Be an effective leader this year

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Focus on these 4 elements to sharpen organizational efficacy

August 19, 2024

The following article was written by Ken Hickok, assistant principal at Freedom High School, and Steve Amaro, principal at Freedom High School.

Whether educators find themselves in the first year of their career or entering their final year before retirement, the start of a school year stirs up butterflies, raises excitement and provides the focus necessary to tackle the challenges that lie in the unknown days, weeks and months to come.

The first few days returning from summer break are often filled with catching up with other staff members and setting the gears of education in motion. Master schedules, course load and room assignments are already set, but if leaders want to boost educator efficacy, it is important to dedicate planning time so that students can be prepared for the future before them.

Improving personnel efficacy is one of the most important facets leaders need to cultivate. Particular attention needs to be given to setting benchmarks and stating expectations that reference professional standards, engaging in collaborative discussions and meetings, being honest in verbal and written communication, and leading by example. Focusing on these elements creates a drive to improve and sharpens collective organizational efficacy.

Setting clear expectations

At a fundamental level, improving efficacy starts and ends with expectations. Leaders who commit themselves to collaboration, prioritizing student learning and focusing on measurable outcomes are more likely to foster successful academic schools. These values are often publicized in foundational documents, mission statements and expected student outcomes, but they need to be reviewed annually to determine effectiveness and applicability. For example, if a school prides itself on summative assessment outcomes and test scores show negative results, additional emphasis may need to be focused on the connection and implementation of formative assessments that lead to academic improvement.

The extension of having a given set of expectations creates a solid foundation of accountability focused on improvement. Schools and districts that focus on setting and measuring outcomes are more likely to increase efficacy of both programs and personnel. For example, site leaders could create and utilize observation forms that identify research-supported best practices as elements to discuss with staff both individually and collectively by site, grade level or department.

When leaders are able to influence school culture to improve efficacy, they liberate all school partners to envision improved community outcomes ...

Efficacy also needs to be a focus of leveraging personnel who lead programs as it promotes growth mindset and encourages data analysis. If a high school site has a goal of improving A-G completion, leaders could review course selection processes to ensure that all school partners understand the importance and take steps towards meeting growth targets. Another example may involve analyzing the impact of tardy policies, setting a certain percentage to lessen overall tardies, and measuring progress monthly. Each of these examples can have built-in measurable outcomes that empower a school to review data and decide whether to continue with implementation as designed, or pivot in another direction to meet the needs of the school community. When leaders focus on personnel and programmatic efficacy, they are more likely to see increased gains as setbacks become opportunities to improve.

Collaboration in meetings and walkthroughs Individual meetings that focus on efficacy can yield synergy and productive collaboration. Basic questions to explore in such meetings focus on gathering feedback that values and honors the participation of both the supervising administrator and the staff member. An administrator might share perspectives of practice viewed as an observer while a teacher or classified staff member may highlight what they most want to improve. These conversations must occur in a space with trust as it may require some challenging collaboration where participants may feel vulnerable sharing what they feel are their weaknesses; however, when administration creates an environment where the participant and the administrator are working together for collective improvement, the chances of positive outcomes increase.

In addition to an administrator individually working with the staff member, the two can form a team and complete group observation of peers. When educators view their peers, they may find new areas of potential growth and get a more accurate understanding of their effectiveness and potential challenges. Both the administrator and participant can determine colleagues to view together and then discuss their observations to align with the teacher, staff member and school’s needs.

Honest verbal and written communication At the speed of social media, a school leader can derail years of progress with a flippant response to a parent or staff member email. When it comes to written communication, brevity combined with clarity is always appreciated. If there are specific areas of growth, topics should be addressed honestly. Skipping over concerns or questions that both the administrator or staff member have will lessen the likelihood of improvement and could even make individual efficacy worse.

It is equally important to write responses in an appreciative mindset. When teachers and staff members know that leaders are helping them explore potential growth areas in a supportive relationship, they are more likely to try out and adopt written suggestions.

Honest communication must rely on facts. Regardless of if you are giving a welcome-back-to-school address, a comment to a local press outlet or talking to a teacher that might be released at the end of the year, the discussion needs to start and end with concrete facts. Facts ground observations, give them purpose, and provide necessary details for further improvement or celebration.

Lead by example Just as school personnel are expected to engage in improving efficacy, attention and time must be devoted for school leadership to engage in professional development. Whether it is reading a professional journal, watching a series of instructional leadership videos, or even attending a conference, when a school community sees that the leaders are engaged in improving efficacy, they are more likely to create a culture that is focused on improvement.

It is equally important for leaders to share their findings. Regardless of the professional development, care should be given to sharing what is learned with other school employees so that deeper learning can occur and increase the chances of positive impact. Such practices also safeguard public funds as improving collective knowledge throughout an organization becomes the expectation of all personnel at site and district level.

Final thoughts In the current era of education, when it has become more challenging to recruit, hire and retain qualified personnel, it is more important than ever to focus on ways to improve efficacy. When school leaders promote collaboration and see themselves as participant collaborators on a team working towards mutual improvement, they are more likely to find improved outcomes. Clear, concise and open communication of both the administrator and participant is necessary to identify desired outcomes, areas for improvement and areas of strength. When leaders are able to influence school culture to improve efficacy, they liberate all school partners to envision improved community outcomes so that everyone can succeed.