992.3.24 Principals Identify Top Ten Leadership Traits

Principals Identify Top Ten Leadership Traits

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IT'S ALL ABOUT TRUST (一切取決於信任)
The second most-frequently listed trait, and fourth in overall average, was that school leaders need to be trustworthy and straight with students and staff.

整體的平均上排名第二和第四的特徵是一個學校的領導者必須和學生們和員工們有直接和全面的信任。
"A leader earns credibility and trust by being honest, by knowing how to do his or her job, and by telling the truth and being up-front with teachers, parents, and students," said Jim Jordan, principal at Buford (South Carolina) High School. Trust earns a high spot on Jordan's list because it "is earned by doing all of those other things -- establishing a vision, involving others, taking risks, learning from mistakes, refusing to lose, inspiring rather than coercing, compromising, and much more." "A relationship not based on integrity and trust is not worth anything," added Julie Askew, acting principal at Eltham Primary School in Melbourne, Australia. "A principal needs to be utterly reliable. You may be the only constant factor in a student's life."

Buford高中的校長Jim Jordan說到，“一個領導者藉由誠實，藉由知道如何做自己的工作，藉由說實話，還有站在老師、家長和學生們的前線等行為來贏得信任和信賴。在Jim Jordan校長的列表當中，信任屬於很高的位置，因為可以藉由做很多其他所有的事來贏得信任—建立一個意象，讓其他人參與，冒險，從錯誤中學習，拒絕失去，激發而不是強迫、妥協或其他的。Eltham Primary School校長Julie Askew說，“如果一段關係不是建立在正直和信任，那就不值得做任何事了。一個校長必須被完全地信賴。你(校長)有可能是一個學生一生當中惟一一個不變的事實。
"If people -- staff members, students, parents, community members, central office employees, school board members -- don't believe you to be a person of integrity, it won't matter how well you communicate a vision, how visible you become, how hard you work to develop strong leaders and teachers," said Cyndi Patterson, principal at Alvin (Texas) Elementary School.

德州Alvin小學的校長Cyndi Patterson說，“如果那些人們—員工成員，父母，社區成員，主要辦公室的員工，學校董事會成員—無法對你有身為一個人的信任，就算你把意象說得很完美，別人看的到你的所作所為，你如何努力的想要去發展出很強的領導者和老師，都是沒有意義的。”

"My model of behavior starts with how I am with others," commented Sue Maguire, principal at Lake Louise Elementary School, in Lakewood, Washington. "Being trustworthy sets the standard for others to follow. Right relationships follow from the appropriate right start."

INCLUDE OTHERS IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS (讓他人參與決策過程)
It is clear from the survey results that a strong school leader must actively work to develop leadership skills in other people on the school staff.

在調查結果中我們可以很清楚的看到，一個偉大的學校領導者必須發展出領導技巧讓其他人可以很彈性地在學校事務上來工作。
"All too often, we complain about the isolation we feel," principal Laura Crochet told Education World. "And sometimes we are isolated, but at times it is of our own making.
"Either through insecurity or fear, we think we must be the Big Principal. We forget that the operation of the school relies heavily on even the water boy carrying our vision throughout the entire system," added Crochet, of Genesis Alternative High School, in Houma, Louisiana. "If we rely on others to carry the message, then they must be part of the decision-making process. Once they own part of the decision-making process, then they shoulder some of the responsibility."

Laura Crochet校長對Education World(可能是媒體或雜誌)說，”幾乎是常常我們抱怨我們所感受到的疏離感，有時候我們是被疏離的，但是有時候卻是我們自己造成的。” Crochet另外說到，“不管是因著不安全感或是恐懼，我們認為我們必須是一個”大校長”我們忘記了學校強大的運作仰賴的是小從一個送水的男孩到整個系統都是和我們的遠景有關的。
"There is a lot of pretense about shared leadership, the 'flat' organization, shared decision making, consultation, and collaboration," according to Graeme Askew, principal at Streeton Primary School, in Melbourne, Australia. "Many school leaders talk the talk yet still cling to the stick of autocracy and control.
"Some of us are too scared to take the risk," said Askew. "But when we do, we notice that the people around us leap into action, initiating exciting programs and doing much more than you would have expected.
"It's the old empowerment factor," concluded Askew. "Ownership is the stimulus. Yet so many of us still cling to hierarchy and power."
Judy Burt, principal of Walton Ferry Elementary School, in Hendersonville, Tennessee, summed up the importance of including others. "Building leadership in others is very important," she said. "It is a reflection of trust in others, empowers others, and provides for a future for 'the vision.' It ensures that the vision will go on whether I am here to see it happen or not."
Walton Ferry的校長Judy Burt為關於讓其他人參與的重要性下了一個結論，“建立其他人的領導力是非常重要的，這樣的行為是信任其他人，賦予其他人能力，並且提供未來願景的一個反應。這也代表一件事不管我有沒有在這裡看到願景的發生，未來的願景還是會持續下去。

第一段先說明了信任的重要性，如果一個校長無法得到大家的信任，一個學校的運作很難繼續下去，另外一段是學校校長要學會去信任別人，讓別人參與。