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The characteristics, values and dispositions leaders carry with them plays a very integral part in the success of their leadership. A leader who is sound in character, values, and dispositions will certainly find the road to success far less bumpy than a leader who does not place a high value on these things. In the following pages I hope to show what characteristics, values, and dispositions that I see as important for me to lead when I step into a future administrative role.
The characteristics I hope to display as an educational leader are encompassed by emotional intelligence. The first one is self-awareness. In What Makes a Leader? Daniel Goleman wrote that:
“Self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives. People with strong self-awareness are neither overly critical nor unrealistically hopeful. Rather, they are honest-with themselves and with others” (Goleman, 1998, Self-Awareness Section, Para 1).
By displaying self-awareness, I will make decisions based around honesty. Like the example that Goleman provided, I will not burden myself with too much work to be done in a short time period because I know that I too don’t work well under tight deadlines (Goleman, 1998, Self-Awareness Section, Para 2). I will recognize my areas of weakness and find ways to improve upon those. I will be realistic about what is possible from me as well as my staff, as this will be important in setting the daily pace for the school year.
The next characteristic I hope to display will be self-regulation. Goleman found that “people who are in control of their feelings and impulses- that is, people who are reasonable-are able to create an environment of trust and fairness” (Goleman, 1998, Self-Regulation Section, Para 4). I will do my best to continually focus on self-regulating my feelings and impulses as this will lead to all members of the school community feeling they are in a fair, trusted environment. Goleman also pointed out that “People who have mastered their emotions are able to roll with the changes” (Goleman, 1998, Self-Regulation Section, Para 5). This will be important for me as a leader because as the world continues to globalize and technology changes at a rapid pace, I will need to be a learning leader who is calm and relaxed as the changes transpire.
Motivation is another part of my character that I hope to display on a daily basis. Goleman wrote that “those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement” (Goleman, 1998, Motivation Section, Para 1). As an educational leader I too will be driven to perform, striving on a daily basis to achieve goals that give me a sense of achievement. Goleman also pointed out “people with high motivation remain optimistic even when the score is against them” (Goleman, 1998, Motivation Section, Para 6). This is another reason I see it as very important to stay motivated, as surely there will be times of difficult tests and causes seemingly lost. It will be important for me as a leader to stay motivated, which will keep others motivated, and will allow for myself and my team to not lose focus of our original goals.
A fourth character trait I deem important to myself will be the ability to display empathy. Goleman defines empathy in a leadership context as “thoughtfully considering employees' feelings- along with other factors-in the process of making intelligent decisions (Goleman, 1998, Empathy Section, Para 1). With this in mind, as a leader I will take into consideration employees’ feelings when making decisions, giving it a fair look along with other factors to consider. Having worked for leaders who have lacked empathy, they seemed to have created a lot of friction amongst their staff which in turn cost the organization in productivity. And as Goleman (1998) pointed out, empathy is very important today as we: increasingly use teams to get work done, the velocity of globalization, and the growing need to retain talent. With this in mind, I see empathy as a very important characteristic to possess.
Possessing strong social skills is another characteristic I see as very important if I am going to succeed as a leader. Goleman made the point that “people with sound social skills work according to the assumption that nothing important gets done alone” (Goleman, 1998, Social Skills Section, Para 2). I also believe that greater work can be accomplished when it is done with the company of others. As Goleman (1998) also pointed out, socially skilled people are often seen joking and chatting with colleagues. I feel it will be important for me to have good rapport with my staff as it will help when we have difficult tasks to achieve. It will also allow me to ask for help when I need it and keep to keep staff moral up during difficult times.
One value I want to display as a leader is based on learning. I want everyone in the organization to know that I see learning as a driving value of the organization. Peter M. Senge (1990) made the point that:
“The impulse to learn in children goes deeper than desires to respond and adapt more effectively to environmental change. The impulse to learn, at its heart, is an impulse to be generative, to expand our capability. This is why leading corporations are focusing on generative learning, which is about creating, as well as adaptive learning, which is about coping.”
Learning will be an essential value to our organization’s success and people within the organization, including myself, will need to value generative and adaptive learning. If we value this, we will accomplish things we want and we will also be able to cope with the many changes that globalization and technological issues bring.
