| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

A New Definition of Leadership

Page history last edited by Pete Reilly 14 years, 3 months ago

Leadership: A New Definition

 

 

Personal Journey

It’s time for a new definition of leadership. Being a leader is no longer denoted by an important title, a position of authority, or one’s I.Q. Educators, like all of us, are ultimately inspired by a leader's presence and way of being. Aristotle spoke of 'ethos' as a type of leadership in which a leader influences others to change their values and thus their performance. He explained that ethos is not what a person says or promises, but it is their way of being in the world, their presence and comportment that affects how others follow them and whether they are open to their ideas.

 

Clearly, effective leadership has less to do with what you know and more to do with the kind of person you are. There are plenty of educational experts that we would not follow if they tried to lead us.

 

If we are serious about improving our schools; we must change our approach to leadership. We need to stop blaming others for their unwillingness to do what we think is best and hold ourselves accountable. Perhaps the simplest but most profound step in the leadership journey; is the realization that we need to focus less on the faults of others and more on our own effectiveness and leadership “ethos”.

 

Becoming an effective leader requires a healthy dose of courageous, self-honesty. Particularly when we hear the inner voice asking:

 

“Why is it that when I try to move others to my vision I get little traction? It’s as if my voice is not heard or valued. “

“How can I meet our goals with too little resources”

“How will I overcome my tendency to say, “Yes”, to every request when I really need to say, “No”, to some?”

“When will I stop avoiding difficult conversations with those who are not performing to my standards?”

“Will I ever learn to manage the performance of others when I’m most comfortable doing things myself?”

 

 

These questions and many others are deeply personal, deeply human and represent only a few of our many leadership challenges. Little of the vision we have for our schools can be realized without dealing with a myriad of human issues. In our hearts, we know that real leadership involves far more than the etiquette of the professional domain. Leadership is personal.

 

The good new is that, contrary to some beliefs, we do not have to be born leaders. Leadership can be developed. It is an exciting journey with few short cuts. Those of us that try to make developing our leadership a safe, intellectual exercise will be disappointed.

 

The traditional path of listening to lectures, reading books, writing and talking about leadership provides information and insight; but generally will not change our behavior and our ability to take new actions. We know intuitively that reading about leadership will not make us leaders. We don’t expect to learn to play the piano by reading about it. Athletes practice and musicians rehearse so that they have the skills they need to excel embedded in their bodies. Real leadership is more than learning and applying tips and techniques. It is a commitment to aligning our values and beliefs with our actions; and that takes commitment and practice. So where should we start?

 

Purpose, Passion & Inspiration

The best place to start is to reconnect to our purpose and our passion. We need to ask, “For the sake of what am I doing what I am doing?” The first answer, generally, just scratches the surface. Ask the question again in order drop deeper into your purpose. Another answer will appear. Ask again and again until you arrive at an answer where you begin to feel the smoldering passion and purpose that has been waiting for you to stoke it. It’s there for all of us. Sometimes our answer, our purpose, scares us because it is so big, or surprises us because we have wandered so far from it. Our purpose is not something to be recited like a mission statement but something to feel in our hearts.

 

Being in integrity with our purpose brings on a more powerful presence. When you are living your purpose it is easier to speak the truth and inspire others. Being able to inspire, to create narratives that enroll others, and shift the behaviors of our teams are important attributes of effective leaders. When we are clear about our purpose we can envision possibilities without being tethered to the details. Sure enough, there will be operational and tactical details to deal with but once we sense our purpose the details take on more meaning. They are not nuisances that irritate us but important steps on the way to our goal. No one can lead effectively without a strong sense of purpose.

 

Whether you are a district or building administrator, or a supervisor; every day you are inundated with operational issues that, while important for the functioning of the organization; sometimes take us further and further away from our real purpose. It’s been a long time since some of us have examined our organizational purpose, our professional purpose, and yes; the purpose of our lives. Life hijacks us. Things need to get done. There are plans to write, budgets to be developed, reports to analyze, personnel issues, kids, parents, new programs to be implemented…the list never seems to end.

 

As more and more of our time is devoured by the important details of our jobs, the underlying purpose of our work and our lives drifts further into the background, until, at last, we become disconnected from it. Have you ever snapped at a co-worker? Rolled your eyes in frustration after meeting with a planning committee? Wondered why no one was as concerned as you? They’re common occurrences and they’re very human reactions. They may be isolated incidents or bad days; but if they are more frequent, perhaps you should reflect on your purpose.

