Who do I admire as a Leader?

One of the leaders I admire most is the embodiment of what George Courus calls “The One Quality all Successful People Have” in his blog post by the the same title. That quality is not only the ability to learn and apply that learning, but to be willing to be focused and persistent in application. To me, this means sticking to what you thoughtfully believe to be true and trusting that through kind, patient, and consistent application, change will happen.

All too often, leaders are swayed from solid, informed decisions and direction when results don’t come quickly enough. Staff starts to grumble. Student behavior issues spike. Test scores tumble. The leaders return to the safe confines of what staff is comfortable with so at least the leader can feel a part of a group. The mindfulness initiative doesn’t seem to be working? Just forget it. PBL feeling a little too complicated? Let’s back off a bit.

This leader I admire is not this way. He has a thick skin, can weather criticism, and believes that time and consistently being allowed to try, reflect, and try again will allow change to take root. He celebrates the one little success amid the many well-intentioned failures that happen early on in a change process so that rather than defining the change, the failures become an expected, necessary part of process. He has a clear vision of what he wants school to look like, and setbacks do not deter the course. Instead, they are the teachable moments in which we are expected to find our own persistence and focus.