Ecosystem Leadership

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)>The role of a school principal is an extremely challenging one. Principals are required to be educators business managers strategic planners counsellors and most importantly leaders. While there are professional development opportunities and short courses available for aspiring principals many principals work their way up to the role without receiving any formal training in the specific skills required to successfully lead a school and its community.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)>Neil Barker argues in </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)>Ecosystem leadership: an approach for schools</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)> that in order to improve school leadership and subsequent student outcomes principals and leadership teams need to better understand how to lead together; to be intentional about the school's leadership and to methodically and deliberately develop a collective leadership approach.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)>Based on the organic and interconnected ecosystems found throughout the natural world </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)>Ecosystem leadership</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)> provides practical hands-on activities and templates to assist school leaders in developing collective leadership skills and practices. The book sets out 5 key leadership elements for school leaders to address: context vision processes focuses and impact.</span></p><p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)>Ecosystem leadership</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(71 71 71 1)> provides a collaborative self-improving approach to leadership that is systematic integrated and comprehensive. It describes a system of leadership that is fit for purpose based on a school's unique context and always with improving student outcomes at the forefront. </span></p>