Michael Fullan – The Moral Imperative of School Leadership
Forward:
John Goodlad (president, Institute for Educational Inquiry)
“He (Fullan) knows that such people rise to high expectations when those they respect have confidence that they will.”
Preface:
10 previous guidelines to follow: Avoid blame, start small/think big (don’t over/micromanage), focus curriculum, instruct,
assess, and professional culture, take risks, embrace diversity/empower others, vision-relate to goals and change processes,
decide what you are not going to do, build allies, know when to be cautious, give up searching for the “silver bullet”
Chapter 1: Changing the Context (framework, environment)
Pg 2 - Behavior a function of social context…little things matter (change current situation, change behaviors – common beliefs
expressed and nurtured)
Focus on changing culture and working conditions (3)
What should students, teachers, admin know and be able to do? (add: what does it look like?)
4- Key pt: Improving overall system will not happen by endorsing the vision of a strong system
5- principal guide and support
6- Generate purpose, passion, and energy / intrinsic motivation or strategy will fail
8 - Level 5 leader characteristics (Jim Collins, Good to Great):
Level 5
First Who
Confront the
Hedgehog
Culture of
Technology
Accelerates
Leadership
Then What:
Brutal Facts
Concept
Discipline
Self-effacing,
quiet, reserved,
have humility
and prof. will
Need the right
people for the
job before
starting the job
Disciplined People
Confront what
you really
have, but
unwavering
belief that you
will succeed
What are you
passionate
about? What
you can be best
at; What drives
your economic
engine?
Disciplined Thought
When you have
disciplined
people,
thought, and
action, great
performance
follows
Apply
carefully
selected
technology
Disciplined People
From Good to Great (Chapter 2) –
Website regarding Level 5 leadership: http://www.jimcollins.com/lab/level5/#
Explaining his findings are in the data: http://www.jimcollins.com/research.html
The Two Sides of Level 5 leadership: http://www.jimcollins.com/lab/level5/p2.html
More from Good to Great (pages 39-40): leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will, set up
successors for even greater success, compelling modesty are self-effacing and understated, fanatically driven – need for
sustained results, workmanlike diligence, attribute success to factors other than themselves – except when things go poorly –
they take responsibility…humility + will=level 5 (22),
Working conditions in a school that are conducive to retaining good teachers:
High expectations, build relationships with teachers (serve as support and guide, not rule from above), build positive
relationship with community, have positive stress (limited amt is good, too much devastating over the long term), need to build
TRUST teacher to teacher, teacher to administrator, etc.
How can we attract that type of leader to become a principal of a school that has challenges of low socio-economics, low test
scores, high absentee rate, low graduation rate, large number of students below grade level in reading and math, high transience
rate, etc.?
Some will be financially motivated, others will simply have a belief that they can and must (duty) create a better school for the
good of all
Collins - More precisely, a Hedgehog Concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of
the following three circles:
1. What you can be the best in the world at (and, equally important, what you cannot be the best in the world at)? This discerning standard
goes far beyond core competence. Just because you possess a core competence doesn’t necessarily mean you can be the best in the world at it.
Conversely, what you can be the best at might not even be something in which you are currently engaged.
2. What drives your economic engine? All the good-to-great companies attained piercing insight into how to most effectively generate
sustained and robust cash flow and profitability. In particular, they discovered the single denominator—profit per x—that had the greatest
impact on their economics. (It would be cash flow per x in the social sector.)
3. What you are deeply passionate about? The good-to-great companies focused on those activities that ignited their passion. The idea here
is not to stimulate passion but to discover what makes you passionate.
Chapter 2: Barriers to School Leadership
What does the author mean, “leadership is to the current decade what standards were to the 1990’s?”
16- Standards can only take us part of the way, school leadership is the only thing that can take us all the way
What are examples of self-imposed barriers that exist among some principals and what inoculation can they take to “cure” the
responsibility virus?
17- Self-imposed barriers
perceived system limitations – don’t use system as an excuse; understand the complete system, take active roll in fate
if-only dependence – inhibits forward movement (don’t make excuses instead of action)
loss of moral compass- follow what you stand for as a leader, your beliefs
inability to take charge of one’s own learning- need to learn more to get others to learn more (life-long learning – serve as
model)
responsibility virus- over responsibility (too take charge) vs. under responsibility (not my problem, fault of others)
21-22 - What can be done to resolve the top-down dilemma that exists in systemic change?
