Cultivate Leadership

Distributive leadership is an ideal mechanism by which to share the workload and empower teachers. But, leadership does not "happen" overnight; it must be cultivated over time. Find the right people who exhibit leadership qualities and give then opportunities every chance.

The Harvard Business Review recently pointed out that experience and legitimacy are not prerequisites to leadership. The ability to influence others with passion and hard work is often enough to constitute leadership. New teachers can be called to leadership duty just as readily as veteran faculty.

It's easy for school leaders to go back to the leadership "well" time and time again. The same people often step up to the plate to participate in committees, volunteer to write curriculum, etc. But, these same people cannot carry the leadership burden alone. It takes extra effort to find hidden leadership among faculty, but it's important that this leadership be cultivated so that the duties are shared and so that others perceive fairness and opportunity to be part of a school district's decision making process.