Leadership : At the Edge of Possibility

The American Community Schools of Athens Stefanos Gialamas, Ph.D. Head of the Schools

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

What is Leadership  What is Academic leadership 

Leadership

Leadership is the act of influencing others to accomplish an objective

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Academic Leadership

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Academic Leadership is the act of influencing all constituencies of an academic institution to provide the best educational experience to students S. Gialamas in print Š 2006

Leadership as a partnership with bounded flexibility

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Leadership as a Partnership with Bounded Flexibility is based on the following principles: a. Authority and decision making is distributed among the leader and the members of the team not necessarily equally b. The distribution is clearly defined including the type, magnitude and the areas of the decision authority that is given to the team members c. The leader must support, promote and encourage team members to use their decision making authority d. Periodically the leader and the team members reflect on the partnership and adjust, modify and upgrade the authority of the team members The optimum goal for a leader is to have the prepare the team members to make all decisions and he/she to provide them with the vision S. Gialamas Ph.D. 2005

The Trefoil Model

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

3-way interrelated Dynamic Model of Leadership

The Trefoil Model of Leadership manifests that there is a dynamic, 3-way influence, between the Leader, the External Environment, and the Academic Institution

Trefoil Dynamic Model of Leadership

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility



 



Leader

 

Environment

Benevolent outlook Visionary within adversity High Tolerance for frustration Lead in an increasingly ambiguous environment  Academic

Institution

External Environment



Demographics 

Social, and Cultural Conditions

Political,

and Economic Realities

Competition Technological Advancement Government rules

and Regulations

Current trends in education Globalization

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Academic Institution

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Students Faculty Functional area leaders Support personnel Parents The governing body Alumni  Facilities

and Technology Infrastructure

Policies History,

tradition and common practices

Financial Condition

Institution Challenges

        

Enrollment Management Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Student Success Student Services Faculty Recruiting, training and development Functional Areas Academic Leaders Facilities and Technology Resources Financial Stability and Growth

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.

---Thucydides, Greek historian--

Leader   

    

Vision Principles and Values Adhering the principles and values Expertise Knowledge Respect for the Environment Respect for the Institution Respect for the humanity

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Vision

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Exciting – Unique – Clear

    

 





State clearly the vision Communicate vision to all constituencies Develop comprehensive planning to materialize the vision Identify and select the members of the leadership team Engage the leadership team to define specific strategies including a time table to accomplish the vision Define measurable outcomes Establish implementation teams and assign members of the leadership team to lead components of the implementation team Empower all members of the institution at the appropriate level to be active members in the implementation team Assess the success of the implementation of the plan

The Leader and the Vision 

The leader in order to lead, has to first “dream”, establish the vision, know where he/she wants to go



The leader after establishing the vision, needs to be continuously scanning the environment and the followers, to sense, understand and decide which strategies will be more effective in moving the organization in the right direction, towards the vision

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Personal Leadership Identity    

Define and adopt your leadership philosophy Clarify and state your principles and values Lead by your own example Adopt a communication philosophy with all constituencies based on your personal traits

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Principles & Values

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

We define principles and values as the underlying priorities that guide your actions – sometimes intuitively desirable

Values  Achievement  Caring  Creativity  Firmness  Growth  Innovation  Productivity  etc

Principles  Integrity  Accountability  Compassion  Generosity  Justice  Humility  Wisdom  etc

The Leadership Praxis 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Understand, Study and Respect the environment – You are working on providing leadership Develop a Vision for the institution in line with the mission of the institution Establish a leadership team by utilizing existing human resources and recruiting new personnel Communicate the vision and work with the leadership team to develop a comprehensive plan Establish implementation strategies and an implementation team Communicate continuously the vision, plan and implementation strategies to all constituencies.

Celebrate accomplishments and give generously credit to members of the institution Regularly you assess, reflect and modify the implementation plan Evaluate the success of accomplishing the vision

Further Reading   













  

 

   



Leadership: At the Edge of Possibility

Adair, John (2003), The Inspirational Leader. UK: Cogan Page Ltd. Bick, Julie( 1999), The Microsoft Edge: Insider Strategies For Building Success. New York: Pocket Books.

Boyer, Ernest L. (1990), Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professorate. New York: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Cherif, A., Gialamas, S., Ofari-Omoah, B. (2000), Can human factor be taught? The Journal of Human Factor Studies, 5 (1&2):89114.

Gialamas, Stefanos (2001), New Academic Leaders Development Program (NALOP). Oakbrook, Illinois: DeVry University Publication.

Gialamas S., Cherif A., Hilentzaris S., (2003). Creating an environment for minimizing conflict between faculty and the department chairperson. The Department Chair, 13(3): 21-23.

Gialamas S., Cherif M. D. Demetriades E. and Hilentzaris S. (2003): Preparing new department chairpersons in the area of faculty leadership, Academic Leadership, Vol 10.3, 27-31.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. and McKee, A. (2002). Primal Leadership: Realizing the power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.

Katzenbach, John and Smith, Douglas (1993), The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the Higher-Performance Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1993.

Kouzes J.M. and Posner, B.Z. (2002). The Leadership Challenge (3rd edition) San Francisco: Wiley Learning, D.R. (1998). Academic Leadership: A practical guide to chairing the department. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.

Lennick D., Kiel F. (2005) Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance & Leadeship Success. Pearson Education Publishing, NJ Lucas A.F. (2000). Leading academic change: Essential roles for department chairs. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers Maxwell, John C. (1995), Developing The Leaders Around You: How to Help Others Reach Their Full Potential. Nashville: Tennessee. Thomas Nelson.

Moore, R (1996). Traits of effective administrators. The American Biology Teacher, 57 (8):502 Noel, M.T. (1993), The Leadership Engine. Boston: Harper Business Publishing.

Salacuse J.W. (2006). Leading Leaders: How to manage Smart, Talented, Rich and Powerful People. Amacom NY Seagren, A.T., Creswell, J.W., & Wheeler, D.W. (1993). The department chair: New roles, responsibilities and challenges.

Washington D.C, The George Washington University.

Senge, P. et al (1999) The dance of change, New York: Doubleday