My path to becoming an educational leader.

Image: (Ganesh, 2022)

I read the article by Töremen, F.: A Study of Facilitative Leadership Behavior and Its Role in the Success of Schools, and found it really thought-provoking. I would not say that my idea of leadership was entirely different, but it was definitely very limited.

For me, it all started in June 2022, when, upon returning from an annual leave, I suddenly realized I was promoted to the department’s head position. I had a fusion of feelings—frustration, excitement, fear... Yes, I could finally join the ranks of educational leaders I had always admired, but I also had to perform tasks for which I probably had no experience.

I was given an assistant, and so I sailed our boat.

I had to lead my department of 15 teachers, 2 office staff, and 24 units. Since it is a new university, the workload is also huge and sometimes hard to manage. I had a month to write a curriculum for the 4 years of study and develop syllabi for all the units taught. I am the type of person who likes to be led, but at this point I had to step out of my comfort zone and change.

If in the past, my preferred mode of communication was telegram, I now had to call people to get the problem resolved because messaging back and forth did not always work.

If the previous me was too shy to ask someone for help and would rather complete all the tasks independently, the new me learned how to delegate, set deadlines, and follow up.

I am more confident in what I do now; I no longer panic when I have a large amount of paperwork to complete within a short period of time, or when I have to explain to the teacher that the way they are used to doing things does not work here, and we work to different standards.

Those sweaty palms and shaky voices during first meetings and presentations are long gone.

Later, once things started settling down, I started contemplating how to become a better leader. 

I did not want a mere leader's position; I wanted to be someone inspiring and approachable. I did not want to discontinue my teaching, although there was no extra time for it, because I believe that when you are teaching, you are immersed in the process, you hear the student feedback, you see arising issues, and sometimes you are even able to prevent them. I wanted to see the ins and outs of the academic part of the faculty and attend to, and when possible, anticipate, the needs of the students and team of teachers. I am now trying to function outside the institution as well, engaging with experts and attending conferences.

Now the aim is to become a facilitative leader.

Facilitating means helping others set goals and work towards their achievement; the word itself means "making easy" (Töremen, 2004). I can relate to this, as I consider myself an empath and try to understand what others feel as much as I can.

The role of a facilitative leader goes far beyond being a leader; it impacts positive changes at educational institutions by making effective use of collaboration and teamwork and empowering people (Hallinger & Heck, 1996, p. 9).

As Berry (1993) states, a facilitative leader is not only well aware of the theoretical foundation of rules, policies, and methodologies; they are also skilled at managing time, project management, and planning and are excellent communicators and problem solvers. The list of personal attributes is much longer: "ability to learn; friendliness; tact; sensitivity; sincerity; genuineness; sense of humor; self-awareness; modesty; emotional stability; humanity; integrity."

A facilitatory leader is a driving force behind all the educational processes happening in a particular area, motivating and coordinating teaching staff and making their duties simple and efficient (Rallis & Gohdring, 2002, p. 17).

Töremen (2004) concludes that the facilitative leader plays an indispensable role in leading the team towards common goals. They do this by cooperating, coordinating, and continuously motivating.

 

Reference list

Berry, M. (1993). Changing Perspectives on Facilitation Skills Development. Journal of European Industrial Training, 17(3). doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/03090599310026355.

Hallinger, P. and Heck, R.H. (1996). Reassessing the Principal’s Role in School Effectiveness: A Review of Empirical Research, 1980-1995. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32(1), pp.5–44. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161x96032001002.

Rallis, S.F. and Goldring, E.B. (2000). Principals of Dynamic Schools. Corwin Press.

Töremen, F. (2004). A Study of Facilitative Leadership Behavior and Its Role in the Success of Schools. International Journal of Educational Reform, 13(3), pp.295–306. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/105678790401300308.

Image:

Ganesh, K. (2022). Employee engagement. Culture Monkey. Available at: https://www.culturemonkey.io/employee-engagement/employee-empowerment-and-autonomy-survey-questions/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2023].