"If a system is to be mobilized in the direction of sustainability, leadership at all levels must be the primary engine. The main work of these leaders is to help put into place the eight elements of sustainability; all eight simultaneously feeding on each other. To do this, we need a system laced with leaders who are trained to think in bigger terms and to act in ways that affect larger parts of the system as a whole" (Leadership and Sustainability, p. 27).
D. Perkins in King Arthur's Roundtable states that "An ideal developmental leader tries to adopt progressive interactions regardless of what others are doing. When giving feedback, the person offers communicative rather than negative or conciliatory feedback. When collaborating with others to start a project, the person brings to the table not fully developed ideas but trial balloons or sacrificial plans held loosely to avoid the danger of early retrenchment" (p. 217).
As one example, view the District-wide Assessment Calendar (located to the left). This assessment calendar was created by elementary teachers after their principal simply asked the question: "How and when should we assess our students in reading, math and science for district-wide purposes?"
Note that time was provided for grade level teams to meet and discuss, and they in turn presented their information at a staff meeting for other grade level teachers to hear. The Elementary Leadership Team then took the information and put it into this calendar format.
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