Doham reading ETL504

Donham, J. (2005) Leadership. In Enhancing teaching and learning: a leadership guide for school library media specialists (2nd ed.) (pp. 295-305) New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers

I agree with the statement p. 296 that good leaders know and respect the limits of their circles of influence. I think much of this comes from knowing your environment and people int it and learning how to approach matters and leadership personnel when necessary - as stated on p297 - looking inside and outside of themselves (leaders) to find solutions. Being proactive in the environment is critical - a leader stuck behind a desk will never achieve anything. Figure out what you do best and use it to the fullest and work hard on the skills that don't come so readily - I like that because doing the MasterTL has definitely pointed out to me skills I have and enjoy using and skills I need to work harder on to improve.

Have a vision - (p298) "sharedness", "concreteness" and "clarity". Collaboration and communication are particularly important in leadership.

p299 - leading by influence through being collegial rather than distant and superior - to demonstrate knowledge willingly and co-operatively

(p300)- keep up association with the students in the classroom and the classroom processes.

p301 - get involved in curriculum committees, leadership committees, council, function committees - promote the value of the library

p302 - that the library is a centre for teaching and learning rather than a room full of educational books - much has been written on this particular topic - it's not just a place to read - it is an active, productive and dynamic facility that offers so much more than a storage place for shelves of books.

p303 - encouragement to be self aware - write a journal and ask yourself everyday, what can I do differently and how can I do it in a better way.

Reading also differentiates between leadership of the nature of a principal and leadership of a TL - I think a TL's leadership role is much more subtle for obvious reasons and requires perhaps a greater degree of diplomacy.

Posted above on forum but will add more here:
Judy Bolton responded saying she thoroughly enjoyed reading this article - so did I - found it very informative - agree with her point about leading from a collegial position - essential in a workplace involving the human element rather than inanimate objects. Also thought Siobhan's point about being in a locus-of-control position was thought-provoking.