T.

Ladd Reflective Paper

Terrilyn Hollings Ladd
EDAS 5820-Practicum in School Leadership
Portfolio Reflection Paper
Submitted: July 1, 2014
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga






T. Ladd Reflective Paper

I had my own ideas about the meaning of the term leader when I began the Ed. S.
program. As I reflect on the classes and experiences that I have had while in pursuit of my Ed.
S. degree, I can say that I did not know then what I know now. I really had no idea then what
true leadership entailed. My field experiences and class experiences have helped me to form a
more global perspective on what it takes to be an effective leader. In the grand scheme of things,
it takes more than having the title of leader and feeble attempts at being someones boss to be
considered an effective leader. It is so much more. Acting bossy is sometimes equated with
being an ineffective leader. The ineffective leader tends to struggle to accomplish tasks
independently, without the input or support of others on staff.
The School Leadership Programs classes and accompanying field experiences of which I
have been able to take advantage, have served as the foundation of my journey to become and
effective school leader. Since being enrolled in my classes, I have drawn more rational
conclusions about leadership and have discovered the characteristics that I feel comprise an
effective leader. Those characteristics include maintaining positive relationships, communication
skills, being an agent of change and being a visionary. This paper will highlight the most
important conclusions that I have drawn from my days in this program as evidenced by examples
of how I have used those discovered characteristics of an effective leader to my advantage. My
hope is that I am on my way to becoming an effective leader in my own right.
Positive Relationships
The first conclusion that I have come to, following my many field experience hours and
class meetings, is that relationships really are everything. The results of positive relationships
between the effective leader and staff, students, parents and community are apparent throughout
the many schools settings in which I have observed or experienced. The evidence of positive
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relationships was written all over the walls, resulting in positive effects on school climate and
culture and outpouring of support from the community stakeholders. Other evidence include the
fact that some school board members are willing to be present/participate in school events and
activities, and esprit de corps is promoted in my own AT Department because of positive
relationships. Teachers, parents, students and even community stakeholders support the efforts
of a school (or department) and its leader just that much more when positive rapport has been
established. Conversely, the opposite effect was also apparent when relationships between the
leader and staff, students, parents and community were not positive.
I observed the handiwork of both positive and negative professional relationships
throughout all of my field experiences. Some of the most poignant examples of positive
relationships occurred during my field experiences from Standard A. As a lead teacher for the
AT Department, I conducted weekly departmental meetings. My goal of the weekly meetings
was two-fold. Weekly meetings were important so that the team can debrief about the
assessments completed for the week and to collaboratively develop solutions to challenges team
members faced during their interactions with teachers and students. Face-to-face meetings
provided us with opportunities to communicate also about our lives, as well as personally and
professionally bond. During those meetings, I have been able to delegate assignments and other
responsibilities. One of the most amazing things is that the AT team members consistently
provide valuable input, are motivated to work hard, and they do not complain. I believe
Marzano, Waters and McNulty (2005) said it best when they stated that effective personal
relationships between the school leader and those under his/her leadership are paramount when
expecting other responsibilities are carried out. Furthermore, the AT team operates in a mode of
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positive interdependency because we have a genuine and mutual respect for one another, and
they can tell that I genuinely care about their personal lives.
I have noticed the effects of negative relationships between leaders and their
stakeholders. It was most obvious during my field experience for Standard B. When conducting
the school climate and culture survey, some schools results indicated that their schools climate
was very toxic. The teachers did not work collaboratively with each other. Many times,
disagreements ensued because of personal differences and not teaching philosophies. It was
evident that some teachers were not willing to problem-solve together. Personal issues appeared
to be the problem and some teachers did not appear to be willing to put those personal issues
aside to work for what should be the main focus. The main focus is and always should be the
students and what is in their best interest. If the teachers had good relationships with each other,
then so much time would not be wasted on trivial matters. That is not to say that getting along
is not an important issue because it is. However, sometimes you have to unite together and work
on those things you have in common rather than spending time on highlighting your differences.
As I continue to develop as a leader, I will continue to strive to develop and maintain
positive relationships with people. If I have said it in one paper, I have said it in 20 papers. If you
plan to implement any task or program, you have to depend on others to help you. The way you
get others to buy-in to those ideas and see whats in it for them is to build positive
relationships. Respect for the input of the stakeholders, along with genuine care and concern for
the stakeholders are ways to help build and maintain the positive relationship. To say that
building positive relationships with the people that you lead is important is an understatement. It
is critical in your success as a leader and one skill that I will continue to develop for years to
come.

