"Role Conflict - the expectation gap"

We had another good “Learning for Leadership” PD session yesterday with our eMentor Sue.

I really like the way Sue facilitated this session – posing questions to us ahead of our session and then guiding our discussion through a round robin of speaking, reflecting & responding to others in the group. One for my facilitation tool kit – thanks for modelling this so well Sue :-)

Underlying the discussion was the idea that the role of ePrincipal is still new & unique that for many in our schools that there are not clear expectations of what this involves. There is no previous point of reference. As we began in our role we were a little unsure ourselves until we developed into the role and as we fostered relationships with others in our clusters and our wider group and as we began to work towards achieving our cluster goals. I think every ePrincipal has a very clear idea in themselves now what their role is and the challenge is now to communicate this to others in our cluster.

Some of us experienced similar conflicts when it came to the expectations of others (& sometimes expectations of ourselves) about what was & was not their role. For a small few this was further complicated as they had other roles in their clusters and home schools (such as running EHSAS contracts, or some teaching duties).

Here are my reflections on my role:

What are all the roles that you currently carry out in your current position?
Consultant & advisor, elearning leader, staff development (eteachers mainly); pastoral care eteachers, students; negotiator & advocate; community spokesperson & liaison; connector & information conduit/filter between schools & the wider sector; researcher, questioner.

Are there any roles which you do not currently carry out but you do feel under some pressure to include them in your current position?  If so, what are they? Hands-on ICTPD with classroom teachers and technical work.
I haven’t got time to be a PD facilitator except for with eteachers, but do work in a consultative role with schools & lead teachers to organize & target PD opportunities – occasionally running workshops but not one-on-one – you can be continually chasing your tail doing that.
I am not ‘the computer person’ but will do some necessary stuff if it helps reduce the barriers to achieving immediate outcomes for what I am currently trying to achieve.