Distributed leadership is “a way of thinking about leadership rather than a technique or practice… Distributed leadership concentrates on engaging expertise wherever it exists within the role of the organization rather than seeking this only through formal position or role.” (Harris 10)
As I have learned from class discussion this week, the key to distributed leadership is the principal. In a traditional school building, the principal is the leader with vice-principals, department heads and teachers organized below them. In order for distributed leadership to work properly, the principal must be willing to give up control of that leadership to some extent. As stated above, this does not mean delegating to department heads or vice-principals, it is much more grass roots because teachers are responsible for choosing who the experts are. A leader like this is hard to find but in his book Good To Great, Jim Collins describes this person as a Level 5 leader.
Two characteristics of a Level 5 leader are:
- “Embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. They are ambitious, to be sure, but ambitious first and foremost for hte company, not themselves.” (Collins 39)
- “Set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation, whereas egocentric Level 4 leaders often set up their successors for failure.” (Collins 39)
Collins’ point is that Level 5 principals must be willing to give up some power in order to empower teachers to lead and succeed. Principals come and go, but if a system of distributed leadership is set in place, student learning will continue to improve because teachers are allowed and encouraged to contribute as leaders.
Posted by ryanewest 