T. Ladd Reflective Paper

Good Communication Skills
There are so many things that can be shared about having good communication skills. In fact,
having good communication skills goes right along with maintaining positive relationships with
you staff and other stakeholders as a leader. I have said the following statement many times,
throughout many assignments but it is very true. Communication, by far, is one of the most
important characteristics to develop if you plan on being an effective leader, per Gorton and
Alston (2012). Having good communication skills can make a situation better and not having
good communication skills can wreak havoc within a school or organization.
In order to be an effective leader, you have to like people and at least have respect for
those that are under your leadership. If you want to get something done, you have to be able to
communicate effectively to those working with you what it is that you envision happening within
the organization. While you are able to articulate in your communication, you also have to be a
good listener. The idea of communication means that there is a back and forth, exchange of ideas
or information between at least two parties.
When at least two people truly communicate, that is truly a golden moment. During
department chair meetings (Standard C), having good communication skills is more than
important. Information is disseminated to the chairpersons and they are expected to take that
information back to their respective schools and share it with the Exceptional Education
personnel in their school. Imagine what happens many times when the department chairpersons
do not share the information presented in an adequate fashion. There are at least four different
versions of the information presented at the meeting. Somewhere muddled in there is the truth.
Information can be easily mishandled when transferring the information from person to person if
the person carrying the message perceived the message differently than the sender intended.
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However, in some of these instances observed in other schools, I believe the problem was not
perception but difficulty translating.
When you have excellent communication skills, the translation and transference of
information is usually better. Such was the case when we held our AT Department meetings. The
AT staff received many instructions/procedures (Standard C) from me, during our meetings, that
we all had to pass on as they were in schools providing support. Because the AT team are good
listeners and are concerned with proper protocol for providing support to classrooms, teachers
and individual students, we generally do not have difficulty in conveying information. Informal
interviews were completed with (20) teachers whose classrooms were supported by the AT staff.
An overwhelming majority of the teachers stated that procedures were clearly provided to them
by the AT staff. The reason is that the AT staff and its leader understand the importance of
utilizing good communication skills during their support sessions.
I do not mean to boast but I must admit that having good communication skills is not
something about which I worry. I feel that I have decent communication skills. I have talked
about before that I have been trained to teach others how to communicate and in turn, strong
communication skills are like second nature. Communication is so very vital and is intertwined
with every other characteristic that goes in to being an effective leader. According to Scribner,
Cockrell, Cockrell, and Valentine (as cited in Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005), effective
communication might be considered the glue that holds together all the other responsibilities of
leadership (p. 46-47). You will not begin to be able to build positive relationships with others as
a leader if you do not have good communication skills. You cannot be a true agent of change if
you cannot communicate with and encourage others, even, to consider revising the programs.
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Communicating is not a major area of challenge for me and I am confident that I will continue to
utilize appropriate communication skills in years to come, as a leader.
Agent of Change
Being an agent of change is another important conclusion that I have discovered during
my time in school leadership program. One has to know when to make a change. The education
community is talking about the need for educational reform. No matter your position in the
schools, we all are being held accountable for doing our part. That means that we have to
collect data on the areas that are in question, analyze the data and determine how the change
should be mapped out. As a leader, you cannot be afraid to change those things that are not
working. As it has been said many times over, one cannot expect different results from
something that has been done in the same way that it always been completed historically.
Instead of expecting the different results from the same activities and tasks, Ive realized
that you have to be courageous in changing things for the better. Sometimes, people get stuck in
