Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Business Journal Q2 2014 | Page 44

Business Journal Issue Sponsor: Capitol Properties about the notion that leaders have “character and credibility”; they are not just seen as good people but that they are also knowledgeable in what they are speaking about. Too many times, educators feel like their administrators have “lost touch” with what is happening in the classroom, and many times they are right. Someone who stays active in not necessarily teaching, but active in learning and working with learners and can show by example what learning can look like now will have much more credibility with others. If you want to create “change”, you have to not only be able to articulate what that looks like, but show it to others. I have sat frustrated often listening to many talk about “how kids learn today” but upon closer look, the same speakers do not put themselves in the situation where they are actually immersing themselves in that type of learning. How can you really know how “kids learn” or if something works if you have never experienced it? 5. Strong relationships built on trust – All of the above, means nothing if you do not have solid relationships with the people that you serve. People will not want to grow if they do not trust the person that is pushing the change. The change agents I have seen are extremely approachable and reliable. You should never be afraid to approach that individual based on their “authority” and usually they will go out of their way to connect with you. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t willing to have tough conversations though; that also builds trust. Trust is also built when you know someone will deal with things and not be afraid to do what is right, even if it is uncomfortable. Sometimes trust is built when you choose to do what is right for your community or organization, as long as it is always done in a respectful way. Should every school/district administrator have these qualities? PG 44 l Bills, Amendments & Business Probably. But with that being said, positive change is not reserved to be the responsibility of any position. The best leaders may have all of these qualities but also empower others to be those “change agents” as well to build a culture of leadership and learning. I can think of many people that I have encountered who have helped pushed their organizations ahead that have no formal “authority” over any individual. That being said, some of them do it in spite of their principal or superintendent and often feel that they are in constant conflict. Things would obviously move a lot quicker if they had the support of their leader. With that support, change can happen in an organization quickly, but if the leader does not “clear the path”, improvement will take a lot longer than it should. What is important to note is that being a “charismatic leader” is not something that is essential. Often, charismatic leaders lack many of these qualities that I have listed above and although they can seemingly lead change, it is not sustainable and does not permeate throughout the school or organization; it becomes too dependent upon one person. For example, was Steve Jobs a change agent, or a charismatic leader? Apple is not doing as well since he has passed away and their innovation has seem to slow down. Steve Jobs was known for being notoriously tough to deal with and the trust that is essential to building a strong culture was probably lacking to some degree. I believe that change agents will help to create more leaders, not more followers.