S P O T L I G H T: L E A D E R S H I P

LEADING

MANAGING

Are You Leading, or Just Managing to Get By?

YOU ARE A LEADER IF you are spending the majority
of your time facilitating program quality and professional development improvement plans, researching systems for better recruitment and retention of families, acting as a resource for the strategic plan task force, systematically assessing the needs and satisfaction levels of all school constituencies, working with the board to plan the future of the school over the next 10 years, and offering encouragement and appreciation to those who need and deserve it.

By Jonathan Wolff, Michael Eanes, and Dana Kaminstein

What is the difference between being a leader and being a manager of a Montessori school community?
In the leadership consultation and organizational development work we do with schools and business organizations around the world, and in creating the curriculum for the Course for Leading Schools at Houston Montessori Center, we have identified seven essential principles of convergent school leadership, each of which can be found in the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori.

Leaders Cultivate Convergent Learning Communities

What does it mean to have a convergent school community? A Montessori school is comprised of six constituencies: students, staff, parents, administrators, trustees, and alumni. Each of these groups comes to the school community with a distinctly different set of needs and expectations. Students want to have fun learning with their classmates. Teachers require the time, space, and resources to create a vibrant prepared environment. Parents expect their children to be safe and secure, and to reach their personal and academic potential. Administrators want satisfied students, staff, and parents, full enrollment, and a balanced budget. The board aspires to keep the

YOU ARE A MANAGER IF you are spending the majority of your time responding to staff and parent problems, dealing with facility upkeep and maintenance issues, talking with upset or unruly children, trying to keep the board organized and in check, tracking down late tuition payments, and ironing out the logistical details of educational, social, or fundraising events. The next natural question is, How does a school administrator as busy and overwhelmed as I am move from being a manager to being a leader?

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school stable and growing into the foreseeable future. Alumni wish to enjoy pleasant memories of their time in the school community and like being kept abreast of good things happening at their alma mater. Each of these groups functions within its own distinct framework. Picture these constituencies as six parallel lines. One might go so far as to say that these constituencies live in parallel realities within the school community. Many times, however, as a school grows, these groups do not remain parallel. They may begin to diverge from one another as their desires and dreams begin to surface. Or worse yet, we may find these groups in conflict with one another concerning the direction of the educational program or institution. Sometimes Montessori administrators inherit school communities that have constituencies that have gone from functioning parallel to one other to operating on diverging or conflicting paths. Needless to say, diverging or conflicting constituencies do not produce a happy, harmonious, or sustainable school community. It is the job of the leader to cultivate a convergent culture throughout the school community, one in which all populations share the schools mission, operating values, standards of program quality, and vision for the future. When the six constituencies share common goals for human development as well as for institutional advancement, the school community energizes all participants. Such school communities tend to attract and maintain the human and financial resources required to deliver and sustain an authentic Montessori program well into the future.

Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: She [the teacher] must learn how to appreciate and gather in all those tiny and delicate manifestations of the opening life in the childs soul. (Eugenie, 1975) Principle 2 Convergent leadership views the school as a system, not disparate parts. All parts are interrelated. When one part is affected, the whole system is affected. Defining Question: What impact will this decision, plan, or policy have on the entire school communitychildren, teachers, parents, administrative operations, program quality, enrollment, financial well-being, and school growth? Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: All mankind forms a single organism . . . Humanity forms a single unita single nation. This single nation has opened the whole world and brought all men together. (Montessori, 1972, pp. 1167) Principle 3 Convergent leadership is committed to gaining a clear understanding of the needs and aspirations of each constituency participating in the school community (students, faculty, administrative staff, parents, trustees, and alumni) and of that community as a whole. Defining Questions: What are the needs and dreams of each constituency? What touches them? What brings them meaning and fulfillment? Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: Follow the lead of the child. (Eugenie, 1975) Principle 4 Convergent leadership guides the school community to achieve a clear vision of educational outcomes. This includes achieving consensus on Montessori Best Practice, communication agreements, and strategic goals. Defining Questions: What is our vision of human development and human potential? How will we support one another and resolve our differences respectfully? What are the essential elements of Montessori education for our program? What makes the experience of our learning community special and compelling? Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: The Montessori teacher is constantly looking for the child who is not yet there . . . In her imagination she sees the single normalized type, which lives in the world of spirit. (Montessori, 1967, pg. 252) Principle 5 Convergent leadership creates and follows a strategic plan for program and institutional enhancement. The

