Maria Eva S.

Nacion
Leadership

Date: July 5, 2015Output on Innovative Educational

Topic Sentences:
1. There is a shortlist of school leaders nowadays and schools without
a School Head directly affect the school performance. According to
Marzano (2003) cited by P. J., Renihan (2012), there is a strong
relationship between the leadership and the overall school climate.
Beteille, et. al., (2009) as cited by P. J., Renihan (2012), leaders play
a central role in school improvement.
2. School Heads must be innovative leader by scanning the varied
perspectives and wider picture of the scenario of the stakeholders
to address the need of the current situation as well as the future
generations. According to Sena and Erena (2012), innovative
leaders are visionary that can solve current problem with focus on
the future.
Introduction:
In todays environmental and societal conditions, innovative leaders
must be equipped with several qualities to face the current need of the
society or the school and recognize the danger pose by the atmosphere. To
ensure the future of the present generation and the next generation,
innovative leaders must know comprehensively the issue or problem. SWOT
analysis can be used by the innovative leaders as a strategy to start for a
strategic planning and to have the direction towards a solution. Scanning of
the whole scenario is a good start to understand and have an insight on what
to do start until end of any project or program .
School heads must be innovative leaders in order to address the many
concerns and issues inside the school. The duties and responsibilities of
school heads are too challenging, therefore, there is a demand for them to
be innovative leaders nowadays. This is one reason that there is scarcity in
the succession of school heads. School head is very important in the school
because they are contributory factor in the continuous improvement of the
schools and consequently they must be innovative leader.
School Head as an Innovative Leader
Innovative leaders must possess a number of attributes such as
knowledge and skills of a good leader. According to Sena and Erena (2012),
innovative leaders have several qualities in common, such as leadership

knowledge, skills, values and talents to recognize the danger of the current
problems and anticipate impacts on the future. Furthermore, Sena and Erena
(2012) stated that successful innovative leadership practices depend mainly
on the depth and breadth of leadership knowledge, variety of creative skills,
strong shared values and extraordinary talents of the innovative leaders.
Innovative leader must have a deep sense of foresight to solve problems
either in a short or long term because time, effort and financial resources are
also at stake. It was stated by Sena and Erena (2012) that innovative
leaders are visionary, focusing on thinking and anticipating the future, taking
risks, and committing their lives in solving the current problems and
satisfying the needs of people in short s well as the long term.
The qualities expected from the innovative leaders hinder somehow the
emerging need of leadership succession to be analyzed thoroughly and
systematically. Caldwell (2002) as cited by P. J., Renihan (2012), that there is a

complexity of the role of school head such as level of remuneration, status of

the profession, legal constraints and impact on family life are negative
features of principalship. Subsequently, leadership sustainability is alarming
that will eventually affect the organizational and operational structures of the
school system.
Synthesis
Leaders in the twenty-first century must observe and weigh up things
in different standpoints particularly the search for change brought about by
the evolution of the environment or the demands of the internal and external
stakeholders. Leaders must not only innovative in creating changes but must
have the will power and strong determination for a radical change. However,
radical change must be aligned with the vision and mission of the school to
reshape in a manner that is good or for the betterment of the many and for
the common good of all stakeholders.
Another thing to consider is the innovative followers. It would be easy
if both the leader and the followers are consistent in the manner of having
radical changes in the school system. Leaders must act courageously to let
his/her followers understand the whole situation for undertaking such
changes so that they will collaborate instead of counteracting the decisions
and actions of the leader. Followers must be well-informed of your steps of
action and lead them on what to do, how to do it and why they have to do it.
It is also very vital that the values of the school head observed by the
followers do not oppose with their own values. Innovative leaders can easily

win the hearts and souls of the followers if their values are also
homogenized. School heads must have a good combination of IQ, EQ and SQ
to become a good leader in the school that prevents also future school heads
to continue their passion to serve the school as a school head.
Conclusion
In spite of the challenges and demands to become innovative school
heads, teachers having the potentials must try their best to be one of them
or else there will be scarcity in the leadership succession in school. There is
only a need for training or immersion of future school heads to be trained
also by experts in the field to be more confident in handling the problems
prompted the school. Leaders are not simply born, they are made. It is a
process, a long process of gaining skills and attributes to become innovative
leaders. But we can produce from the many teachers, master teachers and
department heads in the field. Going back to school to get formal trainings
about the theories and principles of good leaders are also important but
must be put into practice. The desire and willingness, the passion and the
sincerity to serve your stakeholders, the perseverance and the determination
to face and solve the challenges and problems, the eagerness to work
collaborately with your stakeholders are some of many qualities that can
inspire to become innovative school head.