Philosophy of leadership 5

Philosophy of Leadership 5

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” Abraham Lincoln

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done,
his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” Lao Tzu

“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great
leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” Unknown

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”
Harold S. Geneen

The idea of me being a position of leadership is a subject I have

avoided a much as possible for many different reasons. The first, and

foremost, is that leadership is scary. I prefer to be a behind-the-scenes

person who sees my role as supporting rather than leading. I have strong

opinions about the leaders I have worked with or see in public roles (i.e.

presidents, members of congress, coaches, etc.). However, an armchair

quarterback makes all the correct calls, the benefit of slow-motion replay,

and is not dealing with the pressure of the situation. Being the person who

has to make the decisions and effect change at the point of conflict requires

more than I usually want to get involved with. Placing myself in the position

where the buck stops is a difficult and challenging situation to be in. I also

suffer from a lack of confidence which cripples many people who aspire to be

leaders. All that being said, having completed three courses in Educational

Leadership at Carson-Newman and interacting with current and future

administrators, I find myself looking at leadership in a different light.

Leadership of a school is an extremely important role for a person to

assume. Taking it lightly is dangerous for more than a principal’s livelihood

because it is worth more than some job. Ultimately it is the potential impact

those administrators and teachers have on a population who is more or less

a captive audience. Children have to go to school and when a school has

incompetent leadership it will have adverse, and possibly irreversible,

consequences for those children. Dealing with people requires people who

have a calling and not a desire for the easy road. Looking at myself in that

role of leadership placed me in a context that required a long and hard look

at what I valued in people who lead.

Leadership revolves around individuals who are called into that

particular field. Leadership does attract lots of effective people who approach

their situation as more about them and what they can get. Great leadership

on the other hand is founded on values and the communication of those

values. The values I am talking about are the backbone of our military

leader’s code of conduct (Lebouf, 1999). Putting others (i.e. weaker, unable,

etc.) first, accountability, and pride in performance or giving the maximum

effort you have are the values that great leadership displays at all times.

Values tend to be defined by the character that you have developed

throughout the lifetime you have had. Once you have defined the values you

stand for then leadership works toward the collaboration component of

leadership. A leader’s ability to collaborate is directly influenced by the time

spent reflecting on your abilities, decisions, and performance. Reflection

leads to more effective and efficient ways of solving the problems that

leaders face. Finally, a leader needs to realize that flexibility and adaptability

is vital to maintain credibility when working with the members of a grade

level, school, and community. Leadership is embodied in many different

ways and performed in many different ways, but the keys to a great

leadership are values, collaborative mindset, reflection of ideas and

practices, accountability, and modeling action.

Communication is the most important component to be an effective

and influential leader. Communication comes in many forms as a leader.

There a many ways a person communicates what they are thinking or

seeing. Great leaders use all methods of communication to reach the people

they are responsible for. Leaders communicate through their words and

actions. The biggest and most effective way for a leader to communicate is

through their actions. A person’s actions are the best way to get to know

another person. Watching the way they approach people and problems can

tell more about the values a leader has than listening to the words they

speak. Through communication a leader express expectations for the kind of

environment that is acceptable. This point cannot be made enough, leaders

must set the tone for the type of environment that they want everyone to

operate in. Great leaders establish open lines of communication where

everyone’s opinions and ideas are valued. Not accepting what people put

forth is a sure way to alienate them and exclude them from helping the

school move forward. People’s opinions are only valued when they are able

to participate intelligently. A great leader uses communication by getting the

whole group the information to make informed and relevant contributions to

discussions. Communication must be a two way street, a place where people

can participate and feel apart of the process.

Leadership is not limited to being a general, CEO of a major

corporation, or a principal. Being a leader can be at any level of any job or

position a person finds themselves in. The person in a position of leadership

must, to borrow a Greek phrase, “know thyself”. Knowing what you believe

is the first step and the second is understanding why you believe those

things. You have wrestled and worked out the why so that it becomes the

core of who you are. Values will change over time and can be based on the

situations or problems that are encountered. However, how you treat

people, your integrity, how you follow-through, personal convictions, and

your approach to situations are essentially the code of conduct you use on a

daily basis. Your character comes out of you when you are put to the test,

it’s just a matter of will it spill out or shine? Those values you have

incorporated are the difference in regards to what people will see in you.

