As children, one of our favorite schoolyard games was “Follow the Leader”. A child would lead a group of friends by making all sorts of movements with her arms and legs and the rest of us would imitate the leader. We all wanted to be the leader and try to make the silliest face or even say a complicated tongue twister.

That was over 50 years ago and I still remember how much influence the “leader” had on the actions and language of other students. We “followers” were eager to recreate what the leader did and we were all highly motivated to move into the leadership role ourselves.

As the clock turns forward to the present, I am thinking of all the leaders in our schools and wondering how eager and excited their staffs are to “follow the leader”. What one characteristic of an effective school leader stands above all others?

Leonard Pellicer, in Caring Enough to Lead (Corwin, 1999), dismisses the skills of building masterful schedules, designing appropriate curricula, and even making wise decisions. Rather, he affirms:

People choose to follow a leader because they can identify with the leader’s values. Leaders earn the trust and respect of their followers to the extent that they are able to demonstrate their allegiance to a set of universally accepted values as they carry out their daily responsibilities in a leadership role (p. 122).

However, having a set of immutable core values is an inward process. Effective leaders know it is just as important to communicate and gain support for these significant values.

Coach leaders communicate and model their core values through both their actions and words. These coach leaders frame their questions in ways that result in reflection and positive relationships, based upon shared values and clear expectations.

For example, after a coach leader, who values the importance of high achievement for all students visits a class, his feedback to the teacher might be:

“You clearly set high expectations for each of your students. This was obvious in the kinds of thought-provoking questions you asked. What criteria are you thinking about for continued high order student thinking as you plan your follow-up lessons?”

Through his statement of the core value of high achievement for all students and by asking a reflective question, this coach leader not only reinforced values, but he also provided space for the teacher to think deeply and feel her planning efforts had a positive influence on her students.

What reflective statements and questions might you ask staff that will result in their desire to “Follow the Leader”?