 

Re-connecting with our purpose can simplify our lives. Rather than have our lives dominated and driven by the details of the job, when we are guided by our purpose we are in a better position to create the world we desire. We can use our purpose as a GPS system to locate ourselves in a complex and crowded world or a complex and crowded day. Having a strong sense of purpose makes it easier to make decisions because our inner conversation is simplified. It comes down to this, “Does the decision I’m about make, or the action I’m about to take serve my purpose?” Making commitments becomes easier when we feel our purpose strongly. This is different feeling than doing our duty or excelling in our jobs.

 

Embodiment & Trust

One caution, you can’t fake a connection to purpose. If a leader promotes a sense of purpose that is not embodied, she is sensed as inauthentic. She will not be trusted. Leaders require trust in order to be effective. Whatever your purpose, it must be rooted in your most cherished personal values. Your life is centered and in integrity when your organizational, professional, and personal values align with your purpose. When your life is aligned like this you are living from the “sweet spot”; and draw likeminded people to you. New opportunities begin to open before you.

 

Most of us have good intentions. We have noble goals. For example, we say we value our health and are aware of the benefits of exercise and good diet; but may not eat well and lead sedentary lives. We know we should be spending more time with our family; but we find ourselves at work staying late far too often. We are human beings and have plenty of excuses but the real test of our commitment is in actions we take. Being in a leadership position puts us under a magnifying glass. We are being scrutinized for how consistently we embody what we say we believe. If our actions are out of alignment with what we say, then we won’t be granted the trust we need to lead.

 

It should be no surprise to anyone in a position of leadership that their behavior is being observed and assessed by everyone around them. One sad statistic brings this point home powerfully. “65% of American workers don’t trust management.” (Harvard School of Business - source) The most cited reason is that management doesn’t do what it says. A simple incident serves as an excellent example of this point. A building principal speaks often about the primary importance of Professional Development to the success of the school’s future growth. However, when confronted with a tight budget he cuts back on Professional Development while continuing fully fund other areas. Remember Aristotle’s ethos and our new definition of leadership? It’s not what a person says or promises, but their way of being in the world, their presence and comportment that affects how others follow. Clearly, the principal is out of alignment with his own stated beliefs and will find it difficult if not impossible to lead.

 

Courage

Courage is an important component of the personal leadership journey. It is a familiar word with an unfamiliar etymology. The word courage comes from the old French “couer” or heart. Being a leader is more than being smart or visionary; but requires heart and spirit. “Courage is that firmness of spirit and swell of soul which meets danger without fear.” It takes courage to live in integrity with one’s beliefs. It takes courage to hold a vision for your organization, your department, or your team. It can be daunting to confront the issues, obstacles and people that stand in the way of the future you wish to create. It takes courage to look at yourself and your beliefs and to hold yourself accountable for the world in which you live. A leader can either complain about those he leads or realize that they reflect his leadership. Everything that exists in the organization, good and bad, has been allowed to exist by the leader.

 

Courageous behavior in the professional domain can be developed through practice. For some, these practices are necessary to change behaviors that have been employed for a lifetime. It takes courage to step into the role of a beginner or learner, leaving one’s established habits behind and practicing new sets of behaviors that feel clumsy and uncomfortable. How much courage does it take to leave a part of yourself behind in order to pursue a new self that, at the moment, is nothing more than a belief about what is possible for you and your school. How many life changing journeys have begun with the words “We can do better”. It takes courage to accept that great things are possible. We may ask ourselves, “Who am I to believe I can do these great things?” It takes courage to answer, “ Who am I to turn away from them?”

 

Courage shows up in performance evaluations and in apologies when we make mistakes. It shows up in being fully present and listening to criticism even when we feel a wave of defensiveness wash over us. Courage can be deciding to leave the safety of methods that we have employed for years; to risk trying new ways of managing that might be more exciting and effective for the organizations in our care. For some it takes courage to give up complete control and to trust in the competence of others. For some it takes courage to step into power and to provide direction to others.

 

Conclusion:

The foundation of our leadership journey is our life’s purpose. We understand that we must look to change ourselves in order to develop a presence that will predispose others to listen to our ideas and be inspired to take new actions for themselves. We know that we cannot do this from our heads but that we must develop the skills of the heart as well. New behaviors and new learning will make us feel clumsy and insecure at times; but we will continue the leadership journey, not for our personal benefit; but because it serves a higher purpose. We, as emerging leaders, can be the catalysts that transform our schools, and thus, the world in which we live. We know in our hearts that change is needed; and it is we that must lead the way.

 

Pete Reilly

 

Creative Commons License

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.