Gray, S. P, & Streshly. W. A. (2008). From Good Schools to Great Schools: What their Principals do well. Corwin Press.
I read this book two years ago. I remember it was a duplicated study following Jim Collins' research on great companies and their leaders and his famous book titled Good to Great.
"Level 5 leadership is a concept developed in the book Good to Great. Level 5 leaders display a powerful mixture of personal humility and indomitable will. They're incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is first and foremost for the cause, for the organization and its purpose, not themselves. While Level 5 leaders can come in many personality packages, they are often self-effacing, quiet, reserved, and even shy. Every good-to-great transition in our research began with a Level 5 leader who motivated the enterprise more with inspired standards than inspiring personality."
Interestingly, this kind level 5 leadership are also found in great schools, as depicted in the book titled From Good Schools to Great Schools.
I have a print-out of the nine traits of level 5 leaders on my desk. This list often reminds me how a successful school leader should look like.
Below is a summary of these traits, which are outlined in the book. Several of them are characteristics of the leaders, while others are behaviours of these highly successful school leaders.
1. Has compelling modesty (Characteristic)
Assigns credit for school success to others; takes personal blame for school failures
2. Builds relationships (Behaviour, this is uniquely found among school leaders as opposed to company leaders probably because the work environment in schools are different from corporate culture)
Exhibits people skills; openly communicates with school staff; involves staff in decision making
3. Has unwavering resolve (Characteristic)
Is relentless, aggressive, persuasive; is continuously involved with the primary operations of the school
4. Exhibits duality of professional will and personal humility (Characteristic)
Humble yet fearless; acts as a buffer between the school and external forces
5. Exhibits hedgehog concept (Behaviour)
Is passionate about student achievement; knows what the school can be best at; knows what will make the difference
6. Exudes a culture of discipline (Behaviour)
Has vision focusing on student achievement; is not a micromanager; promotes teacher responsibility
7. Confronts the brutal facts (Behaviour)
Analyzes student achievement and demographic data; works through challenges; is not resigned to difficulties
8. Get "First who...then what" (Behaviour)
Has latitude to hire and fire school staff; is persistent in getting the right people
9. Has ambition for success of the school (Characteristic)
Puts school first before personal ambitions; encourages professionalism and leadership among staff; values staff development; exhibits concerns for school leadership successor
"Hedgehog Concept"
In the essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the people in the world into two types: hedgehogs and foxes. This division is based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”
What are you deeply passionate about? Understanding what your people are truely passionate about;
What you can you be best in the world at? Identifying what the organization does better than anyone else;
What drives your economic engine? Determining where there it's good at generating revenue.
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