There are numerous definitions of leadership, however according to Hoy and Miskel, leadership can be defined as a social process in which an individual or a group influences behavior toward a shared goal. Goals need to be accepted by everyone in any organization. However, the effectiveness of leadership is important. Leaders must have a vision, which must be based on current realities.  According to Wayne Gretsky, You always skate to where the puck is going, not to where its' been. I believe that the vision of any school should be revised constantly and that leaders must communicate those realities effectively.  Therefore, as an effective leader I believe that  principals should have a philosophy of  education and knowledge of how children learn. Leaders must provide  opportunities for teachers to better their practices through collaboration and support.  I believe in shared ownership, because when all stakeholders have an input them commitment will be stronger. Therefore the first theory is distributive leadership or shared leadership. Distributive leadership is defined as leadership by teams or groups.  Distributive leadership is where tasks are distributed to individuals such as teachers, parents and students and where their inputs are acknowledge.

The second theory is servant leadership. This enables all individuals to take on different roles and growth occurs. According to Hoy and Miskel, the servant leader attends to individual growth, to realizing the organizations goals, and to the ethical and oral effects on the broader community. Servant leaders need to listen, show empathy, commit to community building, and stewardship. Leaders also need to show respectful, compassion, committed and show responsibility.

A third theory that can be combined with servant leadership is transformational leadership. According to Hoy and Miskel, transformation leaders build commitment to the organizations objectives and empower followers to achieve these objectives.  Transformational leadership involves motivating and stimulating others to see the vision of the school and to make important contributions. Decision-making is also important in schools.  The model that I believe works best is the Vrooms Model of shared decision making. The group- agreement decision style should be used when necessary.  In this style the leader shares the problem and groups collectively provide suggestions and alternatives to arrive at a decision.

After looking back at these three leadership styles, I think that a leader should have a vision for academic success for all students, resect for every member of the school community, encourage leadership in schools, have shared responsibility for students success, and finally improving instruction by listening to teachers and providing them with resources and support. These should be driven by the collection and analyzing of data.  A school leader should be able to prioritize things at hand and make the best judgment based on urgency.  A school leader should be looking for the next pillar that will enable his/her school to provide the best education possible for all students, I think that a school leader should have student learning, professional learning and systems learning in the forefront.  Finally, a school leader should act with integrity, respect and with commitment to educational equality. Schooling depends on principals who can foster the conditions necessary for sustained education reform in a complex, rapidly changing society. Never has the time been riper for change leaders than right now.