Today, teachers epitomize quality and professionalism as they work to effectively meet the learning needs of their students. Teachers meet new challenges required in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation including working toward “highly qualified” status by sitting for and achieving National Board Certification. In addition, to be a teacher today means that you have opportunities to be a leader.  

To be an effective teacher leader requires a steadfast commitment to one's leadership development. To begin our journey of teacher leadership development, I want to offer the following idea:

Realizing your full leadership potential is a matter of intentionally supporting the achievement of extraordinary goals through focused actions and increased awareness of the connection between teaching, learning, and leading.

Let's talk about the importance of intention.

Teacher Leadership Abounds 

Schools are filled with teacher leaders. You see them at work every day at your site. Teachers manifest their leadership in many ways. For example:

• There's the teacher who uses her knowledge and interest in science to plan and deliver workshops for other teachers.
• Then there's the teacher who masterfully plans and facilitates your grade-level meetings.
• Don't forget about the teachers who collaborate on planning lessons in order to make learning more meaningful for students.
• And there's the group of teachers whose work on the school leadership team is to plan and initiate school improvement efforts.

Now you try. Bring to your awareness the ways in which teachers lead at your school.

Awareness is a necessary step in leading with intention. 

Infinite Potential

What does it mean to lead with intention? You may think of intention as “determination” or “will”, but Dr. Wayne Dyer offers another definition. In his book, The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way, Dyer says that intention is a field of energy that can be described as “infinite potential.” 

To realize your full leadership potential means, in part, to manifest your infinite potential. 

Truly, there are endless possibilities of your leadership. But it all begins with intention. To determine if you are on track to show your infinite potential as a teacher leader, consider the following questions:

·        Do you plan your leadership activities?

·        Do you assess your leadership effectiveness?

·        Do you participate in leadership development to improve your leadership performance?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, don't worry. Set an intention today to take these necessary steps to become an effective teacher leader.  

The Importance of Intention

When you set an intention to lead, you can have profound effects on your ability to support the achievement of extraordinary goals. With proper leadership planning, assessing, and development, being intentional will help your leadership to be…

Focused – Leadership must be focused on school/district goals. If you do not focus your leadership on increased student learning, you run the risk of participating on non-academic committees that are only remotely related to teaching (e.g. the social committee).

Consistent – Without intention, your leadership could be described as "hit-or-miss." Planning your leadership activities will help your leadership to be a constant part of your job as an educator. Consistent teacher leadership is supported through embedded structures and processes. In this way, teacher leadership becomes part of the school's culture.

Skillful - It is unlikely that you, as a teacher without formal authority or position, will model your leadership after the principal. In fact, teacher leadership cannot be performed in the same way as principal leadership. Being an intentional leader will help you to consider the complexities of what it means to be a teacher leader. Also, the need for you to participate in leadership development opportunities cannot be overstated.

Collaborative - Teachers often describe their leadership as collaborative. Think about it. When you intend to lead, you are likely to engage your colleagues in the task at hand. You understand the importance of sharing leadership and the benefits of working together.

Broad based – When teacher leadership is not intentional, you will find pockets of teacher leaders who often work in a particular leadership position. In this way, leadership by classroom teachers often goes untapped. Establishing teacher leadership structures and processes increases broad-based teacher leadership participation.