Seven Principles of Convergent Leadership

We have identified seven principles of leadership that empower individuals and school communities to fulfill their potential. In the Montessori classroom, where children share common goals and guidelines, and in the process gain independence and maturity, the teacher moves from being a manager of capricious behavior to acting as the facilitator of self-disciplined learning. Similarly, in a Montessori school community, where everyone shares a common educational vision and language, the administrative paradigm changes from one of managing people and problems to one of leading people toward their dreams and destiny. Principle 1 Convergent leadership focuses first on what is working effectively. Defining Questions: What is working effectively in our school community? What assets and accomplishments can we build upon?

MONTESSORI LIFE FALL 2005

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plan covers all essential systems and functions: finances, administrative structure, program quality, staffing, enrollment, board development, and marketing/communications. Defining Question: What is our blueprint for growth and greatness? Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: Teach teaching, not correcting. (Eugenie, 1975) Principle 6 Convergent leadership develops the leadership capabilities of others in the school community. Defining Question: How can I empower others to take the lead and become leaders? Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: To aid life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the basic task of the educator. (Seldin & Epstein, 2003, p. 18) Principle 7 Convergent leadership demands personal growth and self-improvement. It means a leader must become a role model of normalization, an individual who exemplifies consensus building, handles conflict with honesty and empathy, and acts as a catalyst for excellence and innovation. Defining Questions: Am I honestly working to become a happier, healthier, more effective, and supportive human being? Do people in the school community see me as a lifelong learner, striving to improve my capabilities? Alignment to Montessori Philosophy: The first essential is that the teacher go through an inner, spiritual preparationcultivate certain aptitudes in the moral order. This is the most difficult part of her training, without which all the rest is of no avail. (Eugenie, 1975)

are so busy putting out fires and trying to make people happy or accountable that they have little time left for reflection, research, creative thinking, or recreation. Dr. Covey sees this as time for improving ones production capability (Covey, 1989, p. 2889). Other organizational development experts emphasize the importance of taking time for reflection and gaining perspective. We know that effective Montessori teachers take time from their instructional activities to observe, assess, and document the learning and social dynamics of their classroom communities. Similarly, effective school leaders create time for deep reflection and systems thinking about the needs and tendencies of the school community. 2. Build relationships early and often with all your constituencies. If you dont make time to build bridges of understanding with students, staff, parents, trustees, and alumni, you cannot expect to get support and commitment from these people when the time comes to build a new school, improve the quality of the program, or respond to a crisis. Effective school leaders are proactive in showing an interest in the happiness, health, ideas, and aspirations of everyone in the school community, from the president of the board to the part-time aftercare or assistant teacher. When we reach out to the people who contribute to our school community to understand their needs and perspectives, we foster invaluable allies for the future. 3. Know what is important and make your decisions accordingly. In Houston Montessori Centers The Course for Leading Schools we propose the following rubric for all school decision-making, whether it be educational, operational, or strategic in nature: We suggest that if the Montessori philosophy is based on what is good for the child and for healthy human development, then the order of inquiry in considering any change must be: a. Will this decision support the healthy and whole development of the child? b. Will this decision support the delivery of an authentic Montessori program and the staff that facilitates it? c. Will this decision support the development of a stable and sustainable school community? d. Will this decision meet the needs of the families served and those you wish to serve? When school leaders and boards make decisions based primarily or solely on what parents want, or what a faction on the board wants, or what a group of veteran teachers wants, they are no longer advocating what is best for the child, for the program, or the institution. They have forgotten the principles and values that drive the Montessori train.