Another couple of values I want to display as a leader are based on teamwork and collaboration. Donald R. Clark (2002, Introduction to Teams section, para 3) wrote that:
“Team members are also deeply committed to each other's personal growth and success. That commitment usually transcends the team. A team outperforms a group, and outperforms all reasonable expectations given to its individual members. That is, a team has a synergistic effect...one plus one equals a lot more than two.”
True teamwork has the potential to produce wonderful results for an organization and it is something I will value as a leader. Collaboration where team members are committed to each other’s growth and success will prove to be a continuing process of enjoyment and fulfillment. This type of commitment will also help with the consensus decision making process as members will not be motivated to make decisions solely on their interests. I feel it is important to value true teamwork and collaboration as the positive effects include better relationships between coworkers, smoother consensus decision making and better performance results for the school as well.
There are several dispositions I would strive to put forth as a leader and they are highlighted in the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium: Standards for School Leaders. One disposition I would hold particularly close is highlighted in ISLLC standard one and states that an “administrator believes in, values, and is committed to a willingness to continuously examine one’s own assumptions, beliefs, and practices” (CCSSO, 1996, p. 10). This will be particularly important in creating, changing and or maintaining a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community. I also feel this is important because as the school communities continually change, so will my school communities’ assumptions and beliefs and this will call for me to examine my own assumptions and beliefs. Also as leadership knowledge changes I will need to change how I practice my leadership, as certainly new theories will impact the world of education during my time of leadership.
Another disposition I would put a lot of stock into stems from ISLLC standard two and states that “The administrator believes in, values, and is committed to a safe and supportive learning environment”(CCSSO, 1996, p. 12). I feel this is a very important disposition as I see this as essential for effective teaching and learning to take place. I also think the performance that calls for administrators to “engage in activities ensuring that student and staff feel valued and important” (CCSSO, 1996, p. 13), is needed for this disposition to thrive. Real learning can take center stage if there is a safe and supportive learning environment combined with students and staff feeling important, as needs will be addressed and the encouragement will lead to real teacher and student progress.
Another disposition I will put into play is highlighted in ISLLC standard 3 and speaks of the importance of “trusting people and their judgments” (CCSSO, 1996, p. 14). I think it is very important to be able to trust colleagues and what they think is best, as people within a school have different perspectives that could serve to bolster the strengths of the organization. Being able to trust other stakeholders will make it easier to allow them to make decisions affecting the school, while also allowing for more chances of responsibility and ownership to take place. This will of course bode well for the strength of the school and its community.
The disposition of “collaboration and communication with families” (CCSSO, 1996, p. 16), identified in ISLLC standard 4 is also a disposition that I will utilize often. I believe it will be very important to have a relationship with family members that allow for chances to work and make decisions together. Solid communication with parents is also something I hold with high-esteem as this allows room for real understanding of the school’s direction and further promotes parental support towards the school vision.
A fifth disposition I would like to emulate stems from standard 5 and is based on “subordinating one’s own interest to the good of the school community” (CCSSO, 1996, p. 18). Although this seems easy to do as you initially look at it, I think it actually becomes harder to do in practice when we consider; workload, stress, goals and ambition becoming intertwined at the workplace. I really think it will be critically important to stay focused on what is good for the school community as I make decisions on a daily basis, even the hectic days when task after task pile up and quick solutions look enticing.
A final disposition I would put forth as a leader is found in Standard 6 of the ISLLC standards and states the importance of “recognizing a variety of ideas, values, and cultures” (CCSSO, 1996, p. 20). As more school communities around the globe become less homogenized it will be important that myself and fellow educational leaders allow for a variety of ideas from different cultures. It will also be important to understand and recognize the values of different cultures. Globalization will also play a hand in changing the value system of different cultures as they become intertwined and I think it will be important as an educational leader to recognize and even appreciate these changes.
In conclusion, the characteristics I hope to display as an educational leader include: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Values that will help guide my organization’s direction will be based in learning, teamwork and collaboration. Dispositions that I will aim to display on a daily basis include continually examining my own assumptions and a commitment to a safe and supportive learning environment. They also include trusting stakeholders and their judgments combined with collaboration and communication with parents. Lastly, staying focused on what is good for the school community while recognizing various ideas, values and cultures represent my final dispositions. Focusing on these characteristics, values and dispositions for the duration of my careers should allow me to successfully navigate the educational roads for some time to come.
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