Acknowledge importance of principal’s role, clarify the role, and invest in developing the capacity of principals in numbers to
act as chief operating officers – operate in Collins’ Level 5 role
Roles of principals more of manager not instructional leader
Many reforms bring higher floor, but don’t raise ceiling (27) – no ownership, increased workload, overall pace of change
27-takes capacity to build capacity
What are some of the weaknesses of the “informed prescription model” that the author discusses in the chapter?
27 - Want to be told “what to do”; takes capacity to build capacity – teachers and admin may be working in new way and may
not know what they should do/how to collaborate; judgments made without pressing for informed component; pursue new
directions in a way that is transparently accountable to the public; need to go much deeper in transforming schools
(note: when starting something new, need constant feedback/updates/support – random inservices are not enough)
Chapter 3: The Moral Imperative at the School Level
What is the moral purpose and moral imperative that he refers to so often?
29-Moral purpose of the highest order is having a system where all students learn, the gap bet high and low performance is
greatly reduced, and what people learn enables them to be successful citizens and workers in a morally based knowledge
society; 4 levels – individual, school, regional, societal
30-those indiv most cut out for the higher levels are least likely to aspire to higher roles b/c their highest moral purposes will be
thwarted
Is it important to recast the role of the principal as the chief operative office vis-à-vis traditional role in transforming schools
and school systems? The hierarchy on 30 explains why as well as below…
31-indiv helps some, but doesn’t change way organization operates, not making difference in organization as a whole
31-32- make diff in school – some talk good game and mean, but aren’t consistent or show integrity when implementing (Bryk
and Schneider, 2002 – trust atrophies when indiv perceive others aren’t acting in ways consistent with their role’s obligations;
listen, but not follow up; stronger teachers limit interactions w/ those they feel unprofessional; absent base of collegial trust;
incompetence tolerated)
35-36 – discusses using data to drive instruction, can only be done district wide when principal leads process
37 – talk about offering incentives to get people not on board to leave (different from driving them out)
38 – Chris Spence, principal in LHMS raised scores from lowest to average – “put together the best people, support them and
give them every opportunity to do their best work”
What can a district do to sustain the positive effects that a school builds into its culture?
38 - Hope drives improvement, pounce on daily problems, celebrate success, selecting and supporting staff, drawing on
external ideas; (own) teachers collaborate daily, support, ownership in work, gain respect (which is different from being liked),
hold people including self accountable, be consistent, honest, and open, allow people to take calculated risks without fear,
develop a feeling of mutual respect and trust
42-schools reporting strong positive trust levels ere 3x more likely to be categorized as improving in reading and math; schools
with weak trust virtually no chance of improvement
42-43 – Benefits of trust – reduce sense of vulnerability, facilitates organizational problem solving (curric, assessment,
instructional problems worked out among staff), helps social control in professional communities, norms are followed and
mutual support among staff is given, creates a moral resource for school improvement – influences the development of strong
personal attachments to the organization and beliefs in its mission – needed for the long term b/c people usually willing to ive
the extra effort
43- (Bryk and Schneider, 2002) - organizations with trust more likely to be innovative, outreach to parents, professional
community, commitment to the school community – all create greater organizational learning and effectiveness
43- four dimensions of trust: respect, competence, personal regard for others, and integrity
44-need relational trust and a culture of discipline (as Collins mentions in Good to Great)
Gerstner (was CEO w/IBM) – no organization will succeed over the long haul without a culture of commitment and disciplined
capacity building
Chapter 4: Making a Difference Beyond the School
According to Fullan, “the moral imperative will never amount to much unless school leaders take it on the road.” How realistic
is it that a principal will do this considering all of the responsibilities that s/he has on a daily basis?
This can be realistic – it’s a cultural / setting priorities issue; if people want to be more innovative, they need to see what others
are doing and share with other districts to be more effective – this also creates efficiency in not recreating the wheel and creates
additional professional learning communities – 47 – build capacity across schools
How do systems transcend the “little neck of the woods to the whole forest?”
