I’ve decided to post my study reflections and assignments for my CORE Education, Advanced Leadership Programme.
I’ll try and post any accompanying media if it is public creative commons. Otherwise if I can’t I’ll just bold and link the name to anyone I reference. Here are my first two assignments for the Introduction Module:
Assessment One:
Watch the video from Bill George (Professor of Management Practice at Harvard University).
Now tell the group:
Who are you?
My name is Mārama Stewart. I am my ninth year of principalship and second school. I came by principalship by accident really. I was bored waiting in my classroom for my next mid-year parent teacher conference. I had been at Russell Street School in Palmerston North for the last three years and was very happy collegially but wanted a different challenge. I was a good classroom teacher, but it was not my passion. I was browsing the Edgazette and I saw a vacancy for a Principal with ‘Attitude At Altitude’. It looked cool. I asked my friend whom was acting principal at the time if he thought I could do it. He said yes, and I said why not. In January 2010 I began my career as a Sole Charge Principal 30 minutes north east of Taihape with 12 kids between the ages of 5 and 12. After two and a half years and one ERO Review I accepted the principal position at Waiouru School. I have been at Waiouru School for six years now.
How well do you relate to what Bill has to say about leadership and lifelong learning?
I like what Bill said about getting out to meeting interesting people and seeing different cultures, engaging with different ways to lead. It makes you, I think, reflect on what is really powerful and what I just do out of habit. I think it is important, with what he said about trying to see yourself from the eyes of others. What kind of person, what kind of leader am I in there eyes, and does it mirror what I think I am.
What kind of leader do you aspire to be?
I would like to be an Innovative Leader who creates an environment where people are able to grow to be the best they can be.
Assessment Two:
For any professional development and networking process to succeed, you need to have some clear objectives.
What is an example of a professional challenge you currently face or think you may face in future?
My current professional challenge is the intersections of two phases of my career. The first that we are wrapping up our Teacher Led Innovation Fund Project and we are now at the report writing and dissemination phase. The second is that at the end of this year I will qualify as a ‘Leading Principal’ on my career structure.
Both of these phases will take me out of my comfort zone of leader in my school and our Waiouru community to leading at the next level. I will need to be able to disseminate the findings of our research at the Leadership level and to now ‘develop leadership in others’.
What do you want to achieve from participating in the Advanced Leadership Programme?
While I find the actual act of being a leader in my school and community quite easy, I seem to just do it naturally. I’m not actually sure in academic terms what it is I am actually doing. This has of course caused a bit of a road block for me for developing leadership in others. I really want to use this programme to understand what it is that defines an Innovative Leader. By learning about Leadership I hope it will help prepare me to take on the up and coming takes of the two phases I spoke of above.
What do you need to get the most from the programme?
To analyse who I am as a Leader to make sure that what I think I am, is what others are seeing in me.
