On Saturday morning August 28, the TAMUSA Superintendency courses began. We had a great beginning conversation about leadership. As a professor of educational leadership I have seen many, many of my former students who aspired to leadership roles in schools have gone on to become principals, superintendents, or in other central office roles. Some have performed at a very high level. Some have flamed out only to seek work in other professions more suited their particular talents and dispositions.
However as I looked around the class that morning, I saw assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and individuals who early in their teaching careers had already completed a principal certification and were looking for their first position in leadership. I asked the question to those present, "Many people wanted the position that you now hold. Once in the profession, educators are scrutinized carefully every day they show up for work. So, why is it that each of you was hired for your position rather than somebody else? The responses were varied, some surprising and these will be posted in the next blog.
Meanwhile I want everyone secure a copy of the article from Harvard Business Review entitle "Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?" This is an important question for anyone seeking a leadership role. I you can't answer this, you probably need to take more time to reflect before you decide to become a leader. More about this later.
In John Maxwell's book, The Right to Lead, he lists five traits of the kind of leaders others want to follow. Great leaders have to let go of their ego because they should not be in leadership for personal gain. Leaders are good followers first, as they must first learn to serve with discipline before they can lead. Through positive relationships, a leader can influence. Maxwell states that people go along with people they get along with. And in order to be followed, a leader must work with excellence, for no one respects nor wants to follow mediocrity. And while leaders must establish relationships, they lead with discipline not emotion. During critical times, relying on the discipline of the leadership skill will help the leader perservere and not give up. And as a leader, it important to add value to the lives of others. And finally, an important skill for a leader to become a better leader, it is to empower others. This skill extends the leadership beyond the immediate grasp. "If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself." --Dwight L. Moody. In summary, I believe that in order that others will want to follow me, I must be confident, but with humility, listen and build positive relationships, always do my very best, follow the rules, and empower others, add value by what I do each day. All said and done, these skills must be demonstrated with consistency and integrity.
ReplyDeleteA common theme in Servant leadership training is that the only person you can change is the one you see in the mirror every morning, you must lead everyone else. The question might be who would follow you without a title? Dennis A. Peer remarked, “One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you.” In the 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership, John Maxwell states, “When leaders are respected and they ask for commitment, their people step up and sign up. They are ready to take risks, charge the hill, put in long hours, or do whatever else is necessary to get the job done. In the Law of Connection chapter, Maxwell states, “You can’t move people to action unless your first move them with emotion…The heart comes before the head.” In order to make this connection, you as the leader must be truly & totally connected to the cause to establish buy in. Maxwell also states, “People don’t at first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote causes they believe in.”
ReplyDeleteThank you Scott and Gloria. Great writing. You guys have thought pretty deeply about leadership. So based on these beliefs, you find something in yourself worthy of being followed. It is important to know this about yourself. dh
ReplyDeleteI think it is important in leadership to be open, honest, and maintain integrity. I feel it is important as a leader to not be reactive but to take time to think things through and make decisions once facts are gathered and all angles of a situation have been analyzed. It is important to remain calm when there is a storm around you.
ReplyDeletePeople need to feel valued in their work. Leading a school to achieve goals and visions is a collaborative effort of all staff members; a school vision cannot be obtained by just one person. Everyone within the organization plays a vital role to the success of the school. They need to feel valued and that their role is an important part of the school's success.
Why did I take classes in leadership? I took them for the large amounts of money that I will be making as an administrator and maybe someday as a superintendent.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, you mean Admin does not make large amount of money?
Well I guess I am doing this for the same reason I became a teacher and a fireman, to help people. To me there is no greater feeling than seeing a student with a large smile on their face because they now understand what we are doing, or because they are proud that they were able to make the project. When we are doing projects in my classroom we do not make “crap”. If a student does not do well on the project we redo it until he/she and I are happy with it. I have found that at first students look at you funny and get frustrated when I force them to redo something. When they finally complete a project and it turns out great I then have them compare it to the first one that was “crap”. You should see the looks on their faces when they see how much better the final product was. I think that I can bring these experiences into an admin job.
I currently am not in a leadership role at school but I do have leadership experience on the fire department. I am not an officer but since I am one of the “old guys” on the department the younger people they come to me for help and leadership. Some of the younger guys have more certifications than me but they do not have the practical hands-on experience so they come to me for help.
I know that being a leader will be hard work and stressful, but I feel that my life experiences and the schooling I have received have gotten me ready. I know it is a different type of “work” and “stress” but I do not see how they could be nearly as hard or stressful as some of things I have seen or had to do up to this point of my life.
People will follow leaders because they "walk the walk". The obvious prerequisites for leadership include a laundry list of characteristics such as honesty, integrity, work ethic, loyalty, trustworthiness, expertise, passion, persistance, enthusiasm etc. The best leaders, however, have the ability to apply each of these characteristics in the following domains: Technical intelligence (knowledge, expertise and experience in their role), social intelligence (the ability to connect beyond at a superficial level with a diverse range of people and personalities), and emotional intelligence (the ability to avoid "hacky sack moments" by dealing with "hot" circumstances appropriately). Oddly enough, most focus tends to be on technical intelligence because it is easily quantifiable even though great leadership often relies most heavily on emotional and social intelligence. Furthermore, emotional and social intelligence is not intentionally measured much less taught in leadership development programs. In my opinion, this is one of the primary reasons why few effective leaders exist. I suspect there is a lack of deliberate attention to social and emotional intelligence development because they are tougher to measure and appropriate performance standards are considered to be subjective and somehow less valid. I also suspect that a belief exists that emotional and social capacities are mostly innate; you either have "it" or you do not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Roland about people either having "it" or not (as admin)....same theory applies to teachers.
ReplyDeleteTeachers follow my lead because I have walked the walk. They know that I spent a lot of years in the classroom and working with Title One kiddos. This inspires a level of confidence in me that they might not have for someone with less experience.
I also don't pull any punches when dealing with tough situations. They have found that I am fair in dealing with students and with teachers, but I'm not afraid to do what's right when it needs to be done.
In the end, I have made it abundantly clear that I am there for the kids first, and that they should be too.
Great leaders know and appreciate the value of people. They don’t just listen to the opinions of others, they seek them out. They make sure every member of their tem has the opportunity to make a meaningful, lasting contribution. They recognize that their most important responsibility as a leader is to develop their people, give them room to grow and inspire them to realize their full potential.
ReplyDeleteI have for years contemplated what distinguishes a manager from a leader. On paper side by side, on paper they both seem to emoby the spirit of greatness. However, one will do what is required but the other will surpass all expectations and produce something amazing. I have often told teachers, "A manager requires you to do something, but a leader inspires you to do it" As see myself as the latter. My goal in life is not go and tell people what needs to be done but help them envision why it needs to be done. This develops purpose in their endeavors and they no longer have a task but now they have a mission. I want those who work with me to take risk. They need to try something new. I was taught to find a need, then meet that need and I encourage those around me to do the same. No matter how great things may appear there will always be a need and we must always meet those needs. All employees apply and interview for a job. My goal is to help them realized that they have calling.
ReplyDeleteWhy me....?
ReplyDeleteI think I got the job I have now because I had proven myself in several different capacities. I always have tried to help others out no matter how difficult it can be. And my expectations for myself and the others around me is always high. When I taught Geometry students would come to class saying they hated math and now when I see ex-students they tell me I was the best Math teacher they ever had. When I coached, we made the play offs in basketball every year. I always told the girls that if we were going to win we all had to set goals and have the expectations that we would meet those goals no matter what. These characteristics still set the tone in my current position. I have goals and my expectations are to strive to meet those goals every day I go to work.