Being in a leadership position has not yet been a professional goal for me. However upon undertaking this course I realized that as a teacher librarian I will need to act as a leader in many different capacities, and this has piqued my interest in the topic. As I consider myself an introvert, reading Quiet by Susan Cain helped me to see how quiet leaders as just as needed in today’s world as those self-confident extroverts who tend to grab the spotlight. I am inspired when I learn about leaders like Mahatma Ghandi who felt compelled to take on a leadership role to make important changes, despite being a quiet and not always confident person.

I consider myself a strong collaborator but not a leader. I am able to work at least amicably and often very successfully with a variety of personality types. I think this is due to the fact that I am open-minded; I get curious when someone has a different point of view to mine, and this helps me to adapt to and understand others. The downside to this is that it is very challenging for me to have direct conversations with others when there is a problem; I do not always speak up or assert myself enough in the presence of a strong personality. I can start to see myself as a leader when I consider how I support colleagues by sharing my time, experiences (good and bad), and resources with others. These would be expectations of a teacher librarian that I would be very comfortable fulfilling. 

As a principled and hard-working person, the leadership maxim “lead by example” appeals to me. But of course a leader cannot just lead by example; there are more skills to be developed than just demonstrating effective work habits. Lao Tzu’s quote, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when is work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves” resonates with me. It must be a subtle art to lead others almost invisibly. During our introductory online meeting Lori Korodaj talked about leading from the middle, which I think is reflected in this quote. As a strong collaborator who can connect well with others, this is a way I can start to picture myself as a leader. I’d like to learn more about how to capitalize on my strengths and address my weaknesses in order to become a more effective leader during this subject.

References

Cain, S. (2013). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. Penguin.