"No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings."
— Peter Drucker
I recently saw a quote on twitter that made me stop and think about our roles as leaders:
"We are all in a position to lead."
As classroom teachers, we are in a position to lead. We can lead ourselves to learn something new and develop as a teacher and learner; we can lead the students in their quest for learning; we can lead our teams to continue the work toward the moral imperative of our daily jobs; we can lead our colleagues to focus on the "right work" and to be agents of change; and we can lead our families to understand the abilities of their children and how together we can impact their learning.
As support staff, we are in a position to lead. We can lead ourselves to learn and share something new with those around us and contribute to the greater cause of our learning community; we can lead the students in their quest for learning; we can lead our colleagues in identifying strengths and challenges of each child and how to be an advocate for the children; we can lead families into wanting to be a part of our learning community and encouraging them to be active in their child's learning.
As administrators, we are in a position to lead. We can lead ourselves to have higher expectations for ourselves than we have for others; we can lead teachers to help develop their craft; we can lead teachers to empower themselves to make decisions that can be made in the best interest of the children; we can lead teachers to create a learning environment where each person's (child and teacher) strengths are accentuated and celebrated; we can lead families to be an active participant in their child's learning.
"Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is
leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your time in leading
yourself—your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Invest at
least 20% leading those with authority over you and 15% leading your peers."
— Dee Hock, Founder and CEO Emeritus,
Visa
What are we doing to cultivate and grow this leadership in our schools?