Treating people the right way means to show them respect and being

a good listener. Steven Covey said. . . “Seek to understand, not to be

understood.” (Thornton, P., 2006). A great leader is one who does just that.

If the leader desires to be the one whom everyone looks to for direction the

leader must gain the trust of the people he or she is leading. Gaining trust

comes down to treat people the right way every time. It does not mean that

each person gets whatever they want or their way; instead, they get the

things that will make them successful in the school. The leader conveys the

message “you and your opinion and ideas are important to me” in the words

and actions they use as they interact with the people under and around

them. This message comes through developing a quality ear for listening.

Using techniques of good listening and trying to see from the other person’s

perspective will help the other person begin to trust what the leader does

and says. In a word a great leader is a servant leader. Robert Greenleaf

coined the seemingly contradicting term ‘servant leadership’ to describe a

unique approach to leadership (Spears, 2006). Essentially you put people

first in all aspects, from listening to their concerns to growing them as

people. This servant leadership is key in the development of trust and trust

is an indicator of great leadership.

Integrity and follow through are two characteristics of great leadership

that instills confidence and trust in the ability of the leader. Many people can

promise to fulfill an obligation, but sadly the world is full of talkers who say

one thing and do another. A great leader holds himself or herself to a higher

standard when they deal with people. Doing what you say can be difficult at

times, but a great leader ensures that they follow through consistently.

Follow through is just one component of integrity. A great leader knows

when to speak and when to think about an issue or concern. They are

deliberate and careful about what they say because a great leader, with

integrity, knows that he or she will have to follow through.

Great leadership is exhibited mainly through collaboration with the

people in a school. The school year will involve many decisions, many

projects, and many directions. Having one person make all the decisions is

an outdated mode of leadership for school and other private enterprises. A

best practice style is transformational leadership which uses a consensus

style decision making process (Gorton & Alston, 2009). Great leaders get

others involved in order for them to buy in to the direction of the

organization. Consensus does not mean a unanimous decision in order for

progress to happen. Rather, the majority of people decide where they want

to go and then find ways to make it happen. The leader gives everyone an

opportunity to give their input in the decision and then moves forward when

everyone gets the issue clarified. This method of shared, team-building

leadership is how great leaders energize and motivate the whole group.

Everyone knows that they will have input and can make a difference in the

decisions.

Accountability, the way the leader takes responsibility for what

happens on his or her watch, is a key part of the foundation to great

leadership. Passing the buck or blaming the people under the leader is a

sure fire way to alienate the people who will make or break them. This

accountability is often the first step towards reflection. Being responsible

should lead a person to thinking about what happened and why it happened.

A leader also needs to pause and reflect about where they are going, how

things are progressing, and how to improve when faced with future issues.

The reflection process is vital to making a great leader because issues and

situations are constantly changing. A leader must be flexible and adaptable

in order to progress towards the mission and vision. Reflection ensures that

continual improvement will be ongoing and that the leader will not grow

stagnant, or become ineffective in their position.

The flexibility and adaptability of a leader is key when dealing with

collaborative situations. A great leader is someone who is confident in the

people around him or her. That confidence is displayed when distributing the

tasks of management and progress to subordinates. A leader who

understands his or her role is willing to allow others to have certain levels of

control in order to accomplish the mission. Putting people in charge of

projects or aspects of the organization is another form of flexibility. This

delegation of authority places the judgment component of leadership in the

spotlight. Being able to pick competent people for assignments shows the

level of trust and confidence the leader has in the people around him or her.

A leader who has a transformational style will accomplish much during their

tenure because it empowers the people around them to be creative and

exponentially more effective at their tasks. Great leaders realize one of the

big keys to leadership is giving away power in order to be effective.

