3 Key Steps for 'Uncontrived Collegiality' in Faculty Leadership
Leadership Contingency 3 - Uncontrived Collegiality
Three Essential Steps for Uncontrived Collegiality
Faculty leadership is not about calling all the shots. Instead, Faculty Leaders must be clear on the areas in which they will be decision-making and where they will be decision-making. In short, knowing when to be collegiate and when to ‘lead’. If a Faculty Leader isn’t clear with themselves what these areas are and why, this can lead to inconsistency in their leadership, often leading to a loss of confidence and trust from their team.
In the previous two articles, discussions have focussed on Leadership Contingencies for Faculty Leaders - behaviours or actions that are essential for Faculty Leaders to develop in a school-based context. The first article discussed the delicate art of negotiating from the middle, with the second article discussing how to mediate and interpret ‘multiple visions’ into a single coherent vision for the one’s team. Now, we will turn to Leadership Contingency 3 - Uncontrived Collegiality.
What is Collegiality?
Bush (2009) discusses many aspects of collegial models, and links them closely to shared power and decision making through discussion, which then builds consensus.
Thus, collegiality lessens the top-down structure by empowering teachers to voice their opinions and influence decisions.
The important word here is ‘lessen’ – the suggestion is not to relegate all decisions to a team vote. Further, there are layers of collegiality, which at times can mean smaller groups within the team influencing decisions based on their expertise.
For example, reviewing curricular resources and agreeing as a team on your primary teaching resource is an important decision to include everybody in on. This maximises use of expertise before deciding on, say, the purchase of a new textbook or online subscription. On the other hand, next year’s faculty timetable should be planned by the Faculty Leader on a clear set of principles (teacher development needs, available expertise, ensuring fair and balanced set allocations etc.) and may only be discussed once an initial draft has been made. Indeed, it is common practice among many Faculty Leaders to create the faculty timetable after individually discussing preferences with teachers, then sharing for feedback – meaning no team meeting to discuss.
Therefore, an Uncontrived Collegiality is one in which the Faculty Leader is clear on the areas they believe consensus building is needed and those areas where they reserve the right to make decisions independently - with a clear rationale for both. So, here are three essential steps to for Uncontrived Collegiality as a Faculty Leader.
1. Review your Decision-Sharing vs. Decision-Making with a Critical Friend
Whether this is your SLT Line Manager or another Head of Faculty, it’s important to have deep-dive meetings where you explore your leadership with an external voice. In the case of collegiality, make a list of areas that require significant decisions from you as a Faculty Leader. Then, divide them into two categories, decision-sharing (where you encourage discussion and try to build consensus) and decision-making (where you make the decision and then inform your team).
Items could include what curriculum resources you will use; where the curriculum development focus will be or who will take leadership of a year group.
Importantly, list the ‘why’ - why are you decision-sharing on X versus decision-making on Y? The role of the critical friend is to probe and challenge. This type of discussion is quite revelatory (while being somewhat uncomfortable) as it will dive deep into your leadership thought process.
Crucially, it will allow you to evaluate your formula for collegiality and possibly force you to reconsider your decision-sharing vs. decision-making process.
2. Evaluate if your collegiality is Administrative vs. Developmental
Faculty meetings are the nexus between teacher voice and directed action from the Faculty Leader. So, crucially, what are you putting on the agenda for meetings? It’s quite easy for departmental meetings to become discussions largely about administrative tasks.
For example, in discussing assessments the following questions may arise: Who is going to write the upcoming Year 8 assessment? What date should results be entered into the reporting system? What key items should be in the post-assessment feedback sheet? While colleagues will have opinions to voice on these matters and they certainly should be discussed, this type of collegiality is largely administrative. It’s imperative the Faculty Leader includes developmental areas when being collegial and place them front and centre during meetings. This could mean decision-sharing on the development of the curriculum, something that will affect everyone and also requires drawing on multiple expertise.
Therefore, review your meeting agendas and see how often you are decision-sharing around the bread and butter of your work as teachers.
3. Prevent Collegiality from being hijacked
Collegiality can be hijacked - and your role is to prevent this. Collegiality rests within the dynamics of power, authority, and control, all of which must be exercised with the utmost diplomacy. Competing individual demands, personality conflicts, disparate teaching experiences, and seeking authority without the associated responsibility regularly arise from followers within teams. These are everyday realities that you must negotiate. It means you shouldn't be naive about people.
For example, some colleagues will stifle discussions on curriculum development because they see ‘additional work’ for themselves, and so will try to push consensus around maintaining the status quo. You must be clear that you are building consensus around ‘what’ development work will take place, not ‘if’ it will take place or not.
So, you must be willing to challenge discussion points made by colleagues, even more seasoned practitioners, if you see them shifting discussions towards developmental stagnation. Your role is to focus in on what will make the difference, and then bring the team along to collaborate on this.
Concluding thoughts
Managing the power dynamics within a faculty requires you, as a Faculty Leader, to become expert in negotiating team discussions. And here are three important questions to take away and help you in this process:
Where do you decision-share?
Is your decision-sharing more than just administrative? and
How do you manage discussions during the decision-sharing process?
Faculty Leadership is complex, but being aware and developing yourself around these important Leadership Contingencies will hopefully smoothen the journey.
References / Further Reading
Gleeson, D. Glover, D. Gough, G. Johnson, G. (1998). The Meaning of Management: The Development Needs of Middle Managers in Secondary Schools. Educational Management and Administration, 26:3, 279-292.
Bennett, N. Newton, W. Wise, C. Woods, P. (2007). Understandings of middle leadership in secondary schools: a review of empirical research. School Leadership & Management. 27:5, 453-470.
Brown, M. Rutherford, D. Boyle, B. (2000). Leadership for School Improvement: The Role of the Head of Department in UK Secondary Schools. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. 11:2, 237-258.
Busher, H. (2005) School Leadership & Management. Being a middle leader: exploring professional identities. School Leadership & Management. 25:2, 137-153.