1. Educational Leadership Philosophy
Melanie Bergenhagen
Minnesota State University, Moorhead

2. In thinking about my own personal leadership philosophy, I have come to realize
there is a lot more to leadership than I had originally realized. Leadership is not only about
guiding others and building them up, it is about how you present yourself, communicate with
stakeholders, show/articulate your mission and vision, implement change, support others and
more.
One of the most important of these things I feel is having a mission and vision for your
school. I believe that a leader needs to know what their purpose and direction is and this is
shown through the mission and vision. If the administrator doesn’t know where he/she is going,
how can we expect them to get their staff there? A leader needs to be able to develop a vision
that, “meets the organizational goals as well as community goals, states your values, and are a
public/visible declaration of your expected outcomes, precise and practical.” It must also, “guide
the actions of all involved by reflecting the knowledge, philosophy, and actions of all.” (Smith,
2002) Leaders should be able to devise a research based plan of action with the input of all
stakeholders. They should also be able to successfully articulate their mission and vision and
their rationale/research for it to all stakeholders. When everyone is on the same page they can
collaboratively access and improve the culture and climate of the school to meet the needs of all
students and reach their goals.
A leader also needs to be a good communicator. On a daily basis an administrator
will need to communicate a variety of different things to different stakeholders. When
communicating to stakeholders administrators will need to be consistent in providing their
purpose and direction for the school and goals. Leaders need to be able to do this is a way that
helps the stakeholders understand the information being delivered, gain their support and listen
to their concerns/input. I believe that getting stakeholders feedback and being open and honest

3. will help everyone overall.
Leaders need to be able to develop a sense of community while maintaining structure
in the school. All schools have differing levels of authority among them, rules and policies,
systems, meetings, task forces/networks. In turn it is easy for schools to be “complex, surprising,
deceptive, and ambiguous.” (Bolman, & Deal, 2008). A good leader should be able to develop
culture and community in their school giving people a sense of structure, encouragement and
support, recognize successes, and give others the opportunity to build their own leadership.
People want to be able to do something that is meaningful to them and that they believe in.
By creating a community feel at school, staff members are more likely to buy into the schools
mission and vision and in turn put more time and energy into helping it be successful for student.
A great way for leaders to do this is by modeling shared leadership and decision-making
strategies and facilitating teamwork. This gives others the opportunity to express themselves
and their ideas and concerns. “When individuals find satisfaction and meaning in their work, the
organization profits from the effective use of their talent and energy.” (Bolman, & Deal, 2008)
Leaders need to be researcher and a decision maker. “Leaders are frequently facing issues
such as shrinking budgets, restructuring and accreditation issues. These issues often require
change, and change tends to have profound effects on all of the organization’s stakeholders.”
(Bradbury, Halbur, & Halbur, 2010) It is important for a leader to be able to “think and probe
more deeply into what is really going on, and to develop an accurate diagnosis” of many
different situations.” (Bolman, & Deal, 2008)A leader needs to be able to research best plans of
actions/strategies and to make informed decisions based on that research to decide what is best
for all stakeholders (students, staff, and community). They can easily do this when they are
able to reframe situations. “Reframing is a powerful tool for gaining clarity, regaining balance,

4. generating new options, and finding strategies that make a difference.” (Bolman, & Deal, 2008)
Some leaders get stuck because “when we don’t know what to do, we do more of what we
know.” (Bolman, & Deal, 2008) It is important for a leader to be able to move beyond this and
gain insight from others when they are uncertain or confused. “A good frame makes it easier
to know what you are up against and, ultimately, what you can do about it.” (Bolman, & Deal,
2008)
Leaders need to be able to successfully implement change and educational reform. There
are many times a leader needs to implement changes both big and small. A leader needs to be
able to gain data on why the current situation is not working from different frames. They need
to also have input from stakeholders to utilize the data in coming up with an action plan that will
work best in helping the school to meet its mission and vision. This is important because
“innovation inevitably generates four issues. First it affects individual’s ability to feel
effective, valued, and in control. Without support training, and a chance to participate
in the process, people become powerful anchors, embedded in the past, that block
forward motion. Second, change disrupts existing patterns of roles and relationships,
producing confusion and uncertainty. Structural patterns need to be revised and aligned
to support the new direction. Third, change creates conflict between winners and losers.
This conflict requires creation of arenas where the issues can be renegotiated and the
political map drawn. Finally change creates loss of meaning for recipients of the change.
Transition rituals, mourning the past and celebrating the future help people let go of old
attachments embrace new ways of doing things.” (Bolman, & Deal, 2008)
The leader then needs to be able to successful implement the plan of action keeping these
in mind and giving the support and help those rationale that do not buy into the change. In

5. interviewing my principal, Arturo Sanchez, he said “There are two reasons people do not
buy into the change, either they don’t understand the benefit, what they have been doing has
worked for them so why change it, or they are not properly prepared for the change, either in
understanding the change, personal skills or lack of support/training.” (A. Sanchez, personal
interview, July 27, 2011) I agree with this. Leaders need to be able to work through these two
hurdles with stakeholders to get the buy in that will help make the change be implemented easier.
Lastly, a leader needs to themselves and their ethics. A leader needs to be able to “know
what they truly believe about the rights of teachers, students, parents, and the community?” (A.
Sanchez, personal interview, July 27,2011) Then a leader knows what they stand for and why it
is easier for them to make consistent decisions that are best for the overall mission and vision of
the school. Trusting themselves and their beliefs about what the rights are of your stakeholders
will help keep transparency and understanding, which in turn will create more support when
needing to make difficult decisions.
Overall, an educational leader needs to be able to do what they feel is best for students
and their education. A leader needs to be able to advocate for those issues they know is best for
students even if it is difficult to implement. We need to keep the students and their education at
the forefront of decisions, since they are reason we chose this role in the first place.
References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. (2008). Reframing organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Bradbury, B.L., Halbur, K.V., & Halbur, D. (2010). Authority and leadership via a multiple
frames approach . Society for the Philosophical Study of Education.
Smith, J.A,. (2002). Educational leaderhip toolkit. Retrieved from

6. http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/