Ethical  Leadership  Platform  

Coworkers,  family  and  generally  speaking,  everyone  who  knows  me,  always  

asked  me  this:    Why  did  you  want  to  be  a  principal?    I  often  self-­‐reflected  on  this  

question,  especially  when  all  the  administrators  would  say,  “Joining  the  dark  side,  

eh?”    Well,  dark  side  or  not,  I  see  the  challenges  that  we  as  administrators  face,  and  I  

feel  your  frustrations.    Standards  are  ever  increasing,  while  funding  is  ever  

decreasing.    It  is  these  disparities  that  motivate  me  to  be  an  ethical  leader  in  our  

school.    I  believe  that  in  order  to  face  these  complex  issues  each  day,  I  must  follow  

what  Michael  Fullan  (2003)  argues  are  the  six  key  elements  of  successful  leadership:      

1)  Moral  purpose  –  we  must  act  with  urgency  and  the  intention  of  making  a  

positive  difference  in  the  lives  of  the  people  we  serve,  impacting  both  the  

direction  and  results  of  our  efforts.      

2)  Understanding  the  change  process  –  we  must  have  guidelines  that  give  

concrete  and  novel  ways  of  thinking  about  the  elusive  process  of  change.      

3)  Relationships  are  key  –  we  must  build  strong  networks  with  diverse  

people  and  groups  that  foster  purposeful  interaction  and  problem  solving  

and  continual  improvement.      

4)  Knowledge  Creation  and  Sharing  –  inside  and  outside  the  organization,  

knowledge  and  sharing  is  a  social  process  which  build  on  relationships.    

5)  Coherence  Making  –  we  must  turn  ambiguity  into  meaning  that  is  a  

perennial  pursuit.      

6)  Energy  –  Enthusiasm  –  Hopefulness  Constellation  –  we  must  convey  a  

sense  of  optimism  and  confidence  in  our  everyday  practice.  

Echoing  Dewey  (1907),  Fullan  (2001b)  adds  that  change  should  also  be  

driven  by  the  desire  to  create  a  better  and  more  equitable  society.    He  stated  that,  

“Public  schools  need  to  develop  what  Coleman  (1990)  termed  “social  capital”  –  to  

help  produce  citizens  who  have  the  commitment,  skills,  and  disposition  to  foster  

norms  of  civility,  compassion,  fairness,  trust,  collaborative  engagement,  and  

constructive  critiques  under  conditions  of  great  social  diversity.”  (p.  17).  

John  Hattie,  who  authored  the  study  “Visible  Learning:  A  synthesis  of  over  

800  Meta-­‐Analyses  Relating  to  Achievement”  (2008),  said  this  in  a  presentation  

about  his  book:      

“There’s  not  many  things  that  we  do  in  our  schools,  that  have  negative  effects  on  kids.    In  fact,  97-­‐98%  of  the  thing  that  we  do  in  schools  has  a  positive  effect  on  (academic)  achievement.    Hence  the  notion,  that  all  you  need  to  enhance  a  kids  learning,  is  a  pulse.    And  that’s  my  worry,  that   we   set   the   bar   so   low,   most   teachers   just   say   ‘I’m   above  average’…they’re   right,   if   they   set   the   bar   at   zero.     Everybody  enhances  kids  learning…  and  your  job  as  (teachers)  is  not  to  enhance  learning.    Yours  is  to  enhance  it  by  greater  than  the  average”.      

      I  feel  that  John  Hattie’s  statement  truly  exemplifies  how  I  feel  we  need  

to  change  the  system  in  education  so  that  all  of  you  are  motivated  to  set  the  

bar  higher  than  zero.    This  may  be  something  you  already  do…great!    Now  let  

your  expectations  infect  everyone  like  a  virus!    Every  one  of  us  must  be  

willing  to  set  the  bar  high.      It  will  be  my  responsibility  to  promote  moral  

purpose,  and  to  understand  that  change  is  a  process.    I  will  need  to  build  

working  relationships  with  you,  our  students,  and  their  parents.    I  will  need  

to  work  with  everyone  to  build  on  previous  knowledge  and  create  new  

solutions  for  unforeseen  and  ongoing  problems.    I  will  demonstrate  

coherence  in  my  decisions  and  strive  to  stay  away  from  ambiguity  and  

opacity.    And  really,  above  all,  I  want  to  be  a  virtuous  leader  who  is  servant  to  

those  I  work  with  and  for,  and  lead  with  energy,  enthusiasm,  and  hope.    

 

 

References  

Dewey,  J.  (1907).  The  School  and  Society.  Chicago:  University  of  Chicago  Press.  

Fullan,  M.  (2001).  Leading  in  a  culture  of  change.    San  Francisco:  Jossey-­‐Bass.  

Fullan,  M.  (2001b).  The  NEW  Meaning  of  Educational  Change,  3rd  ed.  New  York:  

Teachers  College  Press.  

Fullan,  M.    (2003).    The  Moral  Imperative  of  School  Leadership.    Thousand  Oaks,  CA:  

Corwin.