What are the most effective ways to prepare faculty members for leadership roles?

Know what you don't know! University professors get used to being the experts in their field, and can get caught off guard by the demands of management and leadership. This can include budget negotiations, hiring and firing staff, managing peers from around the university and in the broader educational space, and keeping your best people. When you recognize that you could use some help in things you're NOT the expert in, you step into the space of personal and professional development, with great results.

To act as an executive in educational management, the professional must, in addition to mastering the educational and learning process, he must know the principles of modern management. Having a successful career as a teacher does not guarantee you as an excellent educational manager.

O processo de prepara??o para fun??es de lideran?a inicia-se com uma avalia??o criteriosa dos próprios pontos fortes e lacunas como líder. Recorrer a ferramentas de autoavalia??o, como o StrengthsFinder, o Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ou o Inventário de Inteligência Emocional, é uma abordagem eficaz para identificar competências essenciais, tra?os de personalidade e habilidades emocionais. Além disso, buscar feedback de colegas, mentores ou supervisores através de métodos como o feedback de 360 graus. Essa avalia??o aprofundada possibilita uma compreens?o mais clara do próprio estilo de lideran?a, potencialidades e áreas de aprimoramento, estabelecendo uma base sólida para o desenvolvimento contínuo na jornada rumo a papéis de lideran?a.

Being willing & open to receive mentoring is a most powerful endeavour! A 100% win-win situation - you get the insight from a leader who is doing it and hopefully failing forward. They get the opportunity to talk about their leadership strengths and share some nuggets (who doesn't like taking about themselves). You also get the opportunity to 'try before you buy…' COACHING is on a totally different level. In fact, it's in a whole new stratosphere! If you are fully, truly & honestly open to ask for help and boost your performance than seeking out a coach who you can relate to, build with & most importantly who can hold you & keep you accountable. You've then got yourself some rocket boosters for your own personal & professional performance!

Ask others what they see as your strengths and areas to develop - some responses might surprise you! Be open and prepared to do the work on whatever comes up.

Don't forget that leadership coaching begins where training leaves off--with an individual approach, coaching helps you enhance your professional development in a way specific to your own areas for growth. Is giving feedback hard for you? Training can teach you the basics, and coaching can help you pick your own particular way of doing it, see what works, and build it into a practice. That's when the "gold" of professional development happens.

There are some potential pitfalls when it comes to professional development. Most people take a course/online tutorial, get a certificate and boom! Think that alone makes them ready to take on the new job. All the course has done is show your comprehension, NOT your competence. As a manager, I am not hiring based only on your certificates but on how you can apply the knowledge you have learnt. Learn less, study more. Pick an area on what you have learnt & make a special effort to practice that for a week. For even better results, get evidence that you can use the skill in different circumstances. That will show any manager you can learn and apply it effectively. Remember learn less and study more!

One thing that I have found helpful is for leaders to articulate how teachers can ascend within the organizational structure. This way, teachers can clearly see the professional benefits of taking on leadership opportunities. Furthermore, leaders need a leadership development program wherein teachers are professionally developed in several areas of leadership. For example, leading professional development, allowing colleagues to oberserve their instruction, or facilitating parent meetings. This will remove apprehension in taking on leadership opportunities due to the lack of preparation. When preparation and desire intersect, leadership begins.

Sometimes we forget that we can lead from anywhere--any position, any time. Whenever we exert influence and impact the behavior of others, we're leading. For some who are shy or reluctant to step forward, it can be helpful to be a "first follower"--the first to agree with a good idea, or chime in on suggestions of others. First followers have a lot of influence! People are much more likely to sign up once that first person has joined the parade.

I think this is very important. Faculties have the exposure with qualified students from their institution. They can lead the way by example with innovative projects and research schemes that might attract highly talented individuals. It will increase practical experience and give the faculties an opportunity to understand how theoretical knowledge can be used to solve real life problems.

I’d like to add the importance of seeing one self as a PROBLEM SOLVER. As I speak and empower 1000s of students in my Financial literacy and Careers workshops - you will be rewarded bountifully by any organisation if you can solve niche problems. So what headache is your head teacher/ principal currently struggling with that ???? can be the solution to?

Taking on leadership opportunities increases your visibility and helps others discover your knowledge, skills and passion. Here are a few things to consider… 1. Find something that you are interested in, e.g. student leadership, literacy, pastoral support 2. Seek to address gaps in an area at your school e.g. ask what your school could benefit more or less of and what a solution could be 3. Speak to leaders about how you could help, e.g. share your ideas with leaders in a solution-focused way, become part of the solution, not the problem 4. Be prepared to go above and beyond, e.g. giving time and energy to creating, developing or contributing 5. Get in front of school leadership, e.g. ask to present at an SLT meeting or staff briefing

One of the greatest leaders I've worked for embodied role modeling and leading by example. He wouldn't ask any member of the staff in the school to do anything in the school he wouldn't do himself. He sat in the difficult parent meeting and backed his staff publicly. As a leadership giant, John Maxwell often says "all leadership is influence." That school principal and former colleague 'walked the talk.'