IB Leadership Workshops

The IB have designed a suite of leadership workshops which provide an IB perspective on leadership and aim to help you become "an effective IB leader".

On this page you will be introduced to the initial offering of six leadership workshops through activities that help you understand what each workshop is about.

New leadership suite summer 2022

Launch of new leadership suite by the IB

It has been a privilege to work with a small group of IB lead educators to author the IB's new suite of six Leadership workshops to provide IB leaders with opportunities for conversation, reflection and growth, as they inquire into school context, community and culture, as well as the global IB ecosystem.

They are written for both senior and middle leaders.

The workshops are on the following topics, and each has a substantive take-away:

  • Navigating leadership
  • Leading an IB education
  • Leading mission, vision and strategy
  • Leading and managing teams
  • Leading an IB learning organisation
  • Leaders engage the community

To find out more click HERE.

I am grateful to Head of School for DPS International, Gurgaon India, for this visual image.

The Workshops

Navigating leadership

All IB World School leaders articulate a clear purpose for learning to foster the creation of a better and more peaceful world. This workshop allows leaders to find answers to key questions that any leader could be asked during a leadership interview. Each question goes to the heart of an aspect of leadership work.

The professional inquiry that underpins this workshop focuses on the following lines of inquiry. How:

  • IB leaders nurture a culture of inquiry and reflection to impact teaching and learning throughout the learning community
  • IB leaders use a toolbox of strategies to overcome barriers and challenges, often in complex situations
  • IB leaders use the IB leadership intelligence framework when managing change
  • a leadership philosophy about leading teaching and learning frames both their actions and their impact on others.

"I always love a good analogy and I think that the use of the word navigation brings into play so many apt metaphors for life as a school leader. I have visions of a large sailing ship in the middle of the ocean needing to be extremely aware of the state of the ocean, knowing that at any time conditions change suddenly. Also, the captain of the ship needs to consider the complex relationship between the elements that make up their home including the winds, rain and ocean currents, unseen creatures (hopefully not monsters) as well as tides and hidden dangers just below the surface. The analogy also includes suggestions of changing course at times and when necessary, in order to respond to the shifting context of the unpredictable ocean but always having that destination in mind. It may be a bit of a winding passage through that wide ocean but everyone always knows where they're heading, eventually, even if they get a little lost along the way. Anyway I think the navigation analogy is the perfect one for this workshop and it sets an exploratory and adventurous tone. Just right for leadership in a complex IB context when you never really know how one small change may ripple through your ecosystem." (Damian Rentoule, Head of Bunkyo Campus at Aoba-Japan International School, Tokyo.)

“Effective IB leaders know their why and know it is in alignment with the IB Mission. They handle the complexity of leadership work, by adopting effective practices like creating highly effective teams. They adopt the stance of a lifelong learner, not just in theory, but in practice, by defining and exemplifying lifelong learning. They tackle challenges with leadership ‘tools’, such as Single, Double and Triple Loop thinking | systems mapping. Systems thinking helps identify the leverage points in the system that can be changed the most easily, for the greatest effect. They identify the leverage point as the place where they will make a strategic change. Effective leaders understand that the school's culture is its actual brand… not the one from the marketing team and therefore place high importance on cultivating the school culture strategically.”

Links

Choose one of the following internal links to explore key aspects in this workshop:

Leading an IB education

This workshop allows leaders to explore leading an IB education that is both student-centred, and develops the attitudes and skills students need for both academic and personal success. IB leaders inquire into developing effective approaches to teaching and learning, thereby increasing the intercultural understanding through a curriculum that is broad, balanced, conceptual and connected.

The professional inquiry that underpins this workshop focuses on the following lines of inquiry. How:

  • the IB mission empowers leaders to create a better and more peaceful world through the IB learner profile and by promoting international mindedness
  • effective approaches to teaching and learning help students to develop the attitudes and skills they need for both academic and personal success
  • IB leaders draw upon a range of IB leadership intelligences to further develop their programmes
  • global issues connect learning through real world application that transcend the academic disciplines.

What is expected of an IB leader in their context?

  • The inquiries lead the participants to explore:
  • What kind of education are they aiming for?
  • What kind of young people are they expected to present to the world?
  • Through what kind of learning strategy, mindset, and curriculum will they be able to achieve their educational goal?
  • How can they fulfil their IB mission of educating lifelong learners with a global perspective?
  • How can they deliver high-quality education with rigorous assessments?
  • How do they develop IB leadership capacity and apply IB education in their own context?

Besides understanding the IB expectation and acquiring the necessary techniques, one challenge that an IB leader needs to proceed on a less supported journey is how to implement IB education in his/her own context. (Fangfang Kong, DP coordinator, Shenzhen, Chiona).

Links

Choose one of the following internal links to explore key aspects in this workshop:

Leading mission, vision an strategy

You will explore how IB leaders develop internationally minded people who are empowered to be agents of change in the world. Opportunities are provided to reflect on your unique school context as well as learning from global voices of other IB World School leaders. This workshop will help you continue to clarify your school’s mission and vision by further aligning it with that of the IB. As an IB leader, you will leave the workshop with an actionable strategy that will help you lead your school towards creating a better world.

