The Moral Imperative of School Leadership Presented by John Swanson Systems Change Conference 2006

Outcome An awareness of some of the main ideas found within The Moral Imperative of School Leadership by Michael Fullan.

Some definitions … Moral: founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom Imperative: something that demands attention or action; an unavoidable obligation or requirement; necessity.

From Roland Barth … Fullan confronts us with a most provocative paradox: on the one hand he acknowledges that school leaders are overloaded and overwhelmed by the demands of their schools; on the other, he argues persuasively that for schools to flourish in our society principals must extend their energies and take their moral purpose BEYOND the schoolhouse to the larger district, and to the profession at large. By doing so Fullan dramatically extends the boundary and redefines what it means to be a community of learners and leaders.

From John Goodlad What do you see to be the central purpose of your school?

On moral purpose … Being a competent manager, engaging in good public relations, and even getting higher test scores do not constitute moral purpose. What I am saying is that the driver should be moral purpose and that all other capacities (e.g., knowledge of the change process, building professional learning communities) should be in the service of moral purpose.

On the moral imperative … The first lesson of the moral imperative is – Don’t forget the why question. Don’t get lost in the how-to questions. The more we look for specificity at the how-to level, the more our self-reliance weakens and the more that intrinsically-driven moral reform recedes.

On the leader’s job … The leader’s job is to help change context – to introduce new elements into the situation that are bound to influence behavior for the better.

On changing the context … The key to change is new experiences. The role of the leader is to work through a process that does the following: Helps people see new possibilities and new situations. Seeing something new hits the emotions. Emotionally charged ideas change behavior or reinforce changed behavior.

On reforming schools … As the strategy unfolds, leaders must pay close attention to whether they are generating passion, purpose, and energy – intrinsic motivation – on the part of principals and teachers. Failure to gain on this problem is a sure-fire indicator that the strategy will fail sooner rather than later.

On self-imposed barriers to school leadership … Sarason suggests that the tendency for principals to anticipate trouble from the system is one of the most frequent and major obstacles to trying new procedures.

On system-imposed barriers to school leadership … If you are in the education business long enough, you can get hit by the same pendulum more than once.

On the evolution of the teaching profession … Uninformed professional judgment (knowledge-poor/professional judgment) Uninformed prescription (knowledge-poor/external prescription) Informed prescription (knowledge-rich/external prescription) Informed professional judgment (knowledge-rich/professional judgment)

On the principal’s job description … Wanted: A miracle worker who can do more with less, endure chronic second-guessing, tolerate low levels of support, process large volumes of paper, and work double shifts at least 75 times per year. He or she will have carte blanche to innovate, but cannot spend much money, replace any personnel, or upset any constituency.

On teamwork … Leadership is a team sport.

On the anxiety within the moral imperative … Every day you must decide whether to put your contribution out there, or keep it to yourself to avoid upsetting anyone, and get through another day. You are right to be cautious. Prudence is a virtue. You disturb people when you take unpopular initiatives in your community, put provocative new ideas on the table in your organization, question the gap between colleagues’ values and behavior, or ask friends and relatives to face up to tough realities. Exercising leadership can get you into a lot of trouble.

On risk … Leadership is worth the risk because the goals extend beyond material gain or personal advancement. By making the lives of people around you better, leadership provides meaning in life. It creates purpose. These days, doing nothing as a leader is a great risk, so you might as well take risks worth taking.

On leadership legacy … Changing the context means that what you leave behind at the end of your tenure is not so much bottom-line results, but rather leaders, at many levels, who can carry on and perhaps do even better than you did.

Outcome An awareness of some of the main ideas found within The Moral Imperative of School Leadership by Michael Fullan.

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