Advanced Women in Leadership

National Excellence in School Leadership Institute Monash University CONTINUED

Advanced Women in Leadership

As an experienced and passionate educator and senior leader in the School, I understand the power of school culture and identity, and the value of commitment to education, community, and service leadership. Central to success in my associated goals is the power of continuous learning.

I was very keen to explore the NESLI ALP in order to keep growing, and establish goals for the next stage of my professional journey. With targeted learning as one of my top tier values, I continue to seek and embrace opportunities to further my areas of knowledge, understanding, and influence.

The course is designed to provide opportunities for leaders to be able to clarify values, build confidence in practice, and apply strategic thinking to leading change in the workplace. The program includes opportunities for the development of learning goals and an action plan, with planning, reflection, and connection as priorities. With a focus in driving future direction, the course is structured around:

1. Achieving Performance Goals 2. Building Organisational Culture 3. Enhancing Personal Effectiveness I believe that a career in education can contribute to the wellbeing of generations. There is a purposeful component and a directional sense of altruism inherent. Passion and strengths are intertwined. It is my understanding that pursuing purpose lies in goal development and reflective behaviours, as well as opportunities for spontaneity and creativity.

Authentic leaders lead with their hearts as well as their heads. The ability to develop enduring relationships is an essential mark of an authentic leader. For me, positive relationships are the vehicles by which we can get alongside our governors, colleagues, our students and our parents.

With respect and responsibility as key values here, there is a meeting place and opportunities for the hard conversations also. I believe that being self-disciplined relates to adjusting boundaries to suit, but not submitting totally to outside pressures. With the goal of leading a flourishing community, self-discipline and adaptive leadership is imperative.

The design of the course includes interactive webinars, learning materials, discussion boards, and coaching sessions. It is built around 5 modules, with the theory and practice of adaptive leadership challenges throughout each module. Module 1: Mindful and Authentic Leadership

Module 2: Conflict and Feedback, Including Peer Coaching

Module 3: Mastering Influence and Negotiation

Module 4: Leading Innovation and Change

Module 5: Creating a Path – Strategies, Structure, and Inspiration

I will continue with the course into 2021, sharing learning aspects with the team along the way.

“The NESLI Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) is a concentrated development experience specifically designed to enable elite female school leaders to realise the full heights of their leadership aspirations.”

Belinda Baxter Deputy Head (Students and Community) The King’s School Preparatory School