School Leadership: From Performing Music

to Making Music

Evolution of School Leadership

Manager• Overseeing instructional subordinates Instructional Leader• Foreman

– overseeing, trouble shooting, repairing malfunctions

Transformational/Transactional Leader• Leaders of Meaning

Leaders of Meaning

• Recognize the need for change• Creating new visions and commitments

to visions• Concentration on long term goals• Inspires others to try and transcend

their interests for organizational goals

New Metaphors for leadership are evident in music

Centrist Leadership

In a traditional music program…

• orchestra/band/chorus goal: the faithful reproduction of the music as written by the composer

• conductor functions as the leader, responsible for any nuance and interpretation

Centrist Leadership

Thereby, the policy (score) is generated (composed) by the legislature (composers)

Principals (conductors) are expected to take the policy (score) and get the teachers (musicians) to perform faithfully

Once teachers receive the policy (score) they are expected to create mini orchestras (students) playing their parts carefully diligent to what the teacher (conductor) directs

New Leadership – The Jazz Combo

• no de-facto leader; once started, each plays their own interpretation guided by a common melody

• room for experimentation• leadership changes from player to player,

depending where the melody is• group is held together through leadership,

but not a single leader• each member brings unique expertise and if

any musician fails to do their part adequately, the music is audibly impacted

What is School Leadership?

Leadership is best understood from an organizational perspective rather than

a traditional centrist perspective derived from concern of positional

authority

Schools with Strong Leadership

• Strong sense of individual and group organizational efficacyAll members believe they can play well and pay well together as a group

• A school culture that reflects the primacy of maintaining a strong teaching and learning environmentThough improvised, you can always hear the melody

• A curriculum heavily grounded in constructivist learning for both students and teachersEach member puts their own signature on the music played

Schools with Strong Leadership

• An exciting and robust social environment and cultureEnthusiastic, engaged and highly enthusiastic

about the music

• A level of teacher autonomy that allows for creativity but not at the expense of the accomplishing group goals

Cannot play as one pleases without regard to the music and the group’s performance

 • Adequate breadth and depth of professional and

pedagogical content knowledgeA broad understanding of the music

Schools with Strong Leadership

• Cooperativeness and collaboration among group members

Listening and musically responding to others

• A sense of collaborative ownership and contributionsAn understanding of the music and ones

contribution to it

• A sense of leadership that is constantly evolving, acquired, dynamic and not ruled by committee 

Making music vs. performing music

‘Traditional’ Schools

• driven by external goals developed off site with little teacher input

• what the students should know at the end of the year has been pre-determined

• success in attaining goals is measured by standardized means

• faithfully duplicating the score while the teacher conducts

‘Jazz’ Schools

• curriculum that is viewed as an ongoing process

• standards as a part of the educational process, inseparable from the efforts to meet them

• standardized tests serve as diagnostic tools to see how the music can be improved

Leader’s Job

• keep up with educational needs and trends (audience demands)

• get teachers (colleagues) to work together collaboratively

• manage non instructional burdens to free up teachers to teach

• navigating the dynamic tension between top/down and bottom/up

Sources

Reconceptualizing School Leadership for the 21st Century: Music, Metaphors and Leadership Density

Wade Smith and Chad E. Ellett, Louisiana State University, February 2000