Pursuit of Excellence By Mr J O Apata

Pursuit of Excellence By Mr. J. O. Apata School Administrator Emerald Schools, Lagos & Ogun States, Nigeria

Meaning… • EXCELLENCE… • Quality of being outstanding or extremely good. • Synonyms: distinction, high quality, superiority, brilliance, • greatness, merit, calibre eminence, preeminence, supremacy, peerlessness, transcendence, value, worth…

10 SALIENT AREAS OF AN EXCELLENT SCHOOL Leadership Academics and competition School environment Relationship Conduct and discipline Food and Hygiene School functions and activities: co-curricular, pastoral etc • Appearance and disposition • School processes and procedures • School appraisal and evaluation • •

Self-Evaluation of Indicators A school’s growth is hinged on the following: - Increase in population - Improved academic performance in internal and external examinations - Reduction staff/pupils withdrawal - Discipline among staff and students - School-Parents relations, co-operation and participation - Government and community relations, social responsibility and integrity - Public awareness about the school - Performance in school competitions: sports, music, academics - Staff development, motivation and satisfaction. - Effective school policies, procedures and processes - Infrastructural development and maintenance

MISCONCEPTION… • Most times, focus is myopically on students performance at the expense of other indicators. • Little wonder, schools experience reduction in population in spite extra-ordinary academic performance. • Emerald Schools should be wary of these indices to avoid exacerbated retrogression in spite of marginal but steady growth experienced last session. • We should also be careful of complacency and therefore take salient areas of our corporate strength for granted. • Microcosmic and macrocosmic analysis of the schools must be carried out to ensure every aspect of the school systems is given necessary prominence. • Every decision to be evidence-based rather than conjecture, sentiments or whims.

Corporate Leadership • No school can perform beyond the quality of the leadership. • This is about the influence he/she exudes on others to achieve the organisational goals. • Having processes and procedures, rules and regulations, corporate ethics and code of conduct in place will never translate to corporate success without effective leader. SHIP. NOT POSITIONAL BUT INFLUENCIAL! • My experience here tells me that many sections of our leadership do not keep to leadership boundaries. • Many bypasses are encouraged and this gives room for some subordinate to feel they are untouchables, and it bears negative influence on control. • We must work by system rather than rule of the thumb. Being put under pressure when parents are making request without due cognizance to the dangerous threshold of setting incongruous precedent may be dysfunctional to the system. • We must live above this to ensure sustainable growth and development in years ahead.

Steps Leaders Must Take in Pursuit of Excellence Share the vision and set the goals Motivate and inspire: be optimistic! Lead by example Demonstrate integrity and financial discipline Communicate effectively and be reasonably confidential • Make hard decisions based on evidence. • Recognise success: show appreciation • Empower others through training and delegation. • • •

The Ability To Inspire And Motivate Others. • From middle manage up to the senior levels of a company, a leader must have the ability to inspire and motivate those under his/her leadership, and in some cases, those above him/her in the corporate hierarchy. • By displaying the characteristics of Vision (being able to communicate a clear picture of the future to the team), • Relationship Building (both one-on-one and with team members through being a great listener and creating emotional ties), • Principled Driving of Results (being a role model for the team to do things the “right way” in the focused pursuit to hit the goals set for the unit on time), and • an Enthusiastic Expert (displaying passion for the organization and the work that it does, as well as offering strong guidance from a deep well of expertise).

Demonstrate and Convey High Integrity and Honesty. • A person that is looking to be perceived as an outstanding leader in his/her organization must also display the characteristics of high integrity and honesty. • To create respect, trust, and even admiration among other team members, one must be a person that operates from a foundation of strong moral principles, good character, and rectitude. • This leader will build and display a reputation of sincerity, truthfulness, and trustworthiness.

The Ability To Analyze Issues and Problem Solve • Outstanding leaders excel at analyzing issues and problem solving by using proven systems and practices to systematically analyze information collected from various sources. • In addition, he/she will be open to hearing from other team members and interested parties to leverage their thoughts and expertise. • This leader will be open to new ideas and tactics that can possibly be used to distinguish patterns and trends in complex data and use this information to chart steps to handle the situation for the benefit of the team and organization.

Drives For Results • One competency that always stands out is a leader that can consistently meet goals, commitments, and deadlines. • He/She sets clear goals for themselves and their teams, get input from all involved parties to create a plan, and then does everything possible to get the job done on time. • When coupled with great relationship skills, this proficiency has the ability to inspire other team members to give their maximum effort towards the cause as well.

Strong Communication Skills • A competency that can really set you apart as a leader is to possess great communication skills. • The ability to employ strong verbal and written prowess in a way that delivers information to others in a clear, organized, and concise manner will serve to increase productivity on your team. • A strong communicator can help team members to understand how their contributions benefit not only the team, but also the broader organization. • In addition, a powerful communicator can create productive connections with other departments, making the organization stronger as a whole.

