"Leadership stories"
is an approach used in the educational administration program at Colorado
State University. Current school administrators serve as mentors, offering
their experiences -- their "leadership stories" -- to the next generation
of school principals.
Think back to your first days as a school administrator.
Think back to the feelings you had of inadequacy or clumsiness.
Think back to the care you took with every decision -- large and small
-- you made.
Such feelings shouldn't have been surprising. You were on new turf.
And, chances are, the degree program you graduated from focused on the
knowledge and the research that would serve you when you were offered
that first administrative job.
But school administrators face complex problems that aren't
solved by mastering of a handful of principles taught in a college classroom,
says Arnold B. Danzig, a professor in the School of Education at Colorado
State University. Expertise at handling such problems requires knowledge,
practice, and experience.
"One of the common complaints about university coursework is that it
fails to capture the complexities of the workplace," Danzig says. "Universities
need to bridge the gap between theory and practice by drawing from the
experiences of practicing professionals in the field."
To that end, Danzig has introduced to his graduate students an idea
called leadership stories. "Leadership stories (or 'narrative research')
is a powerful tool for connecting the privileged discourse of universities
with the smart hands of experience -- of connecting theory to practice,"
adds Danzig.
THE "STORY" BEHIND LEADERSHIP STORIES
Students in Danzig's Leadership Development class at CSU select and
interview a school leader, often someone with whom they are currently
working. The leader agrees to meet at least twice during the course of
the semester.
The first session is an interview in which the student focuses on learning
about the leader's background, their reasons for entering the profession,
and the qualities that he or she feels are their strongest leadership
qualities.
The second session focuses on a specific on-the-job problem -- a "real"
school issue -- in which the leader played a leadership role.
The problem situation to be studied, according to the assignment,
would be discrete rather than on-going and it would involve others inside
and outside the school. Problems studied by Danzig's students have run
the gamut and hve included these: school vandalism, a student fight, a
student who threatens suicide, negotiating a teacher contract, a junior
high school student who brings a weapon to school, personnel issues, a
hostile and violent parent, a drunk student, and a hostage situation.
A student's understanding of the leader's background, motivation, and
qualities gained in the first session is always helpful -- and often essential
-- to understanding how the administrator handled the problem discussed
in the later meeting.
All "leadership stories" are reviewed by the participating leaders for
accuracy and to ensure that the story tellers were comfortable with the
way they were presented in the story. Students are asked to conclude with
reflections about their own leadership development.
THE VALUE OF LEADERSHIP STORIES
"Leadership stories help students to see the big picture of leadership,"
says Danzig. "They get to see beyond 'the tip of the iceberg' as they
learn how an administrator's background and values impact on the day-to-day
decision-making process. They learn about some of the gray areas in which
administrators operate."
"Their studies of one leader's story lead to new understandings of how
expertise is gained in the real world," Danzig adds. "Students arrive
at new understandings about themselves as they use their own knowledge
and experiences to reflect on that story."
Students also learn from other students in the class who share their
explorations of a "leadership story."
"Students learn as they listen," Danzig explains. "Vocabulary and concepts
learned in the classroom are reinforced as a practicing leader relates
details of a story that might involve issues of discipline, special needs,
due process, safety, decision making, and more."
There's an added benefit.
"Stories provide an opportunity for practicing administrators to share
their own experience with novices," Danzig adds. "It's important for students
to have a mentor and many leaders enjoy the opportunity to share personal
and professional experiences, especially with someone who is less experienced."
"And leaders enjoy hearing what their story means to another person."
WHAT DO STUDENTS LEARN FROM LEADERSHIP STORIES?
Students draw many conclusions about leadership from the study of leadership
stories. Some of the conclusions that Danzig's students have come to recently
are:
Every leader has a set of core values. Those values differ from leader
to leader, but usually include descriptors such as caring, empathy,
and humanism. Some leaders' values boil down to a simple statement such
as "There's a golden rule that I live by…If you're respectful of and
honest with folks…you get that back." Others' values center around a
vision for the school.
Most leaders express commitment and passion for the work they do,
for having an opportunity to "reach out to teachers, parents and students
in ways that have direct and meaningful impact on their lives."
People become leaders because they make choices (usually difficult
choices at the time) to do something positive in their lives.
Leaders empower others by leading without power. Negotiation skills
are essential to strong leaders. They must work with students, parents,
school staff, and political leaders at all levels.
Leaders are often non-conformists who frequently question the status
quo. They pride themselves on being spontaneous, intuitive, and risk-taking.
Leaders are surprised at their own success. None of them identified
themselves as being a child prodigy or even as being successful in their
early school years.
Leaders need mentors. The leadership stories repeatedly illustrate
the value of being mentored.
IN SUMMARY...
"Narrative can play a very important part in the education of future
school leaders," says Danzig. "Stories add a fullness to understanding
what it is people do in their daily professional lives."
"Professionals need to understand not only the technical aspects of
the job but moral basis of their work," Danzig adds. "Stories provide
a more complete view of the meaning of professional practice."
"LEADERSHIP STORIES" RESOURCES WRITTEN BY DANZIG
Arnold B. Danzig, Ph.D., is the Program Chair of the Ph.D. Program in
Educational Administration at Colorado State University (Fort Collins).
Danzig has written numerous articles in the areas of leadership development
and policy research. Among the articles that offer additional information
about Danzig's research in leadership stories are:
"Can Leadership Be Taught? Writing and Reflecting on Stories of Practice"
by Arnold Danzig, Educational Leadership and Administration,
volume 9, Fall 1997.
"Leadership Stories: Implications for Reflective Practice and Standards-Driven
Education," Research Brief, published by Colorado State University
(May 1997). For a copy, write to Dr. Danzig, School of Education, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, or call (970)491-7624.
"Building Leadership Capacity By Writing and Reflecting on Stories
of Practice," a paper presented by Arnold Danzig and Charles Porter
at the annual conference of the National Conference of Professors of
Educational Administration (Vail, Colorado; August 11-16, 1997).
"Leadership Stories: What Novices Learn By Crafting the Stories of
Experienced School Administrators" by Arnold B. Danzig, Journal of
Educational Administration, Vol. 35, No. 2, 1997.
"Building Competence by Writing and Reflecting on Stories of Practice"
by Arnold Danzig and Kathleen C. Harris, Journal of Educational and
Psychological Consultation, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES SUGGESTED BY DANZIG
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership by H. Gardner; Basic Books,
New York, NY (1995).
The Reflective Turn: Case Studies In and On Educational Practice by
D. Schon (Ed.); Teachers College Press, New York, NY (1991).
The Call of Stories by Robert Coles; Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
(1989).
"Leadership stories"
is an approach used in the educational administration program at Colorado
State University. Current school administrators serve as mentors, offering
their experiences -- their "leadership stories" -- to the next generation
of school principals.