traditions and in those things that appear to be the natural order of things but they may not be
working. Some cultural traditions should be preserved as that shows the diversity in schools
(Standard G) and organizations. However, some activities just do not project forward thinking
strategies. In fact, some activities are downright counterproductive to positive student
achievement. In my opinion, some of those activities could include strictly looking at student
progress from the teachers perspective and quantitative assessments. Including other formative
or summative assessments may help exhibit relative areas of strength for students, especially if
students are involved in developing their goals. Some schools have not taught their students to
develop their own academic goals or monitor their progress (Chappuis, 2009). A courageous
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leader can promote changing things from the way weve always done it toward implementing
programs where students play a more active role in their goal development and assessment.
Another way that a leader can be courageous is by conducting an evaluation of
different programs being implemented throughout the school. According to Fitzpatrick, Sanders
and Worthen (2011), evaluations have one main purpose. That purpose is to provide results that
allow judgments to be made about the value of whatever is being evaluated. Programs need to be
evaluated periodically to determine if the programs are delivering the goods and services they
were established to provide. If, as the result of the program evaluation, it is discovered that the
program is not functioning in the capacity in which it was instituted, then some program changes
may be warranted to accomplish the goals of the program. An effective leader must have the
courage to affect change in the program according to results of the program evaluation. That may
mean making some changes, additions or corrections to the program so that it meets its goals.
It may also mean changing the direction of the program altogether. Whatever the
recommendations following the program evaluation, the leader must lead the change, all on the
name of what is in the best interest of the students.
Being an agent of change is probably the one characteristic with which I have the most
difficulty. It isnt that I do not realize that some changes need to be made in my department or in
the programs we implement. My problem with being an agent of change is that my superiors do
not like to let go of their control to allow me (and my team) to implement a policy of shared
decision making. I feel that I do not have the room (not yet anyway) to be the type of change
agent that I want to be. Our AT team has some innovative ideas that are quite different than ones
that my supervisors are used to putting into action. Some of the ideas are left on the proverbial
cutting room floor because the ideas may be perceived as too forward thinking for my
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superiors. I have had some great mentor support from my supervisor but I know that when I
become a supervisor (in the Exceptional Education Department) one day, I will have more
latitude to affect system-wide change.
Visionary
The last conclusion to which I have come has to do with being a leader that is a visionary.
Besides being an agent of change, I believe that being a visionary is challenging. To be a
visionary as you lead means that you see beyond the present age and visualize the futures
academic gains. More than anything, as a leader/visionary, you have to be able to see beyond
where the school functions right now and guide others toward in the direction you see the
students going in the future. One has to see where we shall end up and be able to express that
to those that will help get us there. The implementers will need to have confidence that the
leader can lead into the future. Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version) states that without a vision,
the people perish.
In order to be a visionary, you have to have good communication skills. You simply
cannot have one without the other. What good would it do to have a leader with the vision and
not be able to express it to his/her co-visionaries? It would be just another example of someone
with big ideas that never come to fruition.
A visionary knows what he/she wants their school or department to look like. In doing so,
efforts are made to employ staff members that are always researching and learning. We, as
educators, are life-long learners so that we will be prepared to educate our students. TILS D
makes reference to continuing those professional learning opportunities. Professional learning
opportunities are not always created equal. Therefore, as the leader, I attempted to offer those
professional development classes that would push the teacher forward in their own growth as a
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teacher. Hopefully, those professional development opportunities also helped the teachers design
ways to improve the learning of students.
A visionary also needs to know how to utilize the resources (TILS E). In this age of tight
budgets, you have to be financially conscious, more than ever, about what you spend. School
