Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Business Journal Q2 2014 | Page 44
Business Journal Issue Sponsor:
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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?
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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.