Distributive Leadership and Capacity Building

Distributive Leadership (shared leadership) has a direct correlation with capacity building.  I guess that before we talk about capacity building we should look at how the leadership is distributed in our school.  Our leadership is shared formally and informally as follows.

 Formal Distributive Leadership:

• At our school we have a principal and three assistant principals. The principal is responsible for everything that takes place in the school but he has specific areas that he will focus on such as the school budget and staff evaluations. Each of the assistant principals has certain areas of responsibility as well.  Our school is a grades 10 - 12 school and each assistant principal is responsible for a grade.  Even though each of the administration has their individual responsibilities, we all work together and help each other out.  We also have three councillors in our school and each also has certain responsibilities and a grade that they are responsible for.  We also have subject area co-ordinators who have responsibilities within their departments.  On the non-certificated side we have an office manager and a business manager who have a variety of responsibilities as well. 

Informal Distributive Leadership:

•  Our formal leaders work hard to support all of the staff in our school.  We believe that it is our job to help individuals find their passions and then support them so that they can be successful.  We celebrate their successes together and we all learn from their mistakes.  As a result our teachers become leaders in their classrooms and our support staff become leaders in their areas of support.  These are not formal leadership positions but they are recognized and valued as leadership positions within  our school.  This philosophy has been filtered down to our students and we have high expectations that they will act as leaders amongst their peers.

Capacity Building: 

• As a result of the formal and informal leadership structures in our school, everyone knows that they are leaders and have their own responsibilities.  Whether the leadership is formal or informal it is valued and respected by everyone. We are all equal, we all just have different responsibilities.  Because our staff have the power to pursue their passions and know that they will be provided with the support they need, they have tried new methods and ideas.  Their successes have encouraged them to continue to try new things and there is a great deal of passion and excitement for learning amongst both staff and students.  The shared leadership in our school has been used for capacity building in a very successful way.

                  Bill Schlacht