The Magical Mythical International School

Boom, Boom, Boom. The loud music vibrated the floor as I walked into the large auditorium filled with people. There were so many unfamiliar faces that it was slightly uncomfortable. As I was guided to a seat, almost herded like cattle, I began to observe the different people I saw in the room. To my left, I saw multiple people singing nearly as loud as the music playing. On my right was a more distinguished group, many hunched over typing on MacBooks as if unfazed by the situation. As I looked behind me, I saw a group of people talking about the people dancing and, finally, the local staff, who seemed surprised by the entire situation. Finally, the music stopped, and a tall, slender man walked onto the stage. Everyone sat down, and he introduced himself as the new principal. As everyone clapped, one thought came to mind. I hope he knows what he is getting into in his new position.

As a leader, multiple things must be considered, implemented, and navigated through. The article Leading collective capacity in culturally diverse schools discusses five areas that leaders must consider as they operate in the ability. The five areas mentioned are positioning, structuring, expectations, expressions, and profiling. All of the mentioned areas have their strengths and weaknesses.

From the positioning perspective, a leader should be able to look at the dynamics in a school to address the issues that are taking place. If the positioning of a leader is done correctly, they can give feedback and expect action to take place from what has been shared. In addition, the leader will have the pull to accomplish their objectives with staff support. While there are positives to good positioning, there can also be negatives associated with wrong positioning. An example is when a leader assumes they are being followed and are not supported by their team. This example is similar to the “seeing the water” reference presented in the article (Walker & Riordan, 2010). The leader could be doing something that worked well at their last school but does not align with the culture or expectations of those at the current school.

Structuring is another area that must be considered. When referring to structure, the authors are not talking about the building but who does what and how they work together. When the structure is correctly established, everyone knows what they are responsible for and how to accomplish the task. On the other hand, when the structure is managed poorly, you can have a situation where a person is trying to place western culture in an eastern environment or vice versa. In this scenario, the spotlight could be placed on someone who only desires to work in a team setting or feels like they cannot showcase their skill set. Both situations could create anxiety and frustration when faced by staff members.

A significant concept that a leader needs to pay attention to is expectations. Different cultures place value on specific attributes, while others may view different things as necessary. So, clearly defining what is required while fulfilling the needs of those who work under the leader is extremely important. The strength of correctly assessing and delivering on expectations is that leaders and staff develop trust in each other. According to the article, a challenge could be getting people to share how they feel honestly. Knowing what someone expects is only possible to deliver on expectations.

The next area is expression. The concept of expression can be shown through action as well as speech. If a leader can express themselves effectively, they can develop healthy relationships with those they work with. Even when working with people who have different ways of expressing themselves, a mutual understanding can be reached where collaboration can be productive and efficient. However, if the expression is misinterpreted, a person could feel intimidated or uncomfortable working with a leader.

Finally, the last area is profiling. As principal profiling could both help and hurt the dynamics of your school. If the principal uses the staff’s knowledge and expertise to build and educate the student population, they could assist in the process of developing a more well-rounded student. On the other hand, if a principal pairs a particular teacher with what is perceived as a like-minded student population, “Tokenism can interfere with building a successful and productive inter-cultural community” (Walker & Riordan, 2010).

In conclusion, being an effective leader is similar to walking on a tightrope. Leaning too much in any particular direction could completely go against the success of what needs to be accomplished. Most of the concepts listed speak to things a leader must consider. The only concept I do not necessarily agree with is profiling. As someone profiled, many leaders have assumed that I would behave differently than I do base on appearance. If a leader uses the ideas from the article, they can be effective. However, people should be offered the opportunity to show what they are capable of before being placed in a category.

Resources

Walker, A., Riordan, G. (2010). Leading collective capacity in culturally diverse schools. School Leadership and Management. 30:1, 51-63. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13632430903509766?needAccess=true