Leading

The notion of leadership conjures up a myriad of possibilities. There are as many theories, seemingly, as many as there are leaders. Educational leadership is no exception. A fundamental question to ask is: If I am a leader, then who is following me? In teaching, as in many other professions, seldom do individuals lead by their own talents alone. Usually there is a strong team in place to support the leader, and the strength of the team invariably determines the strength of the organization. Our society seems to overvalue individual accomplishments, personal success stories, and the valiant efforts of the single person. There is no shortage of accounts that speak to the individual overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to lead a team or organization to greatness. It is the stuff of sports legends and business heroes. Without disparaging either, Tim Tebow and Steve Jobs readily come to mind as current examples. For the record, I am a fan of both for very different reasons.

Yet leadership, especially educational leadership, relies on the strength of teams. Coaches are only as good as the combined abilities of the players on their teams; principals and heads of school as effective as the staff assembled. It seems to me that one of the key challenges of educational leadership is the ability for the school leader to identify the collective strengths and weaknesses of the assembled staff. Through a variety of means the effective school leader will tap into, harness, encourage, support, and develop capacity in order to make a good organization even better. The reality is that the classroom dynamic is much the same. A teacher that can bring along all students is much more effective than the one who inspires only the bright lights. It stands to reason that effective 21st century school leaders will be aware of the strength of team, the importance of building capacity, and the imperative of sharing credit and success. It might not make for great headlines. It might go against the grain of societal expectations. It might even be difficult to achieve. Yet, the schools that can lead in such a way are bound to succeed in the long term. The same can be said for businesses and sports franchises too.

Leadership can be a lonely road to navigate if travelled alone. It can also be a well-trodden path if done in numbers. Leaders who intentionally bring their teams along with them- leading from either the front or the back- are more likely to enjoy the journey and the company.