Page 16 - Personal Leadership Charter
P. 16
Capabilities
Capabilities are, simply put, what a person can do. What a school leader is ‘capable
of doing’. Capabilities are built up from the underlying skills, knowledge and
attitudes necessary for leaders to perform their roles. Capabilities are evidenced
through a leader’s practices (their actions and responses to situations).
Capabilities are detailed in the EsF Leadership Capability Framework.
Working with capabilities
How might capabilities relate to your working life as a school leader? imagine
you have applied for a promotion to Vice Principal in a new international school.
At the interview the Panel asks you, “What are you capable of doing for us?”
(i.e. “Why should we give you the job?”).
At a basic level they are asking about your capabilities, i.e. the skills and knowledge
you will bring to the job. However, reeling off a sterile list of these won’t do it.
Capabilities only mean something when they relate to the context within which
they work and can be supported by ‘real’ examples of your practices, or how you
have used your capabilities in similar roles in your past experience.
Capabilities must, therefore, be personally analysed and defined on an ongoing
basis. in other words, consciously defined and illustrated as part of learning to
lead.
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