Educational Leadership: The Skill LuAnn Wilkerson, Ed.D. UCLA School of Medicine

Leadership the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations

Assume that everyone who works for you is a volunteer... What conditions would need to exist for your staff to want to enlist in your “volunteer” organization? What would you need to do if you wanted people to perform at high levels? What would you need to do if you wanted them to remain loyal to your organization? pg. 31 Kouze and Posner

Objectives Reflect on lessons learned from our experiences as leaders Describe the characteristics of exemplary leadership Identify opportunities for developing leadership skills

Our “personal best” when leading others... Who was involved? Who initiated it? What motivated you to get involved? How did you get others involved? What values guided your actions? How did you celebrate success? What did you learn about leadership from this experience?

Kouzes JM and Posner BZ. The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. The Truth About Leadership

Exemplary Leadership Challenges the process Inspires a shared vision Enables others to act Models the way Encourages the heart

Challenging the process Search out challenging opportunities to change, innovate, and improve Experiment, take risks, and learn from mistakes Strengthen resilience

Inspiring a shared vision Imagine exciting future opportunities and believe that together you can make them happen. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to their best interests, hopes and dreams.

Enabling others to act Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust Strengthen others –by giving power away –providing choice –developing competence –assigning critical tasks –offering visible support

Modeling the way Set the example by behaving in ways that are consistent with espoused values Achieve small wins that promote consistent progress and build commitment to shared goals kaizan

Encouraging the heart Recognize individual contributions to the success of every project Celebrate team accomplishments regularly

Learning to Lead Trial and error Observation Education and training

Trial and error Welcome challenge. Test yourself against new and difficult tasks. Broaden your experience: –rotate jobs –volunteer for leadership roles –ask for a new assignment –seek out tough assignments Reflect on the experience.

Observation of others Find a mentor or help one find you. Seek feedback from immediate supervisors. Develop effective peer networks. Interview, study, or read about leaders you admire.

Education and training Make a list of your learning needs. Continue to invest in knowledge capital. –specialize –maintain a generalist perspective Develop time and skills for reflection. Lead outside of the workplace.

Opportunities for educational leadership are everywhere curriculum committees special projects departmental discussions of education faculty development new faculty mentoring admissions administration teaching clerkship chairs & program directors educational task forces & committees