Department of Educational Administration
Date of this Version
4-2004
Document Type
Article
Citation
Journal of Women in Educational Leadership, Vol. 2, No.2-April 2004 ISSN: 1541-6224
Abstract
This paper paints a portrait of successful leadership that was built through the directorship and ethic of caring of a female site administrator. The paper addresses the major question, "What major principles need to be incorporated into the daily life of those in leadership positions to assist in their success?" The study is framed through the work of Starratt (1993), who described leadership through the metaphor of drama, with the leader serving as the caring director, involving playing the drama with "greater risk, with greater intelligence and imagination and with greater dedication to making the drama work" (p. 41), and that of Carlos Castaneda (1967), who described the path of a warrior in metaphorical terms through seven principles of power. These are: (a) knowing the battleground, (b) discarding the unnecessary, (c) choosing battles, (d) taking risks, (e) seeking retreat, (f) compressing time, and (g) exercising power. These are then applied to the narrative of a site principal, and are modified to provide the reader with a guiding list of emerging administrators. This study adds to the knowledge base, broadening the use of the principles with the addition of the elements of drama and caring, clarifying why the application is particularly useful to explain success in leadership roles.
Comments
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