budgets have been cut and slashed, almost to the point where the budget does not look the same
as it did when submitted to your superior. Because the budget has continued to get smaller over
the last couple of years, I had to find creative ways to do more activities with less money.
Sometimes, I wanted to pay for some of the professional development for the teachers but my
budget does not allow it. That is when I had to seek out other resources and those resources
included applying for grants. Grant writing can be a strict and tedious task but it is necessary if
there is any chance of getting money to cover some of those curricular activities that we no
longer have funds for (after the budgets were cut).
Whatever is a visionary/principal does on behalf of the students, he/she should be ethical
(TILS F) about it all. There are many things that can side-track an administrator that is aiming to
be a visionary. Misuse and mishandling of funds is one of those things. The visionary has to keep
his/her focus on the promising future for the students and not let anything unethical behavior
deter him/her from doing what is in the best interest of the all students (typically developing and
students with disabilities). I can attest to the fact that the pressures of accountability and student
achievement get heavy but the dire consequences of unethical decisions can be far-reaching.
As I continue to develop as a leader, I will continue to seek out those ways to grow as a
visionary. My supervisor told me that I have a unique opportunity to take my department
anywhere I wanted it to go but that I must have a solid vision to get me there. She also said that I
have staff that believes in what we are trying to accomplish and I would not have difficulty in
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corralling them to help advance the vision. I would have to agree with my supervisors opinion
of her assessment of my visionary capability. I realize that, in order to further develop my
skills as a visionary leader, I must be confident and think more globally rather than just what
happens in our small AT Department. What we do as a department and the vision we have for
our department, when implemented, affects the lives of all the students and teachers across the
county. That is a humbling idea and will keep me on a professional and moral high-road.
Conclusion
As a result of my field experiences, I have a better understanding of what it takes to be a
good and effective leader. It will take a combination of the many important characteristics but
most prevalent to me were: positive relationships, good communications, being an agent of
change and being a visionary. These characteristics go hand-in-hand. They complement each
other. One characteristic does not exist without the presence of the others.
All positive relationships include at least one person that has the ability to project good
communication skills into the relationship. As a leader, maintaining good communication skills
is imperative and is the tie that binds you to a positive relationship with teachers, other staff,
parents and community stakeholders. In addition to being a good communicator, the leader that
is a visionary and an agent of change is able to maintain positive relationships with those that
help to implement the vision and the change. It is, therefore, obvious how these characteristics fit
together.
Out of all of the important leadership characteristics, I still struggle with being the agent
of change and a visionary. These areas were concerns of mine when I first began this program
(along with a few more concerns). What I know now that I didnt know then was that I am not
meant to be an expert leader at the end of this program. It is meant for me to recognize areas of
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strengths and areas on which I will continue to work. I am still developing my vision for the
department that I lead. I am still trying to figure out all of the changes that I would like to make
and how to lead the departments staff toward the changes. I recognize that with a fortified
confidence level, and knowledge and skills gained from this program, I believe that I will
continue to evolve into the type of leader that others will be proud to follow.

















T. Ladd Reflective Paper

References
Chappuis, J. (2009). Seven strategies of assessments for learning. Boston, MA: Pearson
Publications.
Fitzpatrick, J. L., Sanders, J. R, and Worthern, B. R. (2011). Program evaluation: Alternative
Approaches and practical guidelines. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Gorton, R. & Alston, J. A. (2009). School leadership and administration: Important concepts
case studies, & simulations. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Marzano, R.J., Waters, T., & Mcnulty, B.A. (2005). School leadership that works: From
research to results, Alexandria, VA, & Denver: ASCD.
Tennessee State Board of Education. (2008). Tennessee instructional leadership standards.
Retrieved from http://www.tennessee.gov.sbe/2008Januarypdfs/IV%20Education
%20Leadership%20Redesign%20TN%20Instructional%20Leadership%20
Standards.pdf