The L5 Frame has been designed upon five propositions about leadership development and how leadership capability is built. The propositions are written from a positive and optimistic viewpoint and one that is grounded in best practice. The L5 Frame offers all Australian school leaders the opportunity to have a common understanding of leadership and develop a common language to describe and explore it.
In 2003 APAPDC set itself the task of creating a tool that would support school principals in building leadership in their schools. The result of this work was five propositions that describe the nature, scope and work of school leadership. These five propositions became the L5 Frame. The L5 was developed for APAPDC by a taskforce of practitioners, academics and consultants; Patrick Duignan, Louise Bywaters, Jenny Lewis, Kathy Lacey, Tom Croker, Don Zoellner, Susan Boucher and Jeremy Hurley.
The L5 can overarch or underpin existing frameworks, be developed into its own framework, and provide a way of strategically focusing on particular aspects of leadership - at any level, in any context and for any particular educational purpose. School leaders recognise themselves and their work in the L5. It provides an overarching guiding conception of leadership by describing where it is grounded, what it does, and how it does it. It is an ideal starting point for further developments in leadership learning, development and practice, out of which a quality, comprehensive program of development and capacity building can be built.
During 2003-05, over 3000 principals and other school leaders participated in workshops and other sessions on the five propositions and the accompanying resource, Learn Lead Succeed. Their involvement in fine-tuning this resource was highly significant. The L5 Frame has now been thoroughly road-tested in all states and territories; in cities, rural and remote areas; with school leaders at all levels; in Government, Catholic and Independent schools; and at primary, middle and secondary levels. The response from individuals and principals' associations has been extremely positive, with many commenting on its use of plain language and finding it aspirational, explicit, flexible and 'deceptively simple'.
The L5 Frame is used to structure a new on-line resource - the L5 at Work - which consists of fifteen online modules for leadership learning and development. Click here to register and get access to five of the modules free.
The L5 approach to leadership
Leadership is leadership
The propositions are virtually value neutral, applying to effective school and educational leadership in any context and at any level. The first two propositions are at the core of all leadership actions; the third bridges leadership generally and leadership of an organisation; the fourth is essential to all organisational leadership; and the final proposition is necessary for sustainable leadership. Values are embedded into the propositions as they are expanded by particular leaders.
Leadership can be learnt
Leadership can be learnt when it is understood: the five propositions are a frame through which the work of leadership can be understood. As with anything however, people have personal qualities that will make their leadership more or less influential. The L5 reflects a natural progression in leadership development and learning, beginning with the self and moving out to others.
Leadership can be sustainable
While the final proposition makes the leadership of an organisation sustainable, the frame itself helps individual leaders to sustain themselves. It acknowledges that leaders are also human, by making it clear that:
- Leadership starts from within: leaders need to be resilient and to nurture themselves personally and professionally.
- Leadership is fundamentally about influencing others: the maintenance of effective relationships is of fundamental importance and a top priority.
- Leadership is about learning: learning is what keeps us fresh and enthusiastic.
- Leadership is about being professional and good management: collegial support, and a sense of self efficacy keep us strong.
A frame for leadership
The L5 is a frame, or lens, for focusing on the work of a leader in any school. It makes it clear that the fundamental purpose of school leadership is learning. The L5 provides a structure for making the work and responsibilities of leadership explicit. By looking through this L5 frame; leaders, individuals and organisations will see their work and responsibilities as a whole, but be able to focus on particular aspects when necessary. By asking the question, "What do each of the propositions mean in my context and/or with my focus?", L5 can be a lens for understanding school leadership:
- at different levels, such as from principal leadership to teacher leadership
- for particular purposes and in particular contexts such as religious schools, Indigenous education, boys education and to promote wellbeing in a particular school.
The L5 Frame can be used as the basis for developing a range of strategic leadership tools - for reflection, analysis, planning and learning for:
- individuals and leadership teams
- professional self-reflection
- reviewing the work of others, i.e. performance management
- planning for professional and leadership development
- developing in-school leadership development programs
- organisational strategic planning.
Making the frame your own
If you like the L5 Frame and it speaks to you about leadership generally and your leadership in particular, decide to make it your own. The starting point is to memorise it. Notice how the propositions move out from the leader to engage others on leadership. Notice how the verbs become increasingly dynamic.
The five propositions paint a very broad picture of leadership. Their beauty is that they can be expanded to different levels and for different purposes, providing a flexible and practical strategic resource. As the propositions are expanded so they become more value based. The following example of how they can be expanded to a first level may provide a useful starting point.
- Leadership starts from within
Beliefs, Values, Integrity, Knowledge, Vision, Responsibility, Commitment, Courage, Resilience, Humour
- Leadership is about influencing others
Power, Relationships, Communication, Respect, Trust, Expectations, Political savvy, Advocacy, Challenge and conflict
- Leadership develops a rich learning environment
Intellect, Inquiry, Reflection, Facilitation, Teaching, Openness, Evidence, Collaboration, Dialogue, Rigour
- Leadership builds professionalism and management capability
Service, Stewardship, Accountability, Efficiency, Excellence, Ethics, Productivity, Performance, Professional advocacy
- Leadership inspires leadership actions and aspirations in others
Encouragement, Risk, Opportunities, Mentoring, Coaching, Advocacy, Modelling
In the following example, the propositions have been further expanded, making the work of leaders explicit in demonstrable ways. The propositions have been expanded to describe what the work of all school principals (and possibly other leaders) looks like in any Australian school. This is included as a stimulus for principals and other school leaders to apply them either individually, in teams or in their associations.
Leadership starts from within
- I articulate my beliefs and values and how they underpin my work.
- I articulate what I want to achieve for students, staff and schools.
- I know, understand and respect the school community.
- I demonstrate courage in taking responsibility for achieving this vision.
- I take time to critically reflect on myself and my work.
- As a result of this reflection, I take action to look after myself.
- I demonstrate optimism and integrity in challenging times. *
Leadership is about influencing others
- I have an appreciation of my impact on others.
- I explain things in ways that people can identify with and understand.
- I build trusting and respectful relationships within the school community.
- I expect the best from people and celebrate achievements.
- I know the politics of my school community and work with this knowledge to achieve school goals.
Leadership develops a rich learning environment
- I model a commitment to, and involvement in, ongoing leadership learning.
- I work expertly with others to ensure quality teaching and learning, and support services are provided.
- he learning of all students and staff is the focus of leaders' work
- Collaborative approaches to teaching and learning are encouraged and resourced.
- What people 'bring with them' is valued as crucial to what and how they learn.
Leadership builds professionalism and management capability
- Well understood structures, systems and processes are in place to manage the development of the organisation.
- The vision and values of the school underpin and inform all management decisions.
- Accountability is an integral part of the operations and functions of the school.
- Advocacy for the profession and engagement with professional networks is occurring regularly.
- Local and global trends and influences inform professional and organisational learning.
Leadership inspires leadership actions and aspirations in others
- All staff are encouraged and supported to take on leadership responsibilities.
- Risk taking is acceptable and 'mistakes' are seen as learning opportunities.
- Real opportunities are provided for people to take on leadership roles.
- Mentoring and coaching are routinely used in the professional development of staff
- Within the school community, leaders demonstrate the intrinsic rewards they get from their work.
We have used the material in the above section to develop an audit tool that you might find useful. It is a Word document that you can download and work on. Please feel free to change it so that it is useful for you, in your context, and for your purposes.
Click here to download this tool.
http://www.leaderslead.edu.au/LeadersLead_L5_Frame
