The international arena has been deluged with information about leadership – whether political, corporate or educational. Books and journals present discussions on leadership traits, styles and skills that matter. Inspirational biographies occupy prominent shelves in bookshops and a Google search on the qualities of a good leader brings forth hundreds of articles.
How does this affect us locally? On the one hand, interest in the area is proliferating with students following postgraduate studies in the field of leadership both locally and abroad.
Being a leader in a context fraught with uncertainty, clientalism, even immorality, is far from easy. Living up to what it means to be a leader will always remain a challenge.
One knows a person not only through what they say but more through their acts and deeds. That is why I encourage people who want to be leaders to walk the talk. We have experienced too many preachers in our lives. We want, need and deserve genuine people around us who inspire creativity, who nurture trust and develop a sense of commitment, belonging and community.
John Maxwell said: “Leadership truly develops from the inside out. If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the leader you want to be on the outside.”
These five principles can make a difference between success and failure of leadership, whether in the boardroom, college or school.
Leaders know what they want to accomplish and make this known
Without a vision there can be no leadership. If you do not know where you are going, you’ll most likely end up somewhere else. Leaders know what they want, and that knowledge is essential in taking the first steps towards the desired goal. Once these steps have been taken, the vision often starts to get clearer, enabling others to become followers in the true sense of the term.
If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the leader you want to be on the outside
Leaders know how to gain support
It is important for the leader to connect with others and engage in meaningful and fruitful encounters. That is why I view leadership as being dependent on a bond that brings people together. Leadership is an exchange during which the leader gives followers what they want most – recognition, a feeling of self-worth and personal involvement in meaningful work.
Leaders are passionate and enthusiastic
Passion can drive individuals to particular heights. According to Maxwell: “If passion is not a quality in your life, you’re in trouble as a leader. The truth is you can never lead something you don’t care passionately about.”
Passion requires dedication, excitement and self-sacrifice. Passionate leadership, argue Brent Davies and Tim Brighouse, is about energy, commitment, a belief that every child can learn and will learn, a concern with social justice and the optimism that we can make a difference.
Leaders exert the energy needed to achieve and sustain the goals set
Being a leader at any level is an extremely demanding job. All effective leaders can vouch for the fact that you can’t achieve visionary goals within the constraints of a 40-hour week. It takes time and energy to carefully prepare plans, lay the foundations, cultivate loyalty and create a sense of purpose and commitment to the school goals.
Developing the school as a learning community entails hard work, sacrifice and patience on the part of the leader, who needs to be one step ahead of the followers in thought and action.
Leaders learn to acknowledge the limits of what is possible
Why is this important? We are slowly coming out of a highly centralised system and are still finding it difficult – at all levels – to acknowledge more participatory and distributed forms of leadership.
It takes time for people to challenge and remove the shackles of dependency. For many, taking on the challenge of shared decision-making is too much. Others prefer a context whereby they can grumble and moan but do nothing. Others have been waiting for the opportunity to actively engage in the change process.
People in authority too are finding it hard to let go, to engage with others in processes that had been their prerogative. The quicker we are at accepting that devolution of authority to our schools is a difficult and painful exercise, the quicker it will be to bring about the change needed.
Getting members to do what is best – for the school community, their students, themselves – is often a struggle and requires integrity, the willingness to empower others, courage, compassion, tenacity and great teaching skills.
Good leaders also tread very carefully the grounds they are working in. They learn to move slowly, assessing their own leadership styles and the school’s culture before diving in. Such people are also willing to ignore resentment and give criticism its due. They are willing to delegate, listen and treat people with respect.
Good leaders help to identify and celebrate the social core of human nature. They help to bring individual talents to fruition, create value, and combine these activities with enough passion to generate the greatest possible advantages for every group member.
Leadership is a difficult undertaking. It takes exceptional, sometimes heroic, people to do it well. The right blend of people who have a strong purpose in life can help us define our future as we walk it.
Christopher Bezzina is associate professor, Faculty of Education, University of Malta.