Page 4 - Mini-Module 4

Foreword

If leadership is about influence, communication is a key leadership
competency. To labour the point, if you can’t communicate you can’t
influence people and therefore you can’t lead. In high-performing
schools, everyone is “singing the same tune” and this requires a
strong, well-articulated communication strategy.

In our experience school leaders are more than willing to
communicate and most have already mastered the basics of
interpersonal and tactical communication. A school leader may have
the skill of talking one-one-one with staff, of writing interesting
newsletters, succinct emails, and clear blogs, but often these tactical
activities are not part of a meaningful communication strategy. What
many school leaders lack is a strategic approach to communication.
Although almost all school leaders will say that they believe
communication should be two-way (interactive and transparent), and
that communication between the school and their learning
community is just as important as that within the school, many
leaders’ communications strategies suggest that they don’t actually
believe this.

This Mini-Module is written for principals to provide insight into how
they can develop a strategic approach to improving communication.

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