MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN BECOMING A LEADER .

 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