential in me and supported me.
Accept the Calling
I know
that if I hadn't had those opportunities to lead, I would have left this
profession long ago... Maybe I'm just restless and enjoy new challenges every
few years, but I also recognize that as a Director of the School I craved the
intellectual stimulation of higher education, I never missed opportunities to constantly
learn, and I wanted to do something that would make a difference in education.
Impacting one class of kids each year didn't feel like enough.
It's been
the many opportunities I've had for leadership that have satisfied these
cravings and kept me working now for 21 years. In addition, I also started
writing articles, presented my research paper
on special education ..
Now I
work along with my Principal, Teams of teachers, and H’O.D’s and I love my
work. I really, really love my work. My daydreams about "what's next"
have still not subsided and it's a relief. I'm very satisfied and know that I'm
making a positive and substantial impact in education. When I look back and
trace how I got here, I see that I followed all the opportunities towards
leadership; there were very challenging moments, but also key people who
supported me and pushed me along.
Tina
Olyai
Director LAHS
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