Teachers as Leaders Final Essay Becky Adams Teachers as Leaders North Carolina State University April 24, 2014

Introduction Though I have had a lot of time to reflect on the traits of a good leader, and how to become a leader myself, it is difficult to sum all my thoughts. At the end of one of my mini-seminars on Leadership in Pskov, I asked the five participating students to craft a definition of leadership. In truth, I was hoping that they might give me some ideas for creating my own definition. Instead, the students jumped to a default definition of leadership; the first response to my question was well, a leader is a person who leads. We know this! To me, our Teachers as Leaders class was about discovering the implicit nature of the title leader, particularly in the context of teaching. My Leadership Themes After going through my logs, Moodle postings and class experiences, I identified three themes: what makes a good or bad leader, the roles and responsibilities of a leader, and my own attitudes towards leadership. The Makings of a Good or Bad Leader In many of my logs, I spoke about good and bad leadership qualities. In my first log for this class, I spoke about two people who have the same goals in mind, and who are both effective leaders, but who have different leadership styles. It more or less came down to how they treated the people whom they led. I spoke about my dad, who pushes people around and verbally forces people into submission, then about my family friend Hasina, who leads with positive actions, motivating words, and empathy due to her own experiences. I also frequently spoke about how a good leader is able to successfully encounter The Man (Zemelman and Ross, Ch.10). I noted that I had seen this happen many times in my life, since

many of my family members are in leadership positions, and that being able to do this is an essential part of being a good leader. When my science festival event was taking place as I was in Russia, I wrote about how a good leader needs to be able to delegate tasks to others, and to place trust in his or her team. In Chapter 3 (pg. 45) of the Zemelman and Ross text, they speak about teacher burnout from leadership; delegating tasks and taking bite-sized pieces of work may aid in avoiding burnout. In Russia, I wrote about how a good leader is gracious about receiving special treatment; I wrote about how Dr. Beal received the equivalent of royal treatment from the Russian university, and I considered how humble she is for all the fanfare that she receives. I also considered how outrageously some leaders are treated, and I still think that it is poor form for a leader to demand over-the-top fanfare from his or her followers. Also in Russia, I noted that some of the older teachers were not being very good leaders for the younger teachers, and that some of the younger teachers were not incredibly professional around their students. I felt that the older teachers were resisting change (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 32), and that their leadership authority might have felt threatened by the younger teachers. Finally, I wrote in my Action Letter that we should consider changing our approach to student teaching credit. I think that a good leader should not be afraid to speak out and advocate for what they believe in (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 112-115). Roles and Responsibilities of a Good Leader I noted several roles and responsibilities of leaders during my time blogging. One of my favorite, but least appreciated, leadership qualities is the ability to follow through on a project. In my first blog, I talked about two opposite types of leaders who managed to

accomplish similar goals in different ways. The commonality is that they were both persistent, and they both followed through on their goals (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 11). The biggest difference between them is that I think one of the roles of a leader would be to empower those around him or her (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 28), instead of belittle their followers. Another role of a leader is to facilitate leadership in others (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 132). When I quit one of my jobs two months ago, I had to teach my replacement how to do the tasks that I did every day. I used modeling to help him along the learning process, and I think that all leaders should strive to do the same. I was proud when he was able to successfully take over my difficult role. One musing was a bit double-sided. On one hand, I spoke about the Man and how a leader needed to be able to approach him or her (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 14) in order to advocate for any situation, then on the other hand, the implicit meaning of this musing was that the Man also ideally needed to be able to make decisions on important situations, taking into account the needs of those around him. When considering my science festival event at Historic Oakwood, I mulled over the difficulties of being a leader: a person who takes responsibility for successes, failures and problems. I thought first of myself as a leader and referenced a situation in which I had stuck my neck out for a project that I really believed in. If it hadnt worked out well, I would have had to claim responsibly for the cost of the project. Then, on another level, my director would have had to claim responsibility for my mistake with our board of directors. I concluded that taking risks was a scary part of leadership, but part of being a leader is creating an environment in which your employees feel comfortable taking risks (Barth, 186).

On Moodle, we wrote about how our leadership styles affected our teaching. I wrote at the end of my response that I never wanted my students to think that I wouldnt take into account their own preferred learning styles, and in the same vein, I would never want anybody who followed me as a leader to think that I wouldnt take their ideas into account when making leadership decisions. My Attitude towards Leadership During my time in this class, I spent a lot of time considering my own leadership influences and my attitude towards leadership. I came into this class knowing that at some point I want to be in a formal leadership role, but blogging helped me identify my different attitudes and influences. The people in my life who are formal leaders have make a huge impact on my, and I have really internalized the actions that I have witnessed them taking. I saw from a young age that my fathers version of leadership was effective but almost brutal, and I vowed that one I would have the same influence that he does (though probably in a different realm), but I would do so in a humane way. I got to practice my talking to the Man on him early on in life, because if I ever wanted his approval for anything, I had to take this approach. I have found that those early experiences have carried on into my adult life very clearly; I sometimes feel like I go into lawyer mode when I feel that I need to advocate for myself or another person. This also has a huge downside. My lawyer mode happens even when it probably shouldnt- when I should probably just admit defeat and apologize, or when I should simply take and appreciate criticism Katzenmeyer and Moller, 38). Ive tried to take on leadership roles in my life, and I feel that this class has reinforced my ambitions for leadership. In one of my musings, I noted that I hoped that I was a good leader for

