After completing Part A of Assignment 1, my
thoughts on leadership have evolved.
Leadership in the school library should be a partnership of theories
that is open to innovation, communication and collaboration… most importantly,
communication.
When I first began thinking about leadership,
I hadn’t done any professional reading on the topic. At first I thought of the leaders of the
schools in which I work and the positions those leaders hold in the school
hierarchy. Leadership doesn’t rest solely with the
Principal. The more I thought about it, I
discovered that leaders are found in the library, the learning support team,
the sports office, at reception, in the sick bay and even down at the school
crossing. My initial thoughts on
leadership didn’t include all these smaller groups that unite to achieve the shared
vision of the school.
Don Tapscott (2012) suggests that
collaboration needs to be enabled and this can be achieved through openness, or
communication. Openness to share
information, encourage learning and empowerment to share knowledge and
skills. As a teacher, who is often
puzzled by the communication protocols within the schools I work in, I think
that above anything else, the ability to communicate effectively, i.e
positively, respectfully and efficiently is the most valuable skill any leader should
have and should utilise. Openness cannot be achieved without
communication. Trust cannot be built
without communication and an effective team cannot work collaboratively without
communication.
To build an effective team, the Teacher
Librarian needs the classroom teachers and, to achieve excellence in the
learning curriculum, the teachers need the Teacher Librarian. Aguilar (2012) suggests that a good
team knows why it exists and is united by the achievement of a common
goal. She also suggests that within a
good team there is a certain degree of healthy conflict. Team members should be able to share their
thoughts and opinions without judgement or criticism. Team members should be able to comfortably
and safely disagree with ideas and opinions so that the team can grow,
challenge thinking processes and resolve issues intelligently. While communication is a two-way street, the
Teacher Librarian should at all times be communicating with staff, students,
parents and other leaders of the school about what is happening in the library,
how the library can complement the classroom learning curriculum and how the
library, with the support of the classroom teachers, is one of the greatest
resources the school has.
The Teacher Librarian should lead by example
and communicate what is happening in the library, share opportunities with
teachers and students to be a part of the library and to encourage
collaboration to achieve the shared vision of the library. Without communication, how will staff, students
and the wider school community know that the library is not just for
books? Osmosis is not a valid theory!
