What makes a great organization leader?

There are actions and attitudes that indicate leadership behavior for a particular role. These role-specific behaviors can be used to coach and evaluate employees. The indicators can also be used to assess skills needed to advance to the next level of leadership. 

The role-specific behaviors for Leader of Organization are outlined below.
 
Related job roles: Chief Academic Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Leadership Officer

Need a hard copy? See the Leader of Organization: Role-Specific Behaviors flyer (PDF).

We GROW Leaders

Foster Ownership

Takes responsibility for growth in self and others

  • Models holding self accountable and creates a culture where staff evaluate their practice and contribution towards campus goals 
  • Establishes and builds buy-in to measurable campus-wide goals that are aligned to campus needs and the district's vision 
  • Encourages and reinforces a culture of self-reflection; encouraging each stakeholder and self to identify growth areas and seek out opportunities for learning
  • Assumes responsibility for own work and understands the impact on all stakeholders
  • Encourages team, leaders and self to operate with a sense of urgency, responsibility and purpose because of the significance of that impact

Pursue Continuous Growth

Seeks out and incorporates feedback into one’s practice; models being a learner and continuously seeks to grow & improve

  • Actively seeks and effectively applies feedback from all stakeholders; builds and maintains a culture where people value and grow from feedback
  • Builds a culture that values  self-reflection; models continuous reflection on own actions and behaviors, accurately identifies areas of strength and growth, and works to improve
  • Ensures cohesion between best practices being implemented in all parts of the department / district
  • Models a commitment to continuous learning and improvement through engagement in professional learning based on their needs
  • Constantly seeks new information on best practices for overall organizational leadership and transformation and works with others at all levels of the department to implement
  • Leads organizational leadership team to support implementation of learning structures and to provide strong support to team leaders
  • Exhibits a growth mindset for all stakeholders and themselves
  • Facilitates development opportunities for growth mindset amongst staff, students, and the broader community

Empower Others

Distributes leadership, giving people the opportunity to impact growth

  • Intentionally provides opportunities to rising leaders to lead critical tasks and decisions and supports them through this work 
  • Actively identifies future leaders and invests time and effort into supporting their growth and development 
  • Mentors high-potential future leaders with the goal of contributing to a strong district leadership pipeline
  • Leads leadership team to place a consistent emphasis on cultivating and empowering leaders across the district
  • Oversees implementation of evaluation systems to ensure that all evaluations are developmentally oriented and an effective tool to support the growth of staff throughout the district

We INSPIRE Innovation

Take Initiative

Anticipates and solves problems proactively, with resilience

  • Creates a district-wide environment where resilience is celebrated and learning from failures and challenges is celebrated
  • Develops a culture in which staff take initiative to act and solve problems to ensure outcomes are achieved

Seek Innovation and Change

Actively embraces new ideas and creative solutions; leads others through change

  • Is a champion for new initiatives that serve the district’s and department’s mission and goals
  • Provides opportunities for staff members to express opinions contrary to those of authority
  • Creates risk free environment for productively challenging the status quo in departments and district
  • Models a culture where change is met with optimism; inspires and motivates all stakeholders to embrace change
  • Leads department in adapting to change, adjusting approach as needed while remaining focused on outcomes; manages the amount of change a campus/department can handle at any one time
  • Creates a shared understanding of changes with all stakeholders by connecting to the district's goals and values and communicating effectively

Celebrate Achievement

Recognizes and celebrates others for achievements; uses recognition to reinforce positive efforts

  • Systematically and fairly recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of students, staff, campuses and departments
  • Inspires the department to accomplish their goals and provides guidance and support in doing so
  • Consistently celebrates, rewards and promotes individuals who stand out with exceptional commitment and achievements through specific praise and rewards

We STRIVE for Excellence

Focus on Student Success

Takes personal accountability for student outcomes and advancing student success

  • Sets, communicates and invests staff in ambitious campus and district goals for improving student success
  • Creates structures and systems for tracking towards campus and district goals
  • Identifies and evaluates strategic issues, opportunities and risks, and considers them when making organizational decisions
  • Monitors and tracks department’s actions in achieving campus and district goals
  • Acts decisively; recognizes when a decision is needed and either takes action or elevates it appropriately
  • Works with leadership team to ensure that plans are developed to close gaps and amplify strengths found in learning, and to ensure that the effectiveness of those plans are regularly evaluated

Project Positive Presence

Exhibits poise, confidence, loyalty and integrity in all interactions

  • Consistently exhibits professionalism, honesty, integrity, fairness, stewardship, trust, respect and confidentiality, and builds this expectation into the culture of the campus 
  • Creates and maintains a culture of cohesion and assuming the best in others; demonstrates a genuine interest in what may be learned from others 
  • Anticipates and resolves conflicts in a constructive manner
  • Models positivity and optimism for all stakeholders
  • Builds department’s self-awareness by asking reflective questions and sharing candid feedback to help build understanding of how a team member’s actions are being experienced by others
  • Is highly-responsive and visible; creates and maintains a culture of accessibility to all stakeholders

Live the Vision

Understands that “We are all Garland ISD” – every individual’s actions contribute to reaching the future by driving excellence, one student at a time

  • Builds sense of shared ownership across the campuses and departments by working collaboratively to incorporating the voices, feedback and input of the students, staff, and community
  • Collaborates with district/central office leaders to ensure that vision of success for the campus aligns with the district’s goals
  • Aligns behaviors and practices with district vision
  • Personally models and actively ensures adherence to Garland ISD's core values and promotion of the mission and vision of the district; decisions are rooted in "We are all Garland ISD" 
  • Evaluates department goals and objectives to eliminate silos between campuses, teams and departments across the district
  • Delivers compelling and inspiring messages to internal and external audiences that demonstrates a shared understanding and connection to department and district vision

We DEVELOP Relationships

Embrace Diversity

Values and celebrates all cultures and communities; fosters an inclusive environment for all, honoring backgrounds and identities

  • Builds and maintains an inclusive environment for stakeholders of all backgrounds and advocates for their needs
  • Creates a culture where differences in perspective and ways of working are valued and divergent perspectives are sought after
  • Creates and maintains a thriving culture of collaboration amongst and between all stakeholders
  • Is aware of, speaks openly about and creates a climate which celebrates differences and diversity of students, families, staff and the community
  • Is a champion for equity for all, regularly explains conscious and unconscious bias during decisions and interactions with stakeholders

Communicate Effectively

Communicates clearly, proactively, and transparently with all stakeholders

  • Actively listens to others and responds with an acknowledgement and respect of their perspective; models this skill district-wide
  • Is consistently accessible and responsive to all stakeholders through different forms of verbal and written communication and builds a culture of this district-wide
  • Prioritizes information and communication to stakeholders ensuring there is sufficient notice and time to take appropriate action 
  • Adapts communication style across the needs of all stakeholders and is extremely influential and inspiring to others

Act with Compassion

Shows empathy and care for all stakeholders, upholding high expectations for self, students, and staff

  • Aware and informed about the personal circumstances and needs of staff and stakeholders while maintaining professional standards
  • Acknowledges significant events in the lives of colleagues with care, respect, and compassion
  • Creates a culture of empathy that strives for high achievement and success for all stakeholders
  • Builds leadership team’s empathy and compassion for all stakeholders across the district