11/11/2010. Former Superintendent at Honeoye Falls-Lima School District in Upstate New York for 14 years.

Transcription

1 Former Superintendent at Honeoye Falls-Lima School District in Upstate New York for 14 years. Presently Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Graduate Educational Leadership Department, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY Website: Superintendent 14 years Assistant Superintendent 5 years Pi Principal i 9 years Teacher 11 years Parent 1

2 Journal of Women in Educational Leadership January 2007 Twenty Years of Women s Leadership By Dr. Sara Boatman Women in the Superintendency: Discarded Leadership By Joyce Dana and Diana Bourisaw (2006) and other readings 2

3 A Woman s Nation Changes Everything By Maria Shriver 2009 Let the Conversation Begin Becoming ATHENA: Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership by Martha Mertz World Press,

4 Forbes 2010 Top 20 Most Powerful Women in the U.S. Tradition and old paradigms unwillingness of some boards to consider women for leadership Gender bias lack of support for women administrators Positions of power held by the old boys Local cultural beliefs and the reluctance to change traditional hiring patterns Some males who do not want a woman as a supervisor Balancing family responsibilities Physical characteristics of women possible pregnancy or female health issues Concern about being led by a woman Attitudes toward hiring women Board s attitudes and perceptions about women CEO s Different expectations held for females than males 4

5 Realize that females cannot be all things to all people establish clear understanding about shared responsibilities with family Achieve balance in one s life and daily activities time for exercise, adequate rest, social activities and hobbies must be built in Delegate different assignments share the workload, others can better understand responsibilities, and mentor aspiring leaders Course content in pre-service programs should address issues of social justice, fairness and equity. Higher education must focus on decision makers and power brokers to bring about gender equity changes. Networks need to be developed further to help women address challenges. Women need to continue to take risks and accept assignments previously relegated to men. Boards need to be made aware of leadership Boards need to be made aware of leadership differences between women and men and support staffing arrangements to enable strengths to be shown. 5

6 My Research Agenda Resilience 6

7 Reflects a pattern of how individuals view their current reality and how they assess probability of influencing the future. Warren Bennis American Psychologist Journal January 2007 pg. 5 I believe adaptive capacity or resilience is the single most important quality in a leader, or in anyone else for that matter, who hopes to lead a healthy, meaningful life. A resilient leader demonstrates the ability to recover, learn from, and grow stronger when confronted by adversity within the organizational context. 7

8 Resilience is a long-term, not a short-term, construct. A person s resilience reflects an overall orientation or approach to how one responds to adversity. Leadership resilience refers to one s resilience within the particular context of one s leadership role. The term resilient leader is not synonymous with the term effective leader. A resilient leader is not necessarily a highly effective leader and a leader may be effective under so-called normal conditions, but not be highly resilient under adverse conditions. High normal conditions adversity strikes growth (Level II resilience) nce Level stability (Level I resilience) Resilie survival level dysfunctional level Low Time 8

9 The major goals of this project were to: Develop a valid, reliable instrument to measure key indicators of educational leaders resilience. Develop professional development experiences to support leaders in strengthening their leadership resilience. First valid, reliable instrument that measures the resilience strengths of leaders. Take the Survey and Get Your Individualized Profile Th b dd h i The web address to access the instrument online: 9

10 Women leaders had significantly higher mean score on following indicators: Efficacy Support Base Adaptability Spiritual Well-Being Courageous Decision Making Men leaders had significantly higher mean score on following indicator: Perseverance 10

11 Women felt more strongly about importance of specific, concrete strategies to strengthen leader resilience. Authors Dr. Diane Reed Dr. Jerry Patterson Dr. George Goens Published: Rowman and Littlefield Education, Lanham, MD Book provides leaders with concrete, how to strategies for strengthening their leadership skills in the face of adversity. Addresses specific needs and skills required to help leaders be successful in tough times. Includes first-hand accounts of how leaders apply the concepts in real world work. 11

12 Thinking Skills Understanding reality Optimism about the future Capacity Skills Values Efficacy Support Well-being Action Skills Courage Responsibility Perseverance Adaptability 12

13 Reflective Questions for Resilience Thinking Skills How can I: Effectively deal with the very real presence of ambiguity and complexity inherent in organizational life? Accept the reality that adversity is both inevitable and generally unexpected? Work positively within the unavoidable constraints imposed by the reality of the adverse circumstances? Find ways to make a positive influence in making good things happen in a bad situation? Reflective Questions for Resilience Thinking Skills Cont d How can I: Focus my energy on the opportunities, not the obstacles, found in the midst of adversity? Shift my thinking from if only to how can I thinking when faced with tough times? Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills How Can I: Extend my leadership ability to privately clarify and publicly articulate my core values in the face of a storm? Consistently align my leadership actions with what matters most to me among competing values? Regularly gather feedback about the alignment to make sure I am walking my talk when the going gets rough? 13

14 Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills Cont d How Can I: Compensate for any relative weaknesses I have in an area by turning to others who have strength in this area? Maintain a genuinely confident presence as leader when adversity strikes? Build on my experiences with adversity to gain greater resilience capacity when adversity happens again? Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills Cont d How Can I: Better understand my emotions during adversity and how those emotions affect my leadership performance? Find healthy ways to channel my physical energy as a stress reliever? Apply personal introspection and a sense of spirituality to steady myself during adversity? Reflective Questions for Resilience Capacity Building Skills Cont d How Can I: Protect the necessary time and space to replenish my capacity to lead an emotionally, physically, and spiritually rich life? Build the resources of a strong support base to help me through the tough times. Recognize and then act on the need to seek constructive advice when adversity strikes? Nurture and sustain trusting relationships with those who can be supportive in difficult situations. 14

15 Reflective Questions for Resilience Action Skills How Can I: Adjust my expectations about the future based on what I have learned about present adversity? Nimbly change my strategies as conditions change? Put leadership mistakes in perspective and move beyond them? Reflective Questions for Resilience Action Skills Cont d How Can I: Find the strength to relentlessly refuse to give up, unless it s absolutely clear that all realistic strategies have been exhausted? Stay focused on what matters most among competing demands and distractions until success is attained? Build on what I learned from having overcome adversity so I will become even more persevering the next time it happens? Reflective Questions for Resilience Action Skills Cont d How Can I: Take appropriate action under stress, even when some things about the situation are ambiguous or confusing? Make principled decisions when faced with tremendous pressure by outside forces? Know when to take needed leadership actions on unexpected threats before they escalate out of control? 15

16 Reflective Questions for Resilience Action Skills Cont d How Can I: Understand and accept that my leadership decisions have a long-term impact on the organizational culture as well as on me? Better accept responsibility (in instances where I contributed to the adversity) for making personal adjustments to correct the mistakes made this time? Take personal responsibility for making tough decisions that may negatively affect some individuals or groups? Women Leading Education Across the Continents: Sharing the Spirit, Fanning the Flame Book edited by Helen Sobehart Executive Book edited by Helen Sobehart, Executive Director, ASSET Inc., Past President Cardinal Stritch University, Former School Superintendent and AASA Dr. Effie Jones Award winner. 16

17 Worldwide common gender audit database Survey and interviews Quantitative i and qualitative i data on women leadership K-12 and higher education Social Justice To improve the under-representation of women around dthe world ldin educational leadership positions Create a synergy to support female educational leaders worldwide Women Leading Education Across Continents 17

18 Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. 18

19 Oh Thank Goodness It s Not Just Me! Woman to Woman Heart to Heart By Lisa Hammond & BJ Gallagher