Leadership: Its All About Relationships

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Leadership Its All About Relationships
Presented by Dr. Phyllis Hensley California State
University San Bernardino
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Leadership Is All About Relationships

• Its lonely at the top
• Isolation Interesting and Perplexing
• Accepted phenomenon (Glickman, Gordon
  Ross-Gordon, 2005)

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Structure of Schools

• Traditional structure of schools (McCann
  Radford, 1993)
• Schools as big boxes (Hensley, 2001)
• Eradicate isolation Realization
• Solid relationships - Trust

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Cultivating Relationships

• Cant do the job alone
• Thinking you can make it on your own is just
  nonsense and it is one of the most paralyzing
  concepts we have right now (Wheatley, 2004, p. 8)
• Chosen few syndrome
• Develop and nurture relationships with everyone

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Relationships with Everyone

• Leaders must be able to build relationships with
  and among diverse groups, especially with people
  different from themselves (Fullan, 2004, p. 80)

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Relationship Management

• Not simple
• Friendliness with a purpose
• Moving people in the right direction Collective
  purpose
• Socialize constantly network in place
• Assumption Nothing gets done alone! (Wheatley,
  2004 Goleman, 2002)

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Impact of Relationships

• Healthy relationships Good schools (Barth,
  2001)
• Beleaguered, embattled, antiseptic relationships
  Troubled schools (Barth)
• Success depends on relationships (Fullan, 2004
  Sergiovanni, Kelleher, McCarthy Wirt, 2004)

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Artistry of Communication

• Good communication
• Complex
• Idiosyncratic
• Sometime subtle
• Success depends on
• Clear connection
• Content
• Channels

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The Power of Communication

• Great Leaders Great Communicators
• Poets (Deal Peterson, 1994)
• Language is powerful
• Motivating force
• Shapes school culture and vision
• Inspires
• Tool for change

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What Effective Leaders Know

• Images, beliefs, values
• Language determines success or failure
• Collaboration/Cooperation
• Celebration

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What Effective Leaders Know

• Trust, relationships, respect
• Importance of sharing relevant information
• Visibility
• Credibility
• (Hensley Burmeister, 2006)

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Communication and Trust

• Strong relationship between effective
  communication and trust
• Staying in touch with constituents enables
  leaders to sustain the credibility they have
  earned (Kouzes Posner, 1993).

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Critical Incident

• Thank You for All of Your Hard Work

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Communication and Trust

• Strong relationship between effective
  communication and trust
• Staying in touch with constituents enables
  leaders to sustain the credibility they have
  earned (Kouzes Posner, 1993).

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Trust

• Complex
• Intuitive feel
• Context
• Dynamic

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Trust

• Trust is ones willingness to be vulnerable to
  another based on the confidence that the other is
  benevolent, honest, open, reliable, and competent
  (Mishra, 1996 Tschannen-Moran Hoy, 1998, 2000).

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Facets of Trust Tschannen Moran, 2004

• Benevolence
• You care about me
• You will protect me
• You will not harm me
• Mutual attitude of goodwill
• Emotional investment in relationship

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Lack of Benevolence

• Cost of overall productivity
• Energy invested in
• Mental provisions/alternate plans
• Available recourse in case of betrayal
• Calculate protective ways
• Cycle of mistrust

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Facets of Trust Tschannen Moran, 2004

• Honesty
• Character, integrity, authenticity
• Truthful
• Relied upon
• Predictable
• Accept responsibility
• Avoid manipulation
• Authentic Do not stereotype

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Dishonesty

• Indictment of character
• Faith is lost
• Words are suspect
• All communication is suspect

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Facets of Trust Tschannen Moran, 2004

• Openness
• Share information
• Rely on others
• Delegate
• Share power
• Share decision making

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Lack of Openness

• Provoke suspicion
• Suspiciousness breeds distrust
• Isolated prisons of your own making

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Facets of Trust Tschannen Moran, 2004

• Reliability
• Dedicated/ committed to your job
• Dependable
• Predictable
• Visible
• Your teachers can rest assured

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Lack of Reliability

• Your importance diminishes
• Respect for your position diminishes
• People just go through their daily routine
• Teachers are not visible or involved
• Teachers energies are invested elsewhere

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Facets of Trust Tschannen Moran, 2004

• Competence
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Dispositions
• Reputation respected and admired
• Work hard
• Foster conflict resolution
• Buffer teachers and staff

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Lack of Competence

• You are not respected
• Teachers will not come to you
• Teachers know you will not protect them
• Your importance diminishes
• Teachers will not support you

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Critical Incident

• Why Was I Accused?

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Trust and Hierarchy

• Because of the hierarchical nature of the
  relationships within schools, it is the
  responsibility of the person with greater power
  to take the initiative to build and sustain
  trusting relationships (Tschannen Moran, 2004,
  p. 122).

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Thank you

• You have been a great audience!