Reflection

The most important things I learned from the course were from People Skills - learning to listen reflectively and how to employ the assertion process.  I also found the article by Cavicchia "Shame in the Coaching Relationship: Reflections on Organisational Vulnerability" to be extremely valuable.  The Leadership book helped me understand the roles and qualities of a leader and the importance of the give and take nature between a leader and his/her group members.  Other points that stick with me are that to be an effective leader you must be a visionary, truly connect with your members on a personl level/meet their needs, and use your networking skills to further your cause. These are things that I maybe knew but hadn't realized their impact on my ability to be a great leader instead of just a good one.

 

If I had to choose a theory that I think defines my approach to leadership, it would be the Situational Approach.  I feel like I tailor my support and directive behaviors to the group members' development level.  I believe a lot of this is due to my experience as a teacher. 

I believe I am already an effective leader at the building level- not that there isn't room for improvement.  At the end of the school year, I sent a document to my principal outlining what I had accomplished my first year as an LMS and what my goals were for the immediate future according to my library improvement plan.  My 2011-2012 goals include:

• Library Facebook (or other social networking) page
• School-wide end-of-year summer reading promotion & program
• Book Swaps – students bring in gently-used books they’re finished with & choose a different one to take home (twice a year- before Christmas Break and summer?)
• A seating area (couch, easy chairs, coffee table, rug)
• More involvement in dept. and/or staff meetings to present demos & ways to incorporate free 2.0 technologies
• Quarterly newsletter
• ebook & ereader research

2012-2013 (after graduation) goals:

• Reshelf fiction by genre
• Revamp library webpage
• More collaboration with the Crawfordsville District Public Library
• Annual Poetry Slams
• Leadership at the state level: presentations at ILF, involvement in Young Hoosier nominee selection, other

Although I don't have them stated as library goals, other areas that I have promoted and will continue promote are content area reading and inquiry (vs the standard research paper).  These are items that I've been laying the groundwork for and would like to see addressed in the school improvement plan. 

I also have been promoting the use of 2.O technologies.  I had shown a L. Arts teacher a Glogster poster that I'd created for a YHB.  She then wanted students to use Glogster for an assignment, but since the free version has access to adult content, our admin wouldn't allow it.  I made my pitch for Glogster and other sites that have a social networking aspect and how that shouldn't be the limiting factor because we would also teach students how to use the technolgy responsibly.  I also pointed out that students were already using Glogster and other similar technolgies outside of school, that we needed to get relevent, and that dozens upon dozens of other schools- elem. through HS- had links to it on their webpages (provided website addresses) and were, therfore, using it. As a result, we are forming a committee to further discuss how to approach this aspect of 2.0 technologies as well as other filtering issues.

What I'm anxious to do is take my leadership skills beyond the building level, to the state/national level.  That is my personal goal, and I believe that once I'm finished with school, I will have the time to devote to becoming a noted professonal in the field.