Chapter Overview
Each chapter begins with guiding questions. We hope that you will take a moment to reflect on these questions before delving into the content. What do you already know about the topic? What messages have you heard? What thoughts do the questions bring to mind? Think of these guiding questions as a way to frame the ideas in each chapter. For example, consider the following questions to guide your thinking about these introductory pages.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
• Why focus on women in leadership?
• How might you benefit from leadership programs designed specifically for women?
• How do perceptions of power and position affect women as they contemplate becoming school leaders?
In chapters 1 and 2, we will explore what we know about women in leadership and what keeps them from becoming leaders with power to. These chapters provide context for the heart of our why—the research, statistics, and moral imperatives that point to why we need more women in educational leadership. In the chapters that follow, perhaps you’ll find inspiration for stepping into leadership. And, you might find the answers you need when others ask, “Can’t we set gender aside and just seek the best leaders?”
Chapter 3 guides you in finding time to undertake this important leadership journey, and in chapter 4, you’ll realize why the leadership journey could have value for you. In chapters 5–8, you will examine your strengths, skills, and beliefs, identifying how to use them to become the leader you wish to be. Chapters 9–11 provide grounding in communicating as a female leader, having hard conversations, proactively seeking out opportunities for inspiration and support, and helping other women develop these crucial ways of leading. Finally, in chapter 12, you’ll pull it all together in a plan for continuing this journey. The end of every chapter offers a Step in for Further Reflection section. You may use these activities to reflect on the ideas, strategies, and concepts presented in each chapter.
This isn’t a book on instructional leadership skills, although working with the practical tools in chapters 3–10 may improve your capacity to foster teachers’ professional growth. It also isn’t a book on improving visioning or strategizing or using data to inform decisions—although you may gain new understandings of your strengths and challenges and what to do about them regarding these leadership responsibilities. Instead, these pages are about your own development into the wisest leader you can be, embracing the unique contributions that the feminine brings to personal leadership development and to education as a whole.
How to Get the Most From These Pages
As kindred spirits and passionate educators from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Melbourne, Australia, we formed our partnership for this book after sharing the stage as keynote speakers at a Women in Education Leadership conference in Australia. We trust that our collaboration has produced a practical guide to engaging, encouraging, and supporting women on their leadership journey.
This journey includes the following.
• Finding your why—your motivation for the long haul of educational leadership
• Equipping yourself to navigate the gender-specific barriers women still face and ones that women, more than men, create for themselves
• Understanding your most effective leadership style and where you might need to adjust or develop key leadership skills (such as helping a team productively use emotions or finding your voice so you can speak up effectively when necessary)
Preparing as a leader involves an ongoing, organic process—a journey—not a one-time course or credential program. We hope this book will not just help you get started but also serve as a resource in the years ahead. Before you read on, we have a few suggestions for making the most of this book.
• Commit to a twelve-week journey: While we would find it flattering if you stayed up late reading our book, we envision readers setting aside some time each week for twelve weeks to read a chapter and respond to the chapter’s various questions and exercises.
• Find a partner, or two or three, for the journey: Consider inviting other women who already aspire to leadership as well as those who haven’t determined if it’s the right path for them. Meet virtually or in person every week or two to discuss your responses to the questions and activities at the end of each chapter.
• Keep a journal so you can revisit your thoughts: In chapter 12 (page 203), we ask that you use your reflections to identify a few ideas for your next steps. A journal of written responses will come in handy. Don’t underestimate the cognitive, creative, and emotional benefits of writing by hand—literally, the power of the pen. If you are pressed for time, use the audio memo app on your phone to record your responses.
As you begin, ponder: What does power mean to you? How does your definition help or hinder your leadership aspirations? Know that at every step in preparing these pages, we’ve strived to ensure that you will like who you become as you exercise that power.
CHAPTER
1
ENGAGING WOMEN IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
GUIDING QUESTIONS
• Does the gender of a leader make a difference in how he or she leads? If so, does the gender difference matter? Why or why not?
• Can you think of ways that gender has influenced your approach to leadership?
Teaching is arguably one of the world’s most important professions, as it influences students’ future. High-quality leadership comes second only to teaching in improving student learning (Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Anderson, 2010). After all, you’d have a hard time finding a single school where student achievement improved in the absence of talented leadership. Australia and the United States, like many countries, face the major challenge of identifying, attracting, and developing the next generation of school leaders. While yes, these countries have the separate issue of encouraging more men to embrace the teaching profession, they need to ensure that women embrace leadership as a desirable future.
Take a moment to envision school leadership. Draw a picture or diagram if you wish. Who appears in the picture? What are they doing? How might you describe your visualization? What might you categorize as more masculine or feminine? Does the picture depict effective school leadership regardless of gender? Does gender matter to the picture?
What messages do you receive subtly and not so subtly? Do the images depict equity in school leadership? Let’s turn to one of society’s go-to information sources—Google—to see how people view school leadership.
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