Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Aiming High and Hitting the Mark as a Concept of Educational Management

By Gilbert M. Forbes

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson “ we aim above to hit the mark”.

The new management under the context of the academe is that those who lead are attuned to the changing natures of teachers, students and its environs. Hence, The leadership styles of academic institutions must blend with the demands of the times. Our concern, in general is creating a new culture, more specifically, designing a high performance environment with in your school, community and related avenues.The job of every school is education…quality education. Faculty, staff and administrators must be educated to keep their skills current, increase their responsibilities, and cooperate in achieving common goals. Education is not by lecture but by policies and practices that reinforce planning, self evaluation and self development.

Transformational educational leaders can provide extra ordinary effort among faculty and staff in a certain educational set up. Leaders who have personal approach to people and can instill in them a sense of larger mission create a higher performance atmosphere one in which the school manager becomes the coach, cheerleader, facilitator, and consultant. Transformational leaders got visions and expectations that encourage them to work for hours, produce outstanding results and express total commitment. This type of leaders gives followers a sense of autonomy and fosters their self development. Further, this type of leadership provides a model of integrity, fairness, and high standards while being capable of formality and firmness and of reprimanding or correcting inappropriate.

When people clearly understand what is expected of them and are held accountable for fulfilling these expectations, performance improves and productivity increases. Clarifying roles and relationships among faculty and staff is a continuing responsibility of leadership.

Academic administrators often despair of managing their school to their own satisfaction, knowing the impossibility of managing the institution satisfactorily from everyone else’s point of view. The approach to academic management can provide principals greater self-satisfaction while increasing acceptance of academic management by others. It emphasizes creativity rather than constraint, continuity rather than conformity, achievement rather than protocol.

Calm Renee (Prof. Reneecilia Paz De Leon as she gave her feedback on one of my reflections on Feb. 24, 2008 in my course DepEd eXCELS Batch 2 Class 22)