The professional inquiry that underpins this workshop focuses on the following lines of inquiry. How:

  • IB leaders strategically design vision to align with the IB mission.
  • IB leaders aim to develop internationally minded people who recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.
  • Leaders empower others to be agents of change in schools as well as local and global communities.
  • School leaders commit to self-reflection, educational inquiry and collaboration in their learning ecosystem

"This workshop is focused on the IB Mission statement and how it is lived in the schools and how the Learner Profile is the mission is action. The focus is on strategic leadership - the big picture, the vision of a school, and being part of a global community. A lot or metacognition, reflective practice, applying to own contexts - a lot of connections between different inquiries. There are multiple opportunities for reflective and evaluative practices as well as useable artifacts such as interview questions, elevator pitches and some SWOT analysis of their school. With all of the thinking about being globally connected cultural intelligence is also used throughout the inquiries. Participants should be able to leave this workshop having gained a deeper understanding of the rich resources that the IB provides through community blogs, Nano PDs and research papers, as well as hearing from other global leaders and reflecting on how their practice may apply to their context." (Amanda Shepherd, Secondary Principal at American School Hong Kong.)

Links

Choose one of the following internal links to explore key aspects in this workshop:

Leading and managing teams

Leaders must effectively sustain and nurture teams to maximize team learning resulting in positive outcomes throughout the IB World School.

The professional inquiry that underpins this workshop focuses on the following lines of inquiry. How:

  • Professional inquiry and team learning are at the very core of the IB approach to programme development.
  • Effective team leaders use a variety of leadership and management strategies to focus their teams on learning.
  • Sustaining and growing teams requires leadership that considers the needs of the learning community.
  • A dialogic team engages in discussion about pedagogy within their own school and their extended IB network.

How do IB leaders lead effective teams?

“I know this workshop’s intended audience is programme/subject group coordinators, librarians, counsellors, and team leaders at any level, but I would love to have it delivered to all teachers in my school at the beginning of a year. I think a whole school exploration of leading and managing teams would build capacity and make for a stronger collaborative culture.

Sustaining and growing teams requires leadership to always consider the needs of the learning community. The suite of workshops has maintained a focus on inclusion so when we consider the needs of individuals and groups in teams, we can use this inclusion lens to consider the identification and removal of barriers to engagement, a central consideration for IB leaders when leading teams.

"For me, this workshop would be great for those schools that struggle to be a continuum school and live in their silos of programmes and also schools that are starting on the evaluation process so that they will show true collaboration and effective team work by the time they have their next visit in 5 years.” (IB workshop facilitators, November 2022)

Leading an IB learning organisation

This workshop allows leaders to better understand their role in developing a learning organization as that of a designer, steward and teacher. Leaders explore how to build a shared vision, challenge prevailing mental models, build professional mastery and team learning. They apply sense-making, systems thinking and activity theory in their IB World School context.

The professional inquiry that underpins this workshop focuses on the following lines of inquiry. How:

  • IB leaders are responsible for designing and sustaining learning organizations where students and staff continually expand their skills, attitudes and dispositions.
  • IB leaders challenge prevailing mental models with new ideas and innovative methods in order to bring about change.
  • IB leaders apply sense-making, systems thinking and activity theory to build a shared vision and continually develop their IB programme(s).
  • Strategic aims that align with the Programme standards and practices, support development with all aspects of leading an IB education.

"This workshop would be of benefit for leaders looking to better understand how they can fully immerse themselves in the approach for IB programme development (PDP) in their own context. The focus is on 'organisational learning' within schools – the idea that not just individuals or teams but whole organisations can learn. It does so through the lens of systems thinking, and participants will leave with ‘systems thinking’ tools to apply back in their own schools. The workshop explores the role of the leader within a learning organisation as designer, steward and teacher." (IB facilitators of this workshop, November 2022)

"This would be a great workshop for those embarking on developing their IB journey after going through authorization, or for organizations that are delving into the new PSP after years of using the ‘old’ standards and practices."

Links

Choose one of the following internal links to explore key aspects in this workshop:

Leaders engage the community

In this workshop school leaders will consider how effective communication between their school and their community leverages the wisdom and expertise of all learning community members thereby fostering interdependent, diverse, and inclusive relationships.

The professional inquiry that underpins this workshop focuses on the following lines of inquiry. How:

  • empowering all members of the community to be agents of change aligns with the philosophy of an IB education
  • leaders nurture interdependent, inclusive, and strengths-based relationships with their community
  • effective communication between school leaders and their communities leverages the wisdom and expertise of all members of the community by encouraging the acceptance of diverse perspectives
  • strategic engagement with leaders’ communities can extend student learning and strengthen the implementation of IB programme(s).

"This workshop is about establishing what an IB community is, engaging with that community and empowering it. This workshop is timely as schools start to reconnect and resume engagement within their community post COVID." (IB facilitators of this workshop, November 2022)

“This workshop provides learning engages for participants to explore how IB leaders foster interdependent, diverse, and inclusive relationships with their communities through ENGAGEMENT. First, this requires quality communication that is inclusive. Effective IB Leaders feel a responsibility to understand the imperative to know the needs of the community. They create trusting relationships in order to model and lead inclusive community engagement. IB leaders embody the learner profile and reflect on their effectiveness in meeting the needs of the community and sharing resources. Leaders will define community, then look at the purposes of engaging with the community to build urgency, and pick a community to engage with, and apply the IB Leadership Intelligences to leading their identified community.” (Kathryn O'Connell, Australian The International School of Phnom Penh)

"Leaders foster interdependent, diverse, and inclusive relationships with their communities by leveraging the strengths of the school and community to fulfil/meet the needs of each group."

Links

Choose one of the following internal links to explore key aspects in this workshop:

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