Collaborative Leadership: Developing Effective Partnerships for Communities and Schools Book

Foreword to the Second Edition Mary Futrell xi

Preface and Overview xiii

Who Is This Book for? xiv

Building Relationships for Children xvi

A Note to Grant Makers xvii

A Note on Writing a Book xviii

A Quick Guide for the Reader xix

Dear Reader... xix

Acknowledgments xxi

About the Author xxii

1 An Invitation to Collaborative Leadership 1

Cutting Stone 1

Working Definitions 1

2 Collaborative Leadership: A Continuing Mandate 4

In Our DNA 4

The Importance of Powerlessness 6

The Position of Mission 7

The Monitor's Dim Glow 8

3 Collaborative Leadership: If We Do It Right 10

Leveraging Leadership 10

Beyond Toolboxes 11

Collaboration and Competition 12

Collaboration and Creativity 12

Pushing String: Authenticity and Intentionality 13

So, Who Is a Collaborative Leader? 14

4 The Nature of Collaboration 16

Individuals and Representational Participation 16

Types and Tones of Collaborations 18

Itinerant Collaborations 18

Sustained Collaborations 19

Veracity and Tenacity 20

A Final Note 20

5 Most of Us Begin by Missing the Point: Why Education? 22

Democracy's Midwife 22

Supporting Education's Civic Purpose 24

More Than Memory Banks 25

Content and Collaboration 27

Answering a Call for Public Collaborations 28

6 The 4th R 30

Looking at Teachers as Collaborative Leaders 30

Teaching Collaboration for Teaching's Public Purpose 33

The Easy Case for Principals and Supreintendents as Collaborative Leaders 35

A Final Thought 37

PreK-20: The Essential Collaboration 38

7 Constructing Models 40

The How 40

It's All in Your Head! 40

Constellations-of-Relationships: Thinking Through Relationships41

Collaboration's Life Cycle 45

Phases and Steps of Collaboration's Life Cycle 47

Phase 1 Why Collaborate? 47

Phase 2 Outcomes? Decision Makers? 47

Phase 3 Research: Knowledge, Policy, Politics 48

Phase 4 Stakeholders? 48

Phase 5 Frame and Recruit 49

Phase 6 Leaders, Structure, Roles, and Rules 49

Phase 7 Develop an Action Plan 50

Phase 8 Begin With Successes 50

Phase 9 Build Bonds Between Partners 50

Phase 10 Celebrate Successes 51

Phase 11 Assess, Adjust, and Reinforce Bonds 51

Phase 12 Goal-Centered Accountability 51

Phase 13 Scaffold the Change 51

Phase 14 Revisit and Renew Mission 52

Final Note 52

8 The Dimensions of Collaborative Leadership 54

Of Sums and Parts 54

The Value of Clusters 56

The Personal Dimensions of Collaborative Leadership 56

Preparing to Lead 56

Strategic Thinking 56

Asset-Based Perspective 58

Professional Credibility 59

The Heart and Soul of Leadership 61

Integrity 61

Spirituality 62

People as Ends, Not Means 63

Commitment to Diversity 64

Charisma 65

Populating the Bus 67

Timing the Launch 67

Recruiting the Right Mix 68

Interpersonal Skills and Dispositions 70

Interpersonal Communication Skills 70

Consensus Building 71

Diplomacy 73

Understanding the Rudiments of Each Sector 74

Management Dimensions 76

Managing Information 76

Data-Driven Leadership 76

Marketing and Communications 77

Technological Savvy 78

Managing Groups 80

Psychosocial: Understanding People 80

Institutionalizing the Worry 81

Group Process 83

Resource Development 88

Management Skills 88

Managing Change: Continuous Improvement 90

Systems Thinking 90

Entrepreneurism 91

Clarity of Vision 96

9 Nine Nuggets 98

A Practitioner's Postscript 98

Nine Principles of Effective Collaborative Leadership 98

Tools and Provocations 101

Resource 1 Planning and Assessment: An Intentional Q&A 102

Resource 2 A New Conceptual Framework: A Tool for Teachers, Curriculum Developers, and Researchers 112

Resource 3 "Schools of Collaborative Excellence": A Model for School-Based Leaders 120

References 123

Index 125