Distributive Leadership being used for capacity building...

Distributive leadership is definitely used for capacity building at my school. The way our school is designed, this could actually be by default, but nevertheless, responsibility is distributed. This type of leadership theory is based on the sharing of leadership between two or more individuals.  At my school, there is a staff of eight teachers, one administrator, two counselors, and a teacher/principal’s assistant.  In order for things to run smoothly, duties and responsibilities must be distributed amongst the staff.  Each teacher has designated responsibilities, but most of the time, it is on a need basis.  Our sole responsibility is to teach and manage our classes.  We are in class the majority of the day so the counselors, principal, and assistant handle the bulk of the distributed responsibilities such as lunch, tutorial, extracurricular, etc.  Our system is understood by us, but may be a little difficult for others to understand.

As a teacher, my main concern is doing what I am assigned to do and reporting to the appropriate sources to ensure that I do what is asked and expected of me.  Capacity building is being worked on through distributive leadership, as there are many groups and committees that work on various tasks and school improvement plans.  

My leadership style & how it can be used at my school...

The leadership theory that I relate most closely to is transformational leadership. Transformational leaders are strategist, achievers, facilitators, and engagers. A good leader should be able to strategize and get the lesson across in a variety of methods. Their delivery must be structured and strategically planned for the most effective outcome. The methods must also include strategic and critical thinking. They must be able to promote achievement amongst those who are willing to learn. They must be able to engage their audience into understanding and promoting their vision. The promotion of the vision comes from the great delivery that transactional leaders possess.


Transformational leadership also includes a ton of facilitation and engagement. Being a collaborative builder, a behavioral role model, and so much more is definitely a part of this leadership theory. In order for this type of leadership to be effective, the leader has to keep the audience engaged by being a supporter, a coach, as well as a networker. This style of leadership could benefit my school in numerous ways. It models to students to be leaders by strategizing, striving to achieve success, learning to facilitate their own learning, and keep themselves as well as others engaged in the learning process. Transformational leadership is very powerful and a much needed leadership style in my school.

Power Dynamic at my school and how it can influence change...

The power dynamic at my school’s site is a lot different from the traditional school’s power dynamic.  I teach at an Early College and we do things a lot differently because we’re on a college campus.  Our school administrator is primarily in charge.  We do not have an assistant principal and we only have eight teachers on the staff.  The teachers have adapted to governing themselves.  We have one teacher’s assistant who helps out with any task necessary and two diligently working counselors who think they are the assistants to the principal and boss the rest of us around.  We love them dearly.   

This information can be used to influence change at my school because it produces more teacher leaders.  Because there is only a head principal and second in command are the teachers and counselors, it causes people to use their strengths to help keep all of the pieces of the puzzle together. 

This information could also influence change by causing more duties to be delegated to keep students from seeing the leadership gaps in authoritative figures.  The teachers must remain supportive and united with the principal in order for change to be effective and the power dynamic to be successful.

Week Two: Strength-based Leadership

Strength-based leadership can support a community of practice by allowing each individual to do what they are best at.  Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory expresses this thought.  If each individual is working in an area that they are knowledgeable in, it helps the presentation of the overall team.  This also allows those who are weaker in a particular area to watch the scaffolding of their teammate or partner.  Strength-based leadership is extremely important because if every person in that learning community has a different strength, everyone gets to shine when it is time to work in their specialty area.

In this type of learning community, everyone is teaching and learning at the same time.  A multitude of scaffolding is taking place as well as training.  It is vital to leadership because as educators, we should always be willing to create templates for our weaker colleagues to help strengthen themselves.