a replacement at the job that I recently quit, and I took the responsibility of training my replacement very seriously. Even more, I was thrilled when my employer gave me a huge compliment, telling my replacement that he was learning from the best. The best is what I generally strive for; I do feel that if I am in a leadership position, that I take the position very seriously and do my absolute best to advocate for the people who Im leading. In regards to the science fair, I was at first hesitant to take on the responsibility for the difficult experiment that I wanted to include in my overly complicated science festival activity. I learned that if I am vigilant in making sure that I, as my dad would say cover all my bases (make sure that I have a quality product), leadership risks are worthwhile (Barth, 188-189). I thought that it was interesting, in my We all live and work together response on Moodle, that I seemed to say I am ok with other people taking leadership roles as long as they are a good leader. This is really one of my more negative leadership traits; sometimes I honestly feel reluctant to allow other people to facilitate or to lead. On Moodle, I also referenced my concerns with pitching new ideas when I am not totally comfortable with a situation (or more importantly, when I am working under a leader who I do not feel comfortable with). Finally, I thought it was almost funny that I had such a good time writing my advocacy letter. I never seem to want to miss a chance to advocate for something that I believe in, which I think it a good quality, unless some view me as overly persistent. I think this is a good leadership quality; perhaps my favorite personal leadership quality. Conclusion Throughout this semester, I have been asked if I am a leader, and I have asked others if they consider themselves to be a leader. I have been hesitant to answer with an affirmative, as have many of the people with whom I have spoken.

Recently, while sitting in a hostel in Barcelona, I read a headline page about Russia from CNN. I scrolled to the comment section at the bottom of the page and began to read the comments from readers. As I saw comments like you cant trust Russians and were headed for war, I felt sick to my stomach. I thought, How can we stand by and allow folks in the United States to have such violently distorted perceptions of people who are, in most cases, kind, welcoming and peaceful? But as I was re-packing my carry-on bag and contemplating how to wrap up my leadership essay, a question occurred to me: who is this we that allows complacency? This we is me. I have spent the last month speaking with Russian students, and when I am asked what I think about Ukraine, I answer that I am not exactly current on politics, and I do not know what the motivations of our leaders might be. I then say that I think it is up to our generation to change the way that our countries interact. But I will not admit to being a leader, and neither will the students around me. So who will lead us? I have come to the conclusion that I must. Every student from my miniseminar, every young person in the US, in Russia, in the UK, in India, in Ethiopia we must all personally choose leadership, even if we do so in small ways. This is the only way that we will see peace in the future. An Analogy for the Process of Leadership As a child, I used to push off from one side of a pool, then kick my feet until I reached the other side. I see leadership similarly. A big pool is much like our everyday environments; one side of the pool represents our starting point, the other side represents the attainment of our goals, and the swim between the two sides represents the struggle of being an exceptional leader.

The water in the pool is sometimes deep and maybe a bit scary; gravity, much like the naysayers, tries to drag us under the water, where we could spend forever floating aimlessly. We find the courage to push off anyway. Initially, the water is a force against us, as are the principals who will not approve our ideas, or the politicians who do not seem to have our students best interests in mind, and even our governments that cannot stop bickering across country boarders. But in the pool of leadership, with some work, we begin to gain momentum. The droplets of water begin to part more easily, and some even swirl behind us, propelling us forward. Then we realize that we wont sink, and we continue to kick our feet, fighting for our goal. As we near the end of our successful journey, we can relax just a bit, knowing that the water behind us will carry us to completion. Of course, sometimes we dont make it all the way to the opposite edge of the pool. Sometimes the distance is too far, or we just didnt have enough momentum and support to begin with. We doggy-paddle to safety, but with a glimpse of success in mind, we search inside ourselves for the nerve to try again. And we will; we must. When weve figured out a formula for crossing the water, we share this with others, so that they may also experience the feeling of being buoyed up by supportive waters, and the joy of touching the cool tiles of the other side of the pool. This is what leadership is to me: realizing that within ourselves, we possess the qualities that are needed to create change around us. Leadership is having the courage to voice an opinion, and to come up with solutions to the many challenges that our world faces. Leadership is finding support for our causes, and seeing our actions through to completion. Finally, leadership is teaching others to see themselves as leaders, then to support them in their work as much as possible. Who is in a better position to do this, than a teacher?

My Action Plan for Leadership To be quite honest, at this time next year, I will hopefully have a new job, and I simply have no idea what that job will be. But with that said, I hope more than anything that this job will put me in a leadership position. If I am given that opportunity, I would strive to be an empathetic, kind, strong role model who would lead by being a positive example while facilitating and advocating for the ideas of others. My commitment to being a leader is very strong; after teaching a couple classes at the Pskov State University, discussing ways that my generation can lead the world to peace in the future, participating in Teachers as Leaders, in Dr. Lees Theory and Research in Global Learning, and partaking in my own version of self-discovery through travel, I feel that I cant help but want to be a leader. Now, my goal is to find a workplace that will allow me to take on a leadership role, and to find ways in my personal life where I can promote positive change in our community and government in the context of cultural relations. If I am lucky, I might find a position that allows me to do both. Whether or not I was born as a leader is debatable, but undoubtedly, I was in fact born with a desire to become a leader, and I will find a way to make a difference in the world around me.