To lead others, embody their ideals! - Leonid S. Sukhorukov
LRT Comments in response:
"To lead others, embody their ideal."
I think this is about connecting to others' best hopes, building relationships as Renae said so eloquently. But that doesn't mean you stay there, in one place. Sometimes a person's ideal is not very far from where they are, and they can't imagine any further. A leader who connects genuinely to their best hopes for themselves, their job, their family..... and has a vision that goes beyond what they can imagine and a believable plan for getting there can really move people beyond themselves. Trust is at the heart of this. I think if the shared beliefs/goals are limited, then the ability to lead is also limited. We don't follow leaders who do not share our goals, unless we are forced to in some way. Trust breaks down when people sense a leader has alterior motives. Look at the war in Iraq and Bush's decline in the polls. This is not to say all values and goals must match, just the ones key to the area of leadership.
Being sensitive to differences of opinion is critical. if we are trying to move others forward, whether they are collegues, students, adminitrators.We might consider Brian Cambourne's Conditions of Learning. We are experiencing this as we move people forward in our building around paradigm shifts in how to teach writing. IMMERSION into our "subject" is huge right now.
It is hard to help someone move foward if you don't know where they are coming from. take the time to know the people that you are working with and the trust that you gain will help you lead.
Empowering others through their own ideas can lead to successful leadership.
To embody others' ideals can be risky since ideals can sometimes be unrealistic. However, most people can forgive a leader's less-than-perfect attempts if the leader is vulnerable and willing to grow from the experiences. The people can trust a leader who experiments and coninuously moves toward the best interests of the group... and trust is a ideal everyone can agree on.
A leader has to have established trust with their people or they can't lead. To establish trust, a leader must be able to be flexible with their ideas and listen to other viewpoints.
Natasha Crouse said
Developing relationships that cherish diveristy in ideals is indeed the foundation for effective leadership.
I'm going back to Vince's question above about how you get others to own "your" vision, and I'm reminded of a quote, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. by -Anonymous I believe that a leader guides others by example, honesty, and integrity.
People follow a leader because they are ethical, give selflessly to the organization, and have a clear sense of direction or a vision. A leader must be able to communicate the vision or path to the people and be trusted by the same people to achieve that goal.
I very much agree with all the previous comments, and as we all know, leadership takes many forms. In all organizations, at some point, the initial leader(s) need to learn to stop catching all the arrows and let others lead to a higher level of accomplishment. Additionally, true leaders value the talents of all individuals and utilize those talents to the enrichment of every memeber of an organization, and often, true leaders step off the stage to allow others to lead in a different, and many times, a better direction than the vision of the original leader. Leadership is not endowed as a birthright or a college degree. It is earned through a variety of qualities (fairness, drive, expertise, flexibility, relationship building inside and outside of the organization, etc...) and the ability to put a specific vision into effect.
Barbara thompson said
Yes, Duane, you are so right. How does that quote go????"The world will step aside for the man who knows where he is going..." and I believe they will follow IF that goal is worthy and the peson dedicated and trustworthy. Therefore, we must evaluate carefully what we ask teachers to do.I also believe that the SERVICE we render is the basis of what leaders are for. What better than to contribute to the betterment of your society?
hinckja@... said
Great leadership is something I have been blessed to observe first hand. I have learned many things about good leadership by first hand experience. I have learned that good leaders always have the big picture in mind. Decision making is based on basic underlying principals. Next, I have learned that a good leader is always working for his constituents. The term servant leader applies perfectly. He is serving his constituents. Additionally, a good leader is a motivator. Motivating his people to be the best they can be, to always look for strengths and to grow in skills and confidence. Finally, a good leader is a listener. They listen to all input and make a decision based on all information as well as the basic underlying principals valued by the leader and group. Good leaders are also delegators; they don’t have their hands in everything. They know their people and trust the go to people to do what needs to be done and do it well.
WOW! You have learned a lot! That shows the wisdom of leadership, too. I think you have encapsulated all we have talked about.
Loved the responses . . .
posegak@... said
I agree that gaining the trust of others is the first step to being a successful leader.
All of these deep thoughts are inspiring.
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