Teamwork and Collaboration • A good leader has not only the ability to lead his/her own team to success, but also to foster collaboration and teamwork with other leaders and their teams in an organization. • They offer assistance to other departments as appropriate, and look to develop a spirit of cooperation for the greater good. • This leader is also adept at removing any obstruction to teamwork and performance while championing an atmosphere of individual and group success.

Technical and Professional Expertise • Leaders who display technical and professional expertise have credibility and garner respect from their teammates and colleagues due to their extensive knowledge of issues, problems, and solutions in their field. • They are sought out for advice, opinions, and guidance while significantly contributing to their team reaching its goals. • These leaders make it a point to stay up to date on the latest happenings, challenges, and innovations taking place in their field and apply that knowledge in their work resulting in success for the organization.

Competences For Sustainable Growth and Excellent Performance There are some competences that are sine qua non to sustainable growth and development in a school system. These include : ACADESS • Adaptation • Communication • Adversity/Crisis • Digital • Emotional • Social • Spiritual

Adaptability Competency • • • Change is a fundamental element of life and also a fundamental principle of every organization and every society. Each time a new policy is initiated in the society or in an organization, change occurs. Adaptability competence, therefore, is the ability to manage change and remain relevant even as the situations turn around. Fresh ideas, flexibility, and innovations are key skills required to achieve adaptability competence. Innovations play key roles in the world of today. What is relevant today might become obsolete in the next 12 months. A product that sells today might have no buyer in the next six months; therefore, every success-oriented and a highly effective individual must be ready to adapt to these changes by effecting changes in his/her approaches.

Communication Competence • • • Aside from the ability to articulate our words, form correct sentences and use the right pronunciations and intonations coherently, it is our ability to receive, analyze, interpret and pass on information acceptably well in different situations and circumstances. Communication could come in the form of spoken words, written messages are it electronic or manual, gestures and expressions, greetings and salutations, selfcarriage, physical appearance, and public demeanor. We must understand that every gathering requires a certain communication standard. Different relationships and environment also determine communication patterns. Another skill relevant in communication competence especially in Nigeria is proficiency in the mother tongue. One’s ability to communicate fluently in one’s mother tongue is becoming a very rare skill as a result of the influence of the English Language. Some of our indigenous languages are in danger of extinction whereas even Google recognizes and communicates in these languages. Therefore, being proficient in any of these languages is fast becoming a sought-after skill.

Adversity Competence • Adversity competence has to do with the ability to manage problematic situation to one’s advantage. • High level of depression and suicide tendencies in the society are a product of deficiency in adversity intelligence. • No one is immune to life challenges. Same goes with every institutions as human organisation.

Digital Competence • The world currently speaks and acts in technology. • Every field of human endeavor has found an easier and better way of solving both basic and more complex problems using modern technology. • Digital competence is the ability to apply a good range of technological tools for information dissemination, communication, and problem-solving activities. • Digital competence has been found to be helpful in acquiring other skills that aid the development of other competencies such as communication Competence. • Digital Competence would apply basic computer skills, digital content creation, digital content accessibility skills, digital content management, understanding the law of the cyberspace and so on to succeed.

Emotional Competence • Most times, emotions are expressed in different forms of communication, words, and actions. • It is our ability to understand, respond and interpret our emotions and that of others in order to constructively manage such emotions. • Emotional competence can help us manage some dangerous emotions that affect our social skills and ultimately affect our productivity at work. • Through Emotional Competence, we can build interpersonal skills, communication skills, cooperative relationship, team skills etcetera. • Lack of Emotional Competence can mare our careers and our relationships. It could be marital or filial relationships.

Social Competence • Social competence is the behavioural skill required for social adaptations. • It is the ability to accept others’ perspectives and remain open-minded to issues, creeds, and conventions. • The system approach to modern management theory advocates social competence as its driving tool to team building, interpersonal skills, adaptation to change and synergy. • It is needed to succeed at work, in relationships and business engagement. • Social competence helps us build perception which determines whether an individual would like to meet us again after the first meeting.

Spiritual Competence • Many corporate leaders take this aspect for granted. • Some have equally given nomenclatures of different forms to same concept. • This is more instructive because we operate a conventional Christian school: Catholic and Pentecostal • All our corporate activities must be guided and guarded by Biblical principles and incorporated in the school system. • The principle of revelational knowledge (knowing without knowing why you know) cannot be taking for granted. • Monthly fasting and prayer for staff and students/pupils; modest and neat appearance; honest and sincere disposition; timeliness and responsiveness; holy living void of debauchery, banal and carnal behaviour; respect for life and property; equity and fairness etc. • Christian ethics is rooted in faith, discipline, love, sacrifice, service, selflessness and giving

Conclusion Some tools are needed by everyone of us to be sufficiently prepared for the challenge ahead in order to enhance our corporate performance. These include: • Complex problem solving • Critical thinking and innovation • Negotiation and influencing • Emotional intelligence, responsiveness and sense of responsible • Collaboration, team building and cooperation We must be flexible and curious; hold on to our core competency while learning new skills; communicate effectively and timely; lead through influence and read the system; learn and practice corporate competitive advantage; be entrepreneurial; pay attention to details, discipline, quality and result and have passion for the cause

Thank you