An Analysis of Linda Lambert's "Building Leadership Capacity in Schools"

In the book "Building Leadership Capacity in Schools," Linda Lambert takes a close look at leadership in today's schools. Lambert defines leadership as a group of people in a community working together toward a shared sense of purpose. The community she talks about includes teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community members. She refers to leadership capacity as a broad based, skillful involvement in the work of leadership.

1.Lambert speaks of five key assumptions that form the conceptual framework for building leadership capacity:

2.Leadership is not a trait theory.

3.Leadership is about learning.

4.Everyone has the potential and right to work as a leader.

5.Leading is a shared endeavor.

Leadership requires the redistribution of power and authority.

In order to apply these assumptions, one first must develop a good and strong communication within their community. Communication can be defined as an ongoing transactional process in which individuals exchange messages whose meaning are influenced by the history of the relationship and the experiences of the participants. Key words in this definition are the experiences of the participant.

In the book "Building Leadership Capacity in Schools," Lambert tells the stories of three schools; one school with low leadership capacity, one with moderate leadership capacity, and one with high leadership capacity. Each story reflects the principal's technique in communication and how effective it was within his/her community. Lambert discusses how one can use reflective thinking when communicating with their community. She says, "Reflection leads to the opportunity to run with an idea, to see it through."