What is Leadership?

3-30-18

I believe leadership is facilitating learning. I think a successful leader can create inspiration and motivate all learners to engage and conquer what needs to be done to move an organization toward the team's goal. The leader ensures all are valued and provides a nurturing environment to enhance learning and professional growth. The leader leads by example and with passion to help others improve teaching and learning in a safe and innovative environment. The facilitator must effectively communicate and problem solve to build positive relationships and create a strong united campus culture. The success of the leader is defined by results in helping others to reach their full potential while still accomplishing the goals of their vision and the organization. Leadership is a mutualistic relationship between all stakeholders. Management assigns tasks to maximize efficiency and focuses on the organization's systems rather than the people. Management relies on control. I have learned that leadership and management must work together to efficiently organize the team and nurture their talents and skills.

Successful leaders choose their leadership style after careful analysis of the situation. The ultimate task is to consistently determine the right approach for the interaction (Benincasa, 2012). Guiding a team to passionately reach their goals requires understanding one's strengths and weaknesses and how to blend the opposing skills of management and leadership. Leadership should be transparent and situational based on the strengths of the leader and the needs of the team.

Leadership takes a lot more work and compassion than management does, but it surely is worth it in the end when you can sit back and bask in the rays of success. Management is only a temporary fix to the problem. It’s like taking the time to teach a child to make his/her own bed or tie their own shoes. It is quicker and less stress in the moment if you just do it yourself, and it's higher quality work. However, it also creates more duties for the manager to attend to which can become overwhelming for the manager if others are not trained and given task they will enjoy and can excel at. Success and happiness go hand-in-hand.

The leader must be socially aware and make decisions that are best for the students first, but with the needs of all stakeholders in mind. The leader should be cautious and work to consider all possible outcomes to make the best decision. As an EMT, we called it triage. I do believe there are there are rules to live by. I believe everyone should be included and valued. The leader should strive to notice any disparity and search for a win-win solution. The goal should be to strive to reach or surpass the team’s vision. The leader should do their best their best to reach goals of the organization, as long as the goals are based on integrity.

When conflict arises, the leader should provide wait time to see if a conflict is resolved. If not, the conflict should be addressed to prevent it from escalating. I prefer the integrating style because I feel it is necessary to understand all parties. Ignoring or minimizing another lessens their self-worth. I think all parties should have the opportunity to share their feelings. Through sharing we generally find it is just a difference in perspective. I think of it like a team of horses pulling a wagon. If everyone pulls a different direction the wagon doesn’t move and wastes energy. Providing direction toward the same goal and utilizing the strength of each individual helps the team get there faster with less energy from each individual. I believe there is a time for each approach. For example, a leader may need to use force if time is eminent. Negotiations are often necessary to bring parties together to integrate different perspectives, bring harmony, and move forward toward the goal.

One message I heard from leaders throughout my internship emphasized a strong foundation for relationships through active listening skills in conversation. Active listening is the foundation for communication and building relationships. The leader must be THERE and attend to what people say. Different people prefer different methods of communication and utilizing a variety of methods will open the lines of communication and simultaneously build the relationship. This experience caused me to make observations of how colleagues respond to different types of communication with them and an awareness of my own preferences in communication. This knowledge can be used to build stronger relationships within a team.

The experience gained through internship and discerning reflections provide opportunities for growth in strategic planning to enhance teaching and learning. Walkthroughs alongside my principal and other administrators allow us to compare our observations. This calibration enhances and improves observation and debriefing skills. It is important that exemplary teaching performance be recognized and rewarded. Sub-par teaching performance should be documented and followed with the appropriate corrective actions taken to remediate inadequate performance (Martin, G. E., Danzig, A. B., Wright, W. F., Flanary, R. A., & Orr, M.T., 2017). Conducting interviews and working with site-based decision making teams provide the leader opportunities for growth in problem solving skills and organizational decision-making to ensure an effective learning environment.

A 21st century leader, should work to model integration of technology through professional development presentations. Technology empowers independent learning and engagement. It contributes to increased efficiency and learning. Teachers and students can manage, store, and share their work in different ways that enhance the learning experience (Troy, 2008).

“Bottom line? If you take two cups of authoritative leadership, one cup of democratic, coaching, and affiliative leadership, and a dash of pace-setting and coercive leadership “to taste,” and you lead based on need in a way that elevates and inspires your team, you’ve got an excellent recipe for long-term leadership success with every team in your life” (Benincasa, 2012). Manage the task and lead the people.

....And if I do the benefit will be a win-win environment for all stakeholders to reach their vision.