I am not a leader, so what do I know about leadership?

 

There has always been this feeling of ‘other’ between, how I saw myself professionally and the position of leadership. It was never something I aspired to nor felt an equal balance of mutual respect between. Leadership that I had encountered was separate to the everyday worker, the reality of what we do and the support we need. However, I did find a kind of leadership amongst my peers that offered more help and assistance, which was constantly overlooked by those in the big windowed offices of the administration building.

These un-appointed leaders were different, spoke to us differently, listened to us differently and they acted upon things, instantly. I think what has gotten lost in those leaders I had experienced, was the relationship and the relational context between all stakeholders of the school. What the teachers were experiencing and struggling with, was not separate to our student’s needs or families wants, that rather, they intersect into the larger picture of the school’s function.

I think of good leadership in a kind of video game analogy – take Mario – he needs to keep travelling forwards and thus is looking for support. At each obstacle he comes to, there is a floating brick bridge waiting for him, that if accessed, can continue to move him forwards to the goal.

Leadership, good leadership is like that; knows the obstacles through listening and observing, builds bridges of respect and support, acts with intention and purpose for all members of the community.

But what do I know? I’m not even a leader, yet.