Principal Liz Melson (left) consults with a student at Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas.

In this article, several principals from SEDL’s five-state region offer their perspectives on what it takes to encourage shared leadership within a school community. Kathy Anderson (Tom Elementary/Tom ISD — Haworth, Oklahoma); Liz Melson (Jefferson High School — San Antonio, Texas); Jackie Morgan (Lee Elementary — El Paso, Texas); and Barbara Trousdale (Ysleta Middle School — El Paso, Texas) each offer practical insights based on their experiences in building shared leadership as part of their efforts to implement reform.

magine a school where teachers, staff, administrators, parents, students, and community members all work together to make the school a better place. Teachers mentor each other, freely comparing and sharing instructional ideas. The principal listens to the concerns of everyone affected by an issue and works with them to develop a thoughtful solution. Parents actively support and seek to educate themselves about the school’s reform program. Students act as community ambassadors, accompanying the principal to meetings to show off newly acquired technology skills to various community groups.

Although this "imaginary" school may sound idyllic, each of these examples was taken from the day-to-day experiences of the five principals interviewed for this article. Because each situation is unique, shared leadership will look different in different school communities. But these principals have found ways to tap into the leadership capacity of teachers, parents, students, and community members and have reaped the rewards.

Shared leadership is where much of the true work of building a school’s vision happens. In the process of becoming what Thomas Sergiovanni (1984) refers to as a "community of leaders," teachers, administrators, parents, students, and others become collectively responsible for envisioning and implementing school reform. Liz Melson, a principal at Jefferson High School in San Antonio, recognizes both the value and challenge involved in sharing leadership: "It is the key to building the capacity of the group to implement change. But it takes a lot of effort and work to be successful at true collaboration." Below are some guidelines and suggestions for initiating and developing a "community of leaders" within your school.

The principal typically takes a particularly strong leadership role when initiating shared leadership within a school. Although implementing shared leadership takes effort and planning, spending time discussing how to accomplish this goal may not make much sense to busy teachers. Frequently, it is more effective to let teachers see the value of sharing leadership firsthand by identifying an issue or a problem and using a collaborative approach to solve it. As the group becomes comfortable with the logistics of sharing leadership, the principal often moves out of the supervisory role and into the role of colleague, while still facilitating dialogue, supporting the group, synthesizing information, and continually focusing the group on the school’s vision.

As principal of Tom Elementary in Oklahoma, Kathy Anderson comments, "I really do think that a principal’s role changes depending on the number of people you’re dealing with, the experience and background of the teachers, and the setting in which you’re talking with them. Our school is very small, so quite often I do talk with teachers as their colleague. But if you have teachers without much experience in a certain area, a lot of the times, you’ll act more as their supervisor."

A staff that has the capacity and willingness to share leadership is crucial in the process of implementing school reform. "My single most important role is as a developer of human potential. I look for strengths in individuals and build upon them. In the process, new leaders constantly emerge," says Trousdale of her staff at Ysleta Middle School in El Paso. There are several things a principal can do within the parameters of the current school situation to increase leadership capacity among staff members.

• Work with the district to ensure that hiring policies and interviews emphasize leadership skills when hiring new staff. This approach can include simulations of problem-solving activities, review of personal experience in leadership roles, and a clear statement of job expectations.
  
  
• Work to assess the leadership capacity of the present staff by using surveys, such as Linda Lambert’s (1998) "Leadership Capacity Staff Survey." While it is important to encourage everyone to assume leadership roles at some point, there needs to be flexibility for staff to place a higher priority on their other commitments, if necessary.
  
  
• Build capacity among your current staff by providing professional development focused on leadership skills and encouraging networking within and beyond the school. "Our district faced a real lack of staff development at first, and we’ve written grants with money set aside specifically to make sure they [teachers] have the training they need," says Kathy Anderson, discussing how the funding Tom Elementary receives is allocated. Trousdale also sees training for incoming teachers, students, and parents as a way to provide a strong basis for developing leadership capacity in those new to the school community.

