Musings on leadership
A unique opportunity has come my way, I am going to be acting deputy principal of my school for a term. A unique opportunity in that not many have the chance to 'taster' a role like this, not many schools will let a senior leader escape for a term!
I could settle into my (temporary) predecessors shoes, and do what she does, and just hold the position in place for nine weeks, for her to walk back in to and pick up where she left off. I don't want to transform her position, but I do want to add a sense of me to it. I want to be the best leader I can be, and not just a gatekeeper.
So I started reading about leadership, and educational leadership, and here's what I have learnt so far:
Listen. The people around us have voices, values and opinions. They are as much stakeholders as we are, decisions and changes will impact them first and foremost. "Employees and subordinates long to be asked for feedback and to be heard so ask how everyone’s getting on on a regular basis. Companies ranked the ‘best places to work’ invariably have a system in place for soliciting opinions and taking action based on their findings." Maya Verber
Have purpose and vision. In an educational context, having a vision for maximising student potential, for developing the whole person, for offering opportunities that challenge and grow our students to be the best version of them. "Purpose is the one thing all great leaders have in common. Great leaders have a clearly defined purpose, while average leaders just show up to work. Purpose fuels passion and work ethic. It is these characteristics that afford great leaders a competitive advantage over those who don’t understand the dynamics of this linkage." Mike Myatt. Model a positive attitude moving towards the vision. "While we're crossing the desert, we may be thirsty, but we sincerly believe there's an oasis on the other side. You're going to have to have a willingness to repeatedly fail if you're going to experiment. For a certain kind of person, that is a very exciting, very motivating culture" Jeff Bezos
Be authentic. Joe Denner, president of Aliant Leadership quotes "Not being true to ourselves makes us inauthentic leaders." Being authentic means trusting ourselves, and in turn being trustworthy. Michael Fischer asked a group of 10th graders at the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership conference in Rochester, N.Y. to create their vision of leadership in the 21st century. On this they said "We believe that leadership starts with the individual being genuine and authentic, leading from the trenches."
Differentiate leadership from management. Any DP is at risk of being bogged down with administrative tasks, and management responsibilities. Take the time to differentiate between the 2, and prioritise. Leadership is having vision, developing people, and the strategy to respond to the situation. Management is the processes and procedure, the reality that makes the vision come to pass. There is a time and place for both, and when they intersect at the right time and place, great things can happen.
Let go. For a self-professed control freak, this will be my biggest challenge. Taking a step back, letting others lead. Providing a safe and supportive culture in which other feel empowered to speak up, suggest change and offer opinions. "Successful leaders deflect attention away from themselves and encourage others to voice their opinions. They are experts at making others feel safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and points of view. They use their executive presence to create an approachable environment." Glenn Llopis
I could settle into my (temporary) predecessors shoes, and do what she does, and just hold the position in place for nine weeks, for her to walk back in to and pick up where she left off. I don't want to transform her position, but I do want to add a sense of me to it. I want to be the best leader I can be, and not just a gatekeeper.
So I started reading about leadership, and educational leadership, and here's what I have learnt so far:
Listen. The people around us have voices, values and opinions. They are as much stakeholders as we are, decisions and changes will impact them first and foremost. "Employees and subordinates long to be asked for feedback and to be heard so ask how everyone’s getting on on a regular basis. Companies ranked the ‘best places to work’ invariably have a system in place for soliciting opinions and taking action based on their findings." Maya Verber
Have purpose and vision. In an educational context, having a vision for maximising student potential, for developing the whole person, for offering opportunities that challenge and grow our students to be the best version of them. "Purpose is the one thing all great leaders have in common. Great leaders have a clearly defined purpose, while average leaders just show up to work. Purpose fuels passion and work ethic. It is these characteristics that afford great leaders a competitive advantage over those who don’t understand the dynamics of this linkage." Mike Myatt. Model a positive attitude moving towards the vision. "While we're crossing the desert, we may be thirsty, but we sincerly believe there's an oasis on the other side. You're going to have to have a willingness to repeatedly fail if you're going to experiment. For a certain kind of person, that is a very exciting, very motivating culture" Jeff Bezos
Be authentic. Joe Denner, president of Aliant Leadership quotes "Not being true to ourselves makes us inauthentic leaders." Being authentic means trusting ourselves, and in turn being trustworthy. Michael Fischer asked a group of 10th graders at the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership conference in Rochester, N.Y. to create their vision of leadership in the 21st century. On this they said "We believe that leadership starts with the individual being genuine and authentic, leading from the trenches."
Differentiate leadership from management. Any DP is at risk of being bogged down with administrative tasks, and management responsibilities. Take the time to differentiate between the 2, and prioritise. Leadership is having vision, developing people, and the strategy to respond to the situation. Management is the processes and procedure, the reality that makes the vision come to pass. There is a time and place for both, and when they intersect at the right time and place, great things can happen.
Let go. For a self-professed control freak, this will be my biggest challenge. Taking a step back, letting others lead. Providing a safe and supportive culture in which other feel empowered to speak up, suggest change and offer opinions. "Successful leaders deflect attention away from themselves and encourage others to voice their opinions. They are experts at making others feel safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and points of view. They use their executive presence to create an approachable environment." Glenn Llopis
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