Is My School Better BECAUSE I Lead It? by Kafele Baruti K.;

Author:Kafele, Baruti K.; [Kafele, Baruti K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
Published: 2018-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Q22: What is the evidence that I am walking in my leadership purpose?

We all join the ranks of school leaders with the best of intentions, but do the results indicate that our work is truly making a difference in students' lives? What is your "daily walk"? What is your evidence?

Evidence is a strong word. It says to a person, "prove it!" As indicated in the Introduction, in addition to having your contention, you must also have the evidence to support your contention. For example, one can state that they are doing all they can to achieve a particular goal and conclude that the goal is unreachable. My first question to this individual would be, "What is the evidence that you have done all that you can? Delineate for me everything that you have done to achieve the goal." As the person lists all of the activities, it will turn out that there are a many activities that haven't been explored. Therefore, the evidence that the individual has exhausted all options toward reaching the goal is simply not there.

I often look at the "leadership why" through both a micro lens and a macro lens. Here, I want to look at the "why" through a micro lens followed by an explanation through the macro lens.

Why do you report to your school as the principal or one of the leaders every day? Why do you get up early in the morning? Why do you put in the enormous number of hours and work daily? Why do you every day endure the inordinate pressures, demands, challenges, and obstacles that accompany school leadership? This is not easy work you have chosen. It ranks amongst some of the most challenging and stressful work that one could engage in…but you do it anyway. In other words, why do you do this work? What is your "why"?

My mission with regard to the Young Men's Empowerment Program was to build men out of boys and my "why" was because of all of the alarming statistics about the young men in my demographic throughout the United States. That was very specific and very personal. That was through my micro lens of my leadership "why." Looking at my leadership through my macro lens, I walked into that school every morning because I simply wanted to inspire my students, in an urban school comprising predominantly economically disadvantaged at-risk children of color, to believe in themselves and their possibilities. That is, I took on a school leadership role so that I could put myself in position to "motivate, educate, and empower" an entire student population rooted in a reality where so many of this demographic fail to live up to their potential. This was my "why" through my macro lens.

Your contention is the easy part, however. In fact, your contention is typically quite noble. I think that practically everyone who enters school leadership enters with the best of intentions, but what's key is your evidence. Does your evidence support your intention and your contention? I converse with countless school leaders across the United States.

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