Problem-solving is a large piece of the leadership pie. Great leaders

are first problem-solvers. When challenges present themselves leaders begin

a process of reaching a solution to the problem. This process is a

combination many of the traits that make a great leader. They use the

environment they have established to empower the others around them and

involve them in the process. Encountering the many different kinds of

problems requires thinking outside of the box and a willingness to be flexible

in their thinking. Accepting the ideas of others and providing them the

environment to reach conclusions that differ from the leader’s conclusion is

collaborative in nature. Good problem-solving leaders use collaboration to

empower others and develop them into problem-solving team members.

Empowering the people around me to improve themselves and our

school would be the major thrust of my leadership philosophy. The most

enjoyment a teacher who is teaching because of calling can get is when a

student gets that “ah-ha” moment. They understand what we have been

discussing in class and finally connect the dots of that understanding with

accomplishment. Better the people around me is one of the core values that

I have. I do not desire to be in charge of everything and prefer people to

work out solutions that make sense to them and are workable. Engaging the

teachers in my building would be my highest priority. Getting them to reach

consensus and move toward a planned with everybody’s fingerprints on it

would be a common practice in my administration. There are too many great

ideas floating around in schools for me to completely ignore. It would be a

serious mistake to think I am the end all of creative and effective thought.

Listening to others is another key for me as an administrator. Teachers have

ideas and opinions that should be thrown out there to see how they bounce.

Parents are another key component to successful schools and my

expectation would be to get them involved in the decision process. The

students also represent an important part of the culture at the school. They

are the reason we do what we do. The older the age group the more input

should be solicited from them. Making them a part of the conversation at the

middle and high school levels feeds their need to be seen as adults. As the

leader of the school I want them to come to us with ideas and give us ways

to improve the school. Buy-in is not limited to the people who get paid at the

school. Students and parents are essential to my role as the leader. Great

leadership utilizes all components of the school to emphasize the most

important aspect of the school: the students’ opportunities to learn.

Great leadership is a rare and difficult thing to come by in today’s

schools. The difficulty is primarily a result of focusing on aspects of the

school that miss point of education. We focus on money, home life, lack of

resources, and other important-yet unimportant- problems. The focus of a

great leader is the relationships that are built through a joint effort to

achieve a common goal. When servant-hearted administrators put into the

culture of their school the idea that learning must take place and it is the

process of how the student gets their, not what they got for a grade, then

schools overcome those difficulties. Leadership is more the ability to

communicate a mutual respect and a love for the people you are in charge

of. When people know you respect and care for them they will run through a

brick wall to accomplish what everyone has decided is important to the

mission.

Lead by example, lead with courage and integrity, lead through service

to others, and lead by what you have learned through your development.

References

Anthony, K. (2002). Educational leadership philosophy. Retrieved from

http://www.msu.edu/~anthon38/Leadership%20Philosophy.htm

Filson, B. (2006). Character: Is it necessary in leadership?. Classroom handout, May, 2010.

Gorton, R. & Alston, J. A. (2009). School leadership and administration, 8th edition. New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Kulkarni, A. (n.d.). Leadership types and styles. Retrieved from

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/leadership-types-and-styles.html

Lashway, L. (2002) Developing instructional leaders. ERIC Digest 160. Retrieved from

http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digest/digest160.html

Leboeuf, M. (1999). Developing a leadership philosophy. Retrieved from

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/milreview/leboeuf.htm

Seifter, H. & Economy, P. (2001). Leadership ensemble: Lesson in collaborative management

from the world’s only conductorless ochestra. [orchestra] New York: Times Books

Spears, L. C. (2006). On character and servant-leadership: Ten characteristics of effective,

caring leaders. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. Retrieved from

http://chapters.ewb.ca/pages/president/leadership-articles-and-links/On%20Character

%20and%20Servant-Leadership.pdf

Thornton, P. B. (2006). Best leadership advice from 7 top leaders. Classroom handout, May

2010.

Valenti, A. (n.d.). Five essential qualities of leadership. Classroom handout, May 2010.

Wheatley, M. (1997). “Goodbye, command and control”. Leader to Leader, (5). Retrieved from

http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/goodyecommand.html

Wheatley, M. (2001). “Innovation means relying on everyone’s creativity”. Leader to Leader,

(20). Retrieved from http://www.margaretwheatley.com

Philosophy of leadership 5

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