48-See public schools as the large enterprise, collaborate within district schools, move to areas in region, and continue to
spread for the betterment of all (done through capacity building and accountable monitoring focused on moral purpose)
49-In England, grant to pair leaders of high performing and low performing schools in order to raise scores
Be aware of big picture – What is the role of public school in society?
50-Level 3: Making a Diff. Regionally – 51 - 25% there – district leaders in Baltimore meet twice a month – raised test scores
over period of 2-3 years – good short-term, but no focus on culture or improvement of relational trust
50% - strong focus on developing school leadership (52) – 7 principles 53-54, (like Perry in many ways) – good: role of district
is clearer, achievement gap narrowed, celebrated successes (which Perry only does on surface level); negative - teachers
reported increased stress, take joy out of teaching, not beyond district, no cultural change or relational trust for long-term gains
which come from passion and personal attachments)
59 – School Leadership and Society – leader must be fully cognizant of big picture; leaders from other districts meet and learn
from each other; forest comment = multiple forests (schools)
Chapter 5: How to Get There: The Individual and the System
61 - Don’t forget to ask why? – not just how-to?
65 – living and working with tension is crucial to success
Key to book according to Fullan - Need for trust-based practice and performance-oriented school cultures. What can be done
to change school culture?
65 - Develop culture of relational trust and disciplined performance; culture must be guided, cultivated, and confronted;
leaders have to know when to let go and when to rein in; reciprocated transactional trust (give it to get it) and created
incrementally (step-by-step) – Trust of capability, character and disclosure (66)




Competence Trust
Respect people’s knowledge, skills,
and abilities
Respect people’s judgments
Involve others and seek their input
Help people learn skills






Contractual Trust
Manage expectations
Establish boundaries
Delegate appropriately
Encourage mutually serving
intentions
Honor agreements
Be consistent






Communication Trust
Share information
Tell the truth
Admit mistakes
Give and receive constructive
feedback
Maintaining confidentiality
Speak with good purpose
What steps should be taken to revamp the school principalship to reach a level of greater performance on a large scale?
66- get rid of those who don’t agree with beliefs or neglect their own learning
67- provide opportunities for leadership, create environments where people will take risks, promote day-to-day collaboration
among peers/teachers/admin in order to create system of checks and balances of learning and accountable performance
How can hard-to-lead teachers be moved from resistance to being active participants?
When they are respected, collaborate with others (which can serve as peer pressure)
The Choice Structuring Process – 7 steps of restructuring process including brainstorming strengths and weakness
The Frame Experiment – ask “How do I get others to see it my way?” and “I may not see/understand everything, how can we
access our collective intelligence?”
The Responsibility Ladder – seven-step process for avoiding the over/under responsibility issue
The Redefinition of Leadership/Followership – splitting responsibility through dialogue, making apportionment discussable,
and subjecting performance and results to public testing (transparency of performance)
69 – fear of failure guarantees failure, Responsibility Virus produces failures and cover-ups rather than learning
Should have constant level of stress (low), too much discourages our potential under/over responsibility
70 – mention of quiet, behind the scenes leader as most effective; these leaders solve problems through multiple small steps,
rely on act-learn approach – 3 virtues restraint, modesty, and tenacity
Leaders need to become aware of the nature and importance of what is involved
71 – The System, Stringer (2002) 6 dimensions of climate – structure, standards, responsibilities, recognition, support, and
commitment
73- Strategic Directions for Transforming Leadership in School Systems’
1. Reconceptualize the role of school leadership – relate to Level 5 Exec-Collins (builds enduring greatness)
2. Recognize and work with the continuum of development – recognize starting pt., transformational leadership
3. Get school size right
4. Invest in leaders developing leaders
5. Improve the teaching profession
6. Improve the capacity of the infrastructure
74 – from Hargreaves
Performance Training Sects
Transfer knowledge
Imposed requirement
Results driven
False certainty
Standardized scripts
Deference to authority
Intensive training
Sects of performance
Professional Learning Communities
Transform knowledge
Shared inquiry
Evidence informed
Situated certainty
Local solutions
Joint responsibility
Continuous learning
Communities of Practice
79-Nottingham – provide a single national focus for school leadership development, research and innovation
be a driving force for world-class leadership in school and the wider community, provide support for and be a major resource
for school leaders, stimulate national and international debate on leadership issues
80- need to unlock resources and capacities