The Ontario Leadership Framework 2012

1. The Ontario Leadership Framework 2012

2. Supporting School and System Leadership Policy Research Practice Collective voice for the advancement of evidence-based leadership practices in Ontario Institute for Education Leadership (IEL) Ministry of Education DistrictSchool Boards IEL’s goals support the 3 core priorities of the Ministry

3. Definition of Leadership, p.5 • The exercise of influence on organizational members and diverse stakeholders toward the identification and achievement of the organization’s vision and goals • Many sources • Reciprocal • Exercised through relationships • Ethically defensible

4. What is the Ontario Leadership Framework? • what good leadership looks like, based on evidence of what makes the most difference to student achievement and well-being • practices of successful school and system leaders, as well as the organizational practices of successful schools and districts • includes Personal Leadership Resources (leadership traits and dispositions) that have been found to increase the effectiveness of leadership practices

5. Why Do We Need a Framework? • Foundation for all aspects of the Ontario Leadership Strategy (OLS) • Discussion of these practices provides opportunities to determine areas of strength and areas for growth • The framework is not a checklist but rather a tool for discussion

6. The Framework: Research and Guide • Two documents provide useful information about the framework: • A research report by Dr. Kenneth Leithwood • A “user-guide” for practitioners

7. Components of the OLF, p.7

8. Important Changes • Personal Leadership Resources • Greater focus on equity and inclusion • Explicit reference to the role of parents and community • Specific reference to productive working relationships with federation representatives • Focus on maintaining a safe, accepting and healthy environment

9. A Sample School-Level Leadership Practice, p. 12 Domain: Setting Directions: Practice: Building a shared vision School leaders: • establish an overall sense of purpose • build understanding of implications of the school’s vision for its programs and classroom instruction • encourage the development of openness to change • help staff and diverse stakeholders understand relationship between the school’s vision and board and provincial policy initiatives and priorities

10. Five Core Leadership Capacities, p.8 Ideas into Action • Setting Goals • Aligning Resources with Priorities • Promoting Collaborative Learning Cultures • Using Data • Engaging in Courageous Conversations

11. What Are the Personal Leadership Resources? p.23 • Cognitive Resources • Problem solving expertise • Knowledge of effective school and classroom practices that directly affect student learning (LSA – SEF) • Social Resources • Perceiving emotions • Managing emotions • Acting in emotionally appropriate ways • Psychological Resources • Optimism • Self-efficacy • Resilience

12. School and system leaders’ jobs are complex and feature higher than average amounts of ambiguity risk uncertainty 2. They contribute to leader initiative creativity responsible risk-taking behaviour Why are psychological resourcesincluded in OLF?

13. “…resilient leaders take action that responds to new and ever changing realities, even as they maintain the essential operations of the organizations they lead. Not only do they quickly get their mojo back, but because they understand that the status quo is unsustainable, they also use it to move mountains.” Reeves & Allison. ( 2009,2010) Resilience

14. Share: an event in your life/leadership journey that strengthened your resilience over time an event in your life/leadership journey that compromised your resilience over time an example from your personal leadership journey or from a leader in your organization of a “Resilience Practice” that enabled the leader and the organization to “bounce back” and “move forward” Look at: the bolded leadership practices in the OLF school or system level placemat and pick out several that will draw upon a leader’s resilience in order to effectively enact that leadership practice The Resilient Leader

15. The combined effect of Optimism, Efficacy and Resilience, as Luthans and his colleagues explain, is characterized by: (1) having confidence (self-efficacy) to take on and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks; (2) making a positive expectation (optimism) about succeeding now and in the future…[as well as]… (3) persevering toward goals and, when necessary, redirecting paths to goals … in order to succeed; and (4) when beset by problems and adversity, sustaining and bouncing back and even beyond (resilience) to attain success. (Leithwood, p.54) The Resilient Leader

16. WYSIATI (What You See Is All There Is) “The primary work of district leaders, aimed at improving the learning and well-being of students, is a mystery to most members of the community, it’s just not something they think to think about.” (p.9) “Most members of the public attribute what students learn exclusively to the very visible school, teachers and principals with whom they have direct contact.” (p.9) “The case for districts needs to be made explicitly; it will not make itself.” (p.9) “Strong districts do add significant value to the learning of students beyond the contribution of schools and classrooms. As Ben Levin has claimed, in reference to Ontario’s educational reform efforts, schools ‘cannot do it alone.’” (p.61) Strong Districts and Their Leadership

17. Nine critical features of strong districts: The What Broadly shared mission, vision and goals founded on ambitious images of the educated person Coherent instructional guidance system Deliberate and consistent use of multiple sources of evidence to inform decisions Learning-oriented organizational improvement processes Strong Districts and Their Leadership

18. Nine critical features of strong districts: The What Job-embedded professional development for all members Budgets, structures, personnel policies and procedures, and uses of time aligned with the district’s mission, vision and goals A comprehensive approach to leadership development A policy-oriented board of trustees Strong Districts and Their Leadership

19. The How: Strong district leadership practices OLF – District Effectiveness Framework Two especially useful personal leadership resources for senior leadership: Proactivity (psychological) Systems Thinking (cognitive) Strong Districts and Their Leadership