cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by bennylin0724
Having a conversation with a good friend and talking about my own experience, we shared some stories about leadership. The one thought that kept popping up in my head is the notion of the “Dead-End Leader” and how life-sucking these experiences can be in our profession.
Example…
You are having a conversation with your principal talking about a new idea and they tell you all of the reasons why it won’t work. That is essentially saying “no”, or else, “too risky for me to back it.” This puts you in the position of either not doing it, not feeling comfortable being ‘subversive’, or making it happen in spite of your administrator.
Take the same idea with the same risks, and your leader says, “I’m not sure, but have you thought about these things?”. Or saying,”I don’t know enough about this, so please tell me more.”
Great leaders continue the conversation.
They empower you.
They show trust in your ability and knowledge.
They don’t stop the journey, but make you think about your course.
This is more than great leadership, but this is also great learning.
This (for me) goes back to the question…are you a fountain or a drain?
(As I wrote this, I thought of this video and post shared by Dean Shareski. Take a look at it because it is definitely worth the time.)
