Kristi Lewis

EDUD 6322
March 17, 2017
Leadership in Multicultural and Global Education

Leadership in multicultural education is pertinent, to ensure that the influential parties of

the educational sector are capable of carrying out task in the best interest of diverse cultures. In

one class in the program I gave the local administration which consisted of the school districts

central administration staff, principals, and an instructional coach in the district an opportunity to

address educational change as it relates to our school district. Educational change beginning with

initiation, implementation, continuation, and outcome all focus on people playing an active role

in the change process (Fullan, 2007). Although change is complex, there is always something to

be learned such as mandating what matters, change involves uncertainty, vision and strategies

will come later, groups and individuals must have equal power, domination and delegation do not

work, must connect with a broader environment, and know that every person is a change agent

(Fullan, 2007). The leaders that I interviewed had to be competent on the subject matter and

keeping up with best practices I the field in order to properly answer the questions; if they were

not, it was noticeable.

I desire to become a change agent and to take all of what Ive learned into consideration

in the future. I believe teacher perspectives are pertinent for growth of educational leaders.

Thus, a true-to-life perspective is key to maintaining the values necessary for leading others

(Bethel, 2009). At the end of the summer school program I decided to give the teachers short

answer evaluations on their perspectives of the summer school leadership posing the following

questions: Do you feel as though the Summer School leadership team was supportive of your

needs throughout the program, if so, in what ways?, In what ways did Miss Lewis effectively

communicate with the staff?, Were the expectations and standards of the Summer School

Program clearly communicated, please explain?, and What is your perspective of the
 Kristi Lewis
EDUD 6322
March 17, 2017
organization and competence of the Summer School program under the leadership of Miss

Lewis? The feedback was honest and forthright, and was analyzed as exemplary leadership skills

on my part.

Lastly, Ive read a book detailing ten key behaviors; out of the ten, five really stood out to

me in relevance to global leadership; Seeing Differences, Closing the Gap, Opening the System,

Preserving Balance, and Establishing Solutions.

Seeing Differences: Cultural Self-Awareness-The environment that we live in shapes out

leadership style, has caused one to heighten ones awareness of different or more viable ways of

accomplishing goals in other locations (Gundling et.al, 2011). Learning to think outside of the

box as far as solving problems or accomplishing task in order to function in a global society will

definitely present opportunities for global platforms.

Closing the gap: Results through relationships, relationships are pertinent parts of a

systematic effort for buy in to ones employees. Rules without relationship equals rebellion

Global leaders must depend on others because they lack the local knowledge in foreign

countries, therefore, positive, strong relationships are always the pathway of being successful in

a global setting (Gundling et. al, 2011). This particular component of global leadership has

allowed me to self-evaluate, especially in the area of being culturally aware.

Opening the system: Develop Future Leaders-This component allows one to

conceptualize the fact of achieving task over a period of time in order to develop global leaders

overtime. Capable individuals within an organization are often targeted to move into leadership

roles to motivate growth in a global society (Gundling et. al, 2011)

 Kristi Lewis
EDUD 6322
March 17, 2017
Preserving balance: Core values and flexibility- Gundling et. al, 2011, covers information

on constructing significant associations in order to express empathy on learning the importance

of different cultures. The material covered within this module has showed one to be more

culturally sensitive, as well as exposed the importance on core values building from another key

behavior dealing with relationships.

Establishing solutions: Influence across boundaries. Information on global leaders

driving collaborative efforts across structural boundaries in order to formulate actual solutions

has enlightened one on being culturally responsive. The global leader must take the initiative to

generate solutions across boundaries, and if the leader fails to do so, the buy in is lost, and no one

else will. A person who has worked in a global role can return home and be promoted to a

domestic job that appears to be at a higher point in the leadership pipeline yet turns out to be less

challenging (Gundling et. al, 2011)

References

Bethel, S.M. (2009). A new breed of leader: 8 leadership qualities that matter most in the real

world. New York, New York: Berkley Books.

Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change. 4th Ed. New York, New York:

Teachers College Press.

Gundling, E., Hogan, T., & Cvitkovich, K., (2011). What is Global Leadership? 10 Key

Behaviors That Define Great Global Leaders. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press.