LEADERSHIP

 WHO IS A LEADER?

A leader is a someone who have social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. 

As a leader, you have to endure many things from your followers like their attitude and behavior because some followers are very stubborn but if you can tolerate all these that is when you can be called a leader. A leader must be able to direct his/ her followers footstep in the sense that if a leader sees that any of his/ her follower going astray, the leader have right to call the attention of his/ her follower to caution the person.

 A leader must be able to support his/her followers in any area in terms of needs like shelter,cash and many more that is when you can be called a good leadership.

A leader must be able to gather all his/ her followers to give them advice on how to be doing things, how to handle things with care and how to be a good example for people who are actually looking up to them. By doing all these things, that is how you will be refers to as a good leadership.

                                                  

                                   WHAT ARE THE TRAITS OF A GOOD LEADER

1. Honesty and Integrity – As a leader you need to know yourself and your values. Find a school that aligns with your values and then model your values and the school’s values to all in your community. Make a personal commitment to be honest with yourself and your team at all times. Be transparent. Nurture honesty and integrity in your faculty and students. If you make a mistake, admit it, take responsibility for it, resolve it and learn from it. Always uphold your word and your promises.
2. Ability to Trust and Empower – Listen to your teachers and students. Learn their talents, interests and passions and then delegate accordingly. Empower them to take responsibility for tasks and projects. Be there to coach them and make sure you praise them for what they achieve.
3. Communicative, Collaborative and Connected – Openly seek and share information and knowledge. Seek to be understood and to understand others. Connect with the world via blogging and social media. Collaborate with others (i.e. other school leadership teams or colleagues) virtually and face-to-face to ensure the best decisions are made. Collaboration is especially important for those in independent school leadership.
4. Positive Energy – Always present a positive, pro-active and caring approach. Make the time to speak with students, teachers and parents. Get to know and value them by developing authentic relationships. Make sure you manage your health, well being and energy levels.
5. Confidence – Be confident and approachable. Be visible, ask questions, value what you see and give praise for effective teaching and learning practices. As a leader you will be faced with difficult situations. In these situations, always stay calm and confident to maintain morale and confidence in the school community. Ensure your focus always returns to your strategic goals. The key objective is to keep everyone working and moving ahead.
6. Commitment and Persistence – Displaying genuine commitment and dedication is such a motivator to your teachers and students. Make sure you create short term and long term plans based on 21st Century strategic visioning.  Be 100% committed to the achievement of the school improvement goals. Adapt when unforeseen situations occur and then persist till the important goals are achieved. Never give up!
7. Willingness to Learn, Unlearn and Relearn – Never stop learning! The opportunities and possibilities of the 21st Century are exciting and empowering for you and your school community. Be open to it and adopt a growth mindset. Seth Godin says, “If you’re not doing the things that scare you, you’re not really learning.” Attend school leadership courses to learn about leading coaching in schools, as well as going to workshops and conferences to learn from great 21st Century leaders.

BY: AMUSAN TITILOPE BLESSING