21st century pioneers: a new kind of leadership must emerge across our public schools to ensure the timely and productive adaptation of our institutions to change.

"... The New Frontier is here, whether we seek it or not ... Beyond that frontier are the uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus." -- John F. Kennedy 

Whether it's the global and national challenges Kennedy spoke of in mid-20th century America or the thundering challenges that flash on the horizons of the millennium, America's educational systems are among the first to be called to the front lines of our country's progress and recovery.

In the late 1950s when Russia beat us to space, we were exhorted to "pump up" our math and science programs. In the early 1990s an economic recession held us in its grip, and America demanded greater achievement and educational reform. And now, stunned by a sneak attack on two of the cities that most symbolize America, and the aching loss of thousands of innocent lives, our president has declared the first war of the 21st century.

Within hours the role of education in building historical perspectives, fighting ethnic stereotyping and building cultural understanding was urged forward to center stage. Never is the value of education more clearly defined than when America is at its gravest hour.

Leading America's schools means leading for America's very future. Navigating through the uncharted issues and problems of this century demands the same courage and adaptability shown by the early pioneers who found and settled this country.

In the last 40 years technological advances have accelerated change and made adaptation the only option for survival. Historically, we've watched the outside world change five times faster than schools. We can no longer afford to lag behind.

A new kind of leadership must emerge across the public schools of this country to ensure timely and productive adaptation of our institution. We need an agenda for action that can help us become leader pioneers equipped to solve yet-to-be-discovered problems and capable of expanding leadership potential at all levels. Whatever models for change and leadership we pursue, an agenda for action and adaptation might include the following elements.

Learning and reflection

Learning is our business! From secretaries to superintendents, this new era will need everyone to learn and to lead. In order to do this, individuals and groups need to understand the transition that is taking place in and around our schools. Keeping abreast of local, state, national and global trends will help us be ready to promote or prevent them.

Adolescents are changing. Families are changing. Staff, political climate and expectations are changing. An action plan needs to be built to ensure that our own learning is as much a priority as our students' learning. Time must be set aside for reading, training, dialoguing and mentoring. Team learning, as well as our own personal learning, brings the depth, clarity, mutual understanding and common focus necessary to lead our organizations effectively.

Reflection brings about most effective learning. Honest assessment of data and evidence of progress offers valuable lessons to be learned. Keeping a journal helps to get a more objective long view of patterns and understandings. It can open our eyes to what the organization needs and help us look beneath the surface. Serious introspection promotes better solutions and productive change. Continuous learning, feedback and reflection build capacity in the organization to perform to higher, commonly held standards of excellence (Senge, 1990).

Purpose and vision

Twenty-first century organizations will need to be reinvented if they are to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions in the world around them. Developing a clear, well-understood purpose gives meaning to work, provides rationale for vision and gives heart to change and success. A preferred future, defined by consensus and based on core values, emerging trends and a collective image of the ideal organization, galvanizes key players to action.

Pioneering leaders will need to encourage each person in their organization to personalize the vision and make it their own. Visionary leaders are invaluable in helping their organizations meet the challenge of constant change, because they have the power to deliver the dream (Schwahn and Spady, 1998).

Creativity and innovation

Breakthrough solutions to 21st century problems will require inquisitive, entrepreneurial, inventive leaders. Block (1987) tells us, "Those issues that create stress for us give us clues about the uncooked seeds within us that need our attention.... The entrepreneurial approach is to view tension as a vehicle for discovery."

Learning to look at issues and problems from all vantage points generates new possibilities. Enhancing intuition skills and maintaining a free flow of information up and down the organization help us to build on our own insights and others' ideas -- beyond what is typically feasible or realistic.

Because the new frontier will require changes in the way we do business, and because the status quo is so resistant to change, leaders must be vigilant about customs and habits that inhibit creativity and strategic thinking. "If organizations and societies are to make progress, then leaders must be able to detect when routines are becoming dysfunctional ... smothering creative planning and blocking necessary advancement" (Kouzes and Posner, 1995).

Valuing diversity and respecting the personal styles of others frees people to contribute their ideas and talents. When an organization's culture is so strong that non-conforming styles and ideas are not tolerated, the organization loses its creative edge. Practicing dialogue and empathic listening will elicit new ideas and fertile possibilities for innovative solutions (Allen, et al, 1998).

Innovation requires risk-taking. Failure must be treated as an opportunity for learning, if creativity is valued. Highly political institutions are the least likely to tolerate failure; therefore, the risk-taking necessary to try innovative approaches is threatened. This dilemma must be resolved by school boards and their key leaders if they are to find the breakthrough solutions needed for their organization's survival.

