1.2 Shared leadership  (Page 2/2)

There are five requirements for the partnership model to work. The first requirement is balance of power(Moxley, 2002). Forthis model to be a partnership one person cannot have power and the others don't. They must be equal partners. Creating this balance of power is probably one of the hardest aspects in shared leadership. It is important for principals to empower all members of the group and it is equally important for teachers to work together to empower each other.

The second requirement is there must be a shared purpose or goal. Each member, with their own divergentopinions, must understand the ultimate goal of the group. Individuals use different tactics but share a sense of purpose(Moxley, 2002). This model is very powerful when everyone is working toward the same goal. So much can be accomplished whenteachers are working together rather than working on their own agenda.

The third requirement is to share responsibility for the work of the group. Partnerships workwhenever all the participants share responsibility and accountability for the work of the partnership (Moxley, 2002). Eachperson in the partnership must take an active role and be accountable for completing their individual contribution.Empowering teachers to work towards a common goal makes them aware of their responsibilities and the important role each one of themplays in reaching that goal. Teachers inherently are hard workers and will strive to do their part to reach the common goal.

The fourth requirement is respect for the person. Each person in the group brings with them skills and ideasthat are valuable. The partnership must recognize and embrace the differences in the group. Respect for personhood is the sine quanon of partnerships (Moxley, 2002). With this level of respect, many things can be accomplished using shared leadership. One canbuild a strong, cohesive unit that can work well together to accomplish a goal.

The fifth and last requirement is partnering in the nitty-gritty, which means working together in complex,real-world situations. If these five requirements are met, something new begins to happen where a relationship becomes more ofa partnership. There is more vitality and spirit is experienced, elegantly weaving individuals and their relationships (Moxley,2002). With all of the complex problems in education today, working collaboratively is working smarter, not harder.

The best way to understand how a partnership is different from individual leadership is to look at how it works in three different settings: a one-to-one relationship, a team, and an organization. Partnership in one-to one relationships wouldinvolve the boss engaging in face-to-face dialogue to find out about an individual's gifts, skills, and energies to see where they can best be used to meet the organization's needs. Instead of the bossdeciding alone, the two would agree on what works for both the boss and the employee. Instead, they share power and find arelationship-centered solution, a solution from outside of eitherperson that comes from the interaction between them (Moxley, 2002). Partnership in teams is effective when leadership happens as a teamof people working to accomplish a shared goal. Directive leadership by a single individual is less important than that the team knowshow to function together as a close-knit unit. The partnership model also works in organizations where leadership is understood ascollaboration. For example, Southwest Airlines, changed to a new practice of leadership by giving employees the opportunity toparticipate in the activity of leadership. People who work in an organization where top-down control is not used have an opportunityto voluntarily commit to their work. In turn the organization gets commitment rather than compliance.

The future of shared leadership

Today the relationship between teacher and principal is under scrutiny. The top-down model is ineffective and too unprofessional. Problems are frequently too big and too numerous for one person to address alone. Schools need to recognize and develop leadership among many different kinds of people to replace the top-down model. School leadership can come from principals who empower teachers to become leaders and from teachers who collectively take responsibility for the well-being of the school (Barth, 1990). Just as we have high expectations that allchildren can learn, principals must have high expectations that all teachers can lead. If teachers and principals are to effectivelylead together, then there must be a substantial change made in the ways we think and feel about our personal and shared leadershipresponsibilities in the school. Most importantly a school isn't going anywhere that all of us together, teachers, staff, students, and administrators, don't want it to go (Pellicer, 1999). Teachers have to work collaboratively. We cannot have teachers working on their own agenda. If we do not empower teachers to become leadersthen we are missing out on a great opportunity to improve our schools, our students, and our community.

References

Barth, Roland S. (1990). Improving Schools from Within.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Elmore, R. (2000). Building a New Structure for School Leadership. Washington.

DC: The Albert Shanker Institute [On-line].Available at: www.Shankerinstitute.org/Downloads/building.pdf

Lambert, Linda. (2002). A Framework for Shared Leadership. Educational Leadership,59(8), 37-40.

Moxley, Russ S. (2000). Leadership and Spirit. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pellicer, Leonard O. (1999). Caring Enough to Lead. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.