"Teachers in need of assistance and teachers new to the campus receive a great deal of attention through scheduled formal and informal conferences in which goals and objectives are developed together."

	Students in Fabens, Texas, are active participants in the school district’s Collaborative Action Team (CAT). The CAT process is one that helps build leadership capacity in the district, drawing parents, students, teachers, and community members into the decisionmaking process.

Shared leadership should also extend beyond the school walls. Parents, students, and community members provide important perspectives, particularly in discussing major school initiatives. They can also offer unique and valuable technical assistance, expanding the resources and pool of knowledge available to the school. Relationships within this diverse "community of leaders" must be nurtured through respectful dialogue and shared responsibility. Jackie Morgan, the principal of Lee Elementary in El Paso, Texas, invites business and community representatives and parents to participate in making decisions as part of the Campus Improvement Team and tracks the needs of students’ families using surveys. Trousdale sees the parents of the students as particularly significant to the success of her school. "We have an active, involved group of parents who work and train along with staff members. We believe that our parents are the experts, for who knows more about their children than they do?" Both communication and information play important roles in building trust and nurturing relationships among all the stakeholders of a reform program.

Information is a source of power. With access to high-quality information about topics related to school reform, teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community members can make decisions based on knowledge instead of emotion. Valuable information can be obtained by studying research materials, searching the Internet, visiting other schools with similar challenges, attending trainings and conferences, and networking. At Ysleta Middle School, Trousdale builds the knowledge base of parents as well as that of the staff by sending representatives of both to professional development sessions and conferences.

Another type of information that can be very powerful is a principal’s understanding of the internal workings of a school. Anderson discusses the importance of keeping a finger on the pulse of the school’s climate: "Since we are such a small school, I can work on a much more personal level with my teachers. It’s crucial for me to know what’s going on with the students and the teachers." In larger schools, principals may need to enlist the help of their staff in maintaining that personal connection. Taking "the pulse" of a school involves continuously looking at: the interpersonal dynamics of the staff, the history of the school and of the people in the surrounding community, the fundamental beliefs and assumptions of those at the school, the student achievement data, and other demographics. An understanding of each of these areas is important in making decisions related to a school’s reform effort.

Systems, skills, and strategies for effective communication are perhaps the most important part of building leadership capacity within a school. Lambert (1998) believes that inquiry, reflection, skillful dialogue, and problem-solving actions are all vital aspects of the communication process. Communication can take place in a variety of settings: faculty and community meetings, smaller group meetings, and one-on-one conversations. Melson encourages communication with her staff. "Openly discussing ideas and recognizing disagreements allows us to get the issues on the table and not waste time." Often, in the initial stages of building leadership capacity, people who are unused to taking the lead may continue to look to the principal for permission, criticism, praise, guidance, and/or information. A principal can use several communication techniques to encourage shared leadership (adapted from Lambert, p. 25):

• Throw questions back at the teachers, such as "What do you think?" or "Can you help me flesh out this idea?"
• Use silence to let other opinions surface.
• Offer ranges of possibilities, avoiding simplistic answers.
• Restate the vision frequently to ensure its impact on decisions.
• Phrase concerns as questions — avoid pointing a finger of blame.
• Admit you’re wrong with grace, candor, and humility.

Building shared leadership is, like school reform itself, a time-intensive process. All of these principals have enjoyed watching their teachers build leadership capacity. As Barbara Trousdale puts it, "My reward is watching others apply these new-found skills with confidence and success, and in the process, my own work load is lessened."

Brunner, C.C. (1999, June). The problem with power. Leadership News, 9. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.

Lambert, L. (1998). Building leadership capacity in schools. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

SEDL interviews with principals Kathy Anderson, Liz Melson, Jackie Morgan, and Barbara Trousdale, August 2000.

Sergiovanni, T.J. (1996). Leadership for the schoolhouse. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.