Power and authority

Leaders can only be responsible and accountable for stronger outcomes if they have the power and authority over decisions. For the last 20 years we have seen increasing micro-management of schools from state government. They have over-regulated and underfunded us to the point of absurdity. They have attempted to tell us what to teach, how to teach and which books to use to teach. Funding is below the national average and inequitable from district to district. When the results are disappointing across the state, the local schools still are the ones to come under fire. This picture must change for the future to yield better results.

One thing is certain -- the new frontiers of the 21st century will present us with problems too complex for a one-size-fits-all solution dreamed up in Sacramento. The collective wisdom of the local team offers more hope for creative solutions than any long-distance fix. Specify the outcomes and give us adequate and equitable resources, and we will be accountable for the results.

If we are to achieve better results, we will need new strategies that will have staff buy-in, evidence of achievement and continuous review of progress by the team. Our approaches must be adapted to our students to ensure better results.

Visionary leaders know that sharing power builds motivation, as it offers opportunities for ownership of strategies and solutions. It also ensures implementation. It requires skill, knowledge, ethics and accountability on the part of all concerned. It also requires time -- a commodity in short supply in our business.

Technology will offer us increased opportunities to communicate routine information via e-mail. "Face time" in meetings needs to be reserved for higher-level dialoguing, analyzing, planning and designing, since this is where we can develop the processes to negotiate our future destinations.

Traditional leadership models will need to give way to leaders who are facilitators, coaches, designers and teachers, says Senge (1990). Followers will need to learn new roles, too, as they become partners, co-leaders and collaborators. All of these require empathy, mutual support and the willingness to commit the time. Tensions that will arise between individual rights and the common good of the larger community will require maturity, wisdom and situational flexibility (Allen, et al).

Shared leadership does not mean a laissez-faire approach to organizational structure, where everyone just does his own thing. Nurturing the independent, initiative-taking energy of empowered staff members must be carefully balanced with "paradoxically `tight-loose' relationships for modern organizations to be effective," says Fullan (1997).

He suggests decentralized decision-making within a framework of priorities. This requires staying in close touch, coordinating resources, reviewing progress, and discussing procedures and policies -- keeping each other informed. Good two-way communication and mutual support go hand in hand in successful decentralized organizations.

Political, economic and legal developments can expand or limit our power, our resources and our freedom of action. The environment can shift to one that's more hostile or more supportive without warning. For example, within a matter of months, California schools celebrated a generous buy-out of our deficit -- expanding our resources -- and then reeled from a shocking energy crisis. Electrical shortages increased our costs, changed the way we do business and drained our state's budget surplus, thus impacting both revenues and expenditures for schools almost overnight.

Political action skills are essential if we are to have the power to influence the future. Legislative action is no longer optional. Crafting strategic alliances with key partners among staff, parents, community and our leadership is necessary to help us compete for state and national resources -- the resources we need to deliver the vision.

Resiliency and determination

Leaders who are pioneering the 21st century must courageously seek the dream, regardless of obstacles and cynics. It will require goal focus and relentless determination in the face of adversity.

Flexibility in how we get there and a high tolerance for ambiguity will help us recover from setbacks. It will take skill and patience to sort out competing demands and knowledge of where to go for support and resources. Taking risks in spite of potentially detrimental consequences will require the courage to hold firmly to high standards and goals, even when times are tough. Leaders who create a climate of caring, support and humor help their people push back frontiers in the face of extreme hardship.

Pioneering leaders view everyone as a resource, rather than a problem, and this contributes to their resilience and ability to continue to fight for what they believe in (Patterson, 2000).

This is our time

The new frontier of 21st century America is here! The security, economy, culture and spirit of our country depend on a well-educated citizenry up to the challenges that lie ahead.

We have been called to lead. We have the power to choose the actions we will take as leaders to shape the destiny of our organizations. The chaos of this century's uncharted "white water" calls for a new kind of leadership. We need leaders who know how to work with their people to design an action agenda that takes bold initiatives in learning and reflection, vision and purpose, creativity and innovation, power and authority, resilience and determination.

We are the pioneers of 21st century America. This is our time -- to reach beyond anything we've accomplished before. This is our time -- to learn, to envision, to create, to empower, to courageously seek and to lead!

References

Allen, Kathleen, et al. (1998). "Leadership in the 21st Century." Leading Organizations. Gil Hickman, ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998).

Block, P. The Empowered Manager. (1987). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Fullan, Michael. (1997). What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kouzes, J. and B. Posner. (1995). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Patterson, J. (2000). The Anguish of Leadership. Arlington, VA: AASA.

Schwahn, C. and Spady, W. (1998). Total Leaders. Arlington, VA: AASA.

Senge, Peter. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday/Currency.

Patricia Clark White is superintendent of the Irvine Unified School District and a member of ACSA's board of directors.