Leadership for Tomorrow's Schools

Patterson's approach to tomorrow's leadership involves creating a vision of a "preferred future" and developing a "shared commitment to core values" that will, by their very nature, change how people work together. In schools of tomorrow, people will share the responsibilities and rewards of leadership and work together to improve the system of which that are all a part. Patterson explains the definition of leadership shift; a shift from bossing to managing to leading. Bossing: exercise formal authority to exert real power to make things happen as they have been planned, in other words they spend their days bossing Managing: act of coordinating people and resources to efficiently produce goods or services in an organization, managing is critical to the success of an organization and is part of what leaders do, but is not the same thing as leading Leading: the process of influencing others to achieve mutually agreed upon purposes for the organization Patterson further explains tomorrow's values of school organizations and ways to put these values into action. The five values for schools leaders of tomorrow and ways to see the values come alive are as follows: Value 1: Openness to Participation - Our organization values employees actively participating in any discussion or decision affecting them * actively promote participation as an expectation * value the process of how you approach issues just as much as, if not more than, the outcomes of the decision * imperative that all voices be heard * communicate that openness to participation is cherished and valued * leader does not control the degree or openness * organize the organization so that participation is integral to the problem-solving process * every person, regardless of classification of the organizational chart, is an equally valued member of the organization; every person is a contributing voice when the organizational philosophy emphasizes that "we are smarter than me" Value 2: Openness to Diversity - Our organization values diversity in perspectives leading to a deeper understanding of organizational reality and an enriched knowledge base for decision making * limiting the group to people with common perspectives, you get a narrow picture of the problem and narrow solution in return * power of diversity must be a value conveyed throughout the organization by the evidence that dissident voices make a difference in how decisions get made Value 3: Openness to Conflict - Our organization values employees resolving conflict in a healthy way that leads to stronger solutions for complex issues * acknowledge its presence in the organization and build into the organization ways for resolving the conflicts in a healthy way * resolving conflicts moves you forward, keeping it under wraps holds you back * assure everyone that you pledge a safe environment for people to speak their peace * treat conflicts as energy for organizational growth * demonstrate excellent facilitating skill