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Title: On Becoming a School Leader: A Person-Centered Challenge by Arthur W. Combs, Ann B. Miser, Kathryn S. Whitaker ISBN: 0-87120-336-7 Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve Pub. Date: 01 February, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)
Rating: 4
Summary: Impressions as and Upcoming School Leader
Comment: Running Head: Book Review --On Becoming a School Leader: A Person-Centered Challenge
Book Review: On Becoming a School Leader: A Person-Centered Challenge
Alberto Hananel Pepperdine University - GSEP September 23, 2000 ED 762 Dr. Doug Leigh
Introduction
Arthur Combs's book, On Becoming A School Leader: A Person-Centered Challenge, provides a clear method of understanding ourselves, as school leaders, and methods needed to improve our skills.
The book is divided into three sections: Leadership and Belief Systems, Leader's Conceptions of Change and Self, and Leaders and Organizations. Each section is filled with easy to read and clearly thought out illustrations of what occurs at a school setting with educational leaders, or in my personal case a 'rising educational leader.'
Gut Reaction: I have always considered myself a 'people person.' My definition of this includes that I am able to get along well with people, interact and accept them for whom they truly are. Combs says "leaders act from the most accurate concepts of human behavior" (Combs, p. 9). He explains, in depth the value of a person-centered method of dealing with others, especially in education. He claims that leaders must always find the way to best communicate with people, which in terms become a lifetime project. Combs writes powerfully about what educational leaders encounter, on a daily basis, as well as in general terms. He does a good job expressing what occurs at schools, and how the principal or the leader of the organization must deal with the myriad of people and the multitude of different tasks and data he/she faces each and every day.
I found myself nodding, in agreement, and seeing where I stand in the scheme of what Combs is relating to his readers. Each section of the book had things that not only made me think, but also gave me a good sense of how to possibly deal with situations I will have to face while my time as Interim Principal at my school site and as an educational leader, as a whole. I also found that I could take many of the topics written about in the book and use them or pocket them until the appropriate time.
I truly enjoyed the portion titled Understanding the Costs of Empathic Leadership. A good leader must be sensitive to his/her own needs as well as those he/she leads. Combs writes, "they must keep only a tentative hold on beliefs, realizing that what they know and believe today may not be what they will know an d believe tomorrow" (Combs, p. 41). It is true that leaders are here to inspire followers to greatness and always to achieve goals, professionally and socially.
Big Picture: Reaching our goals is truly the big picture in all of this talk relating to personal leadership. It is true that leaders must first understand themselves in order to achieve greatness, before trying to get others to go with them and conquer ends.
Leaders must be able to reach followers in many different ways. Finding these make the job challenging. However, effective leaders are ones who know how to communicate, expect change, can deal with it efficiently and are not afraid to deal with it head on.
Leaders too must be problem solvers and are able to confront problems with effective solutions. In order to do this, leaders, especially educational leaders, must be good role models for all the adults, students and parents; in order to be able to take the stakeholders to a place where everyone can grow, learn to change and discover what everyone's needs are.
Implications: ØIn the last couple of weeks, I have attended the "Seven Habits for Highly Effective People" (Franklin Covey) Workshop, which has opened my eyes in how to deal, not only with myself, but also my wife, colleagues, teachers, students and other stakeholders at my work site. Combs touches upon ideas that correlate well with the Habits discussed in Steven Covey's book, Seven Habit for Highly Effective People. I found that Combs links with Habit #5 "Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood." The best way to describe this would be that a doctor, first listens to a patient, diagnosis the problem, and then prescribes a solution to the illness. Combs, in Chapter I, A Person-Centered Perspective On Educational Leadership, talks about how a leader must be understood in terms of the belief systems of those that person wants to lead. This leader must first understand the ones he leads, and then is able to explore and refine his/her belief system that will benefit for him/herself (Combs, p. 13). Again, in Chapter Two, Seeking and Responding to Data, he eludes to the fact that the leader first sought the people's perspective before responding to the behavior. This might also be part of Habit #3, First Things First, where one is to prioritize before prescribing solutions or even trying to undertake the problems at hand. Questions: Being an educational leader is not an easy task. There are so many facets of this that it is difficult to pinpoint details. How do graduate schools know whom to admit into Master's and/or Doctoral programs that are meant to train educational leaders? What are some of the qualities schools look for in a person, before making the final admission?
How do educational leaders keep all the balls in the air, efficiently? Without the support of the stakeholders (staff, faculty, parents, etc) how does the job get accomplished?
What happens to an efficient organization/school that has a good leader, if he/she leaves? How can the school recuperate?
Combs, A. W., Miser, A. B., Whitaker, K. S. (Eds). On Becoming a School Leader: A Person-Centered Challenge. Alexandria, VA. Association for Curriculum Development.
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Title: Differentiated Supervision, 2nd edition by Allan A. Glatthorn ISBN: 0871202751 Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve Pub. Date: 15 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: What's Worth Fighting for in Your School? by Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves ISBN: 080773554X Publisher: George Scheer & Associates Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship? by Michael Fullan ISBN: 0807737054 Publisher: Teachers College Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Shaping School Culture : The Heart of Leadership by Terrence E. Deal, Kent D. Peterson ISBN: 0787962430 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 07 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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