Creating a Prepared Environment for School Leadership

In the Montessori classroom we guide children to manage their own lives and learning by designing prepared environments that focus students attention on what we want them to explore and experience. Our carefully constructed classroom environments produce both the stimulation and isolation required for successful learning. Similarly, there are strategies for preparing an administrative environment that can move us from being managers of constant conflict and contingencies to being leaders who empower people to work responsibly and collaboratively toward common goals: 1. Give yourself long, uninterrupted work (and play) periods on a regular basis. This is what leadership expert Stephen Covey calls Quadrant II, self-management activity (Covey, 1989, p. 1623). Many Montessori school leaders
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4. Understand the anatomy of your school community, then delegate and systematize. Some Montessori school administrators delegate program, business, or strategic functions to other people and groups before they fully understand the characteristics and interrelationships of these institutional domains. This is dangerous, as there is no knowledgeable oversight or quality control. Certain groups or factions invariably get out of control and off task. Other administrators understand the systems and functions that comprise a school community but are afraid to relinquish control and delegate responsibilities to proven and capable people. This produces a micromanaged climate in which people feel oppressed and the over-controlling leader rarely has time to focus on big-picture program goals and strategic vision. 5. Stop providing answers and rules. Pose questions that facilitate clarity, standards of quality, and consensus. People who think deeply and innovatively, solve problems creatively, and work collaboratively tend to be surrounded by leaders who ask penetrating, focused, and imaginative questions. Managers keep people on task and on time with rigid rules and ready answers. Leaders foster adaptable and motivated learners through the art of facilitative questioning. 6. Build your school community on a foundation of gratitude and dreams. Leaders help people focus on what is most valued, who should be thanked today, and the potential for doing greater good in the future. Research on employee satisfaction, loyalty, and retention indicates that workers care as much if not more about positive and supportive feedback from leaders and professional peers as they do about compensation and benefits. 7. Champion innovation and experimentation. Managers want people who merely stay on task. Like a good Montessori teacher, leaders encourage people to expand their proficiencies by testing new ideas and trying extensions and variations of proven practices. 8. Be aware of the world beyond Montessori. Leaders keep themselves abreast of research and discoveries outside of their own organizational and philosophic frameworks. Learning about emerging trends and practices in leadership, organizational development, global economics, and education helps everyone in the school community to expand his or her horizons and abilities.

and educated in schools that operated from commandand-control paradigms. Do what the authorities tell you to do, or else! As children we may have been managed by our caregivers, and not led to the life skills of self-management. This sort of programming is difficult to overcome. Many of us tend to supervise adults in our school communities in a manner that mirrors our own upbringing as children. To move from being a manager to being a leader requires the same degree of trust in the capacity of adults (including yourself) to learn and grow that Dr. Montessori had for every child. Leading a Montessori learning community requires more than an understanding of school management. It calls for the ability to stay focused on the principles, priorities, systems, and strategies that can produce an authentic and sustainable Montessori program.
References Covey, S. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon & Schuster. Eugenie, I. AMI Early Childhood Course, 1975, Montessori Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. Montessori, M. (1964). The Montessori method. New York: Schocken Books. (1966). The secret of childhood. Notre Dame, IN: Fides Publishers, Inc. (1967). The absorbent mind. New York: Delta. (1972). Supernature and the single nation: Education and peace. Chicago: Henry Regnery. (1973). From childhood to adolescence. New York: Schocken Books. Seldin, T., & Epstein, P. (2003). The Montessori way. Sarasota, FL: The Montessori Foundation. Suggested Reading Ackoff, R. (1999). Re-creating the corporation: A design of organizations for the 21st century. New York: Oxford University Press. Covey, S. (1990). Principle-centered leadership. New York: Simon & Schuster. (2004). The 8th habit. New York: Simon & Schuster. Miller, A. (1983). For your own good: Hidden cruelty in child rearing and the roots of violence. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Oakley, E., & Krug, D. (1992) Enlightened leadership. Denver: Stone Tree Publishing. Watkins, J., & Mohr, B. (2001). Appreciative inquiry: Change at the speed of imagination. San Francisco: Jossey Bass/Pfeiffer.

The Bottom Line

Many school administrators were raised in families

DANA KAMINSTEIN is a Fellow at Wharton Executive Education, University of Pennsylvania. MICHAEL EANES is a former president of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) and former executive director of the American Montessori Society. JONATHAN WOLFF is director of Learning for Life, an organization dedicated to enhancing staff performance, program quality, and institutional development.
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