One of the most difficult tasks I have had in graduate school has been a recent assignment. The assignment required us to define leadership, goals, and examples of how to implement leadership. In the task remarks, my professor told us, "It is best to try think of people who you think are leaders, and determine, from them, the characteristics that make them a good leader". A few incidents have recently occurred and gave me the idea to write this.
Okay....So I tried to think of people who have demonstrated leadership and I can say, with all honesty, it's easier to think of people who aren't leaders, than who are leaders. Here are a few things I found to be a common theme among people I think of as "leaders":
1. I can go to you and you will help me in any way that you can, when you don't know something, you do your best to find the answer.
2. When I make a mistake, you don't criticize me, talk about me behind my back, but guide me and COACH me so that I can learn.
3.You are willing to share your knowledge of things so that I am able to become better at my job.
4. You are empathetic towards situations; you understand that things "can happen", and work with me along the way.
5. You provide certainty; I know what to expect, things aren't thrown in the loop, and I feel like I am kept in the "know".
6. I am treated as your equal, yes you might be above me in pay grade, but you do your share of the work too. You are driven to do whatever it takes to get a job done; even if it means taking out the trash.
These are a few example of things I could come up with. I feel like, in today's society, we expect people who are new to be perfect, or have that "throw them to the wolves" persona. I've never learned anything from being thrown to the wolves or by using my fight or flight response! I learned things because people have taken the time to guide me, and when I didn't know or didn't do it correctly, they demonstrated the correct way to accomplish it. Maybe society has become too vindictive and only want to get ahead in their own life. I feel like people who are in charge, feel the need to embrace their power a little too much. That is NOT leading, that's called being an asshole! I thought this quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower hit the nail on the head, "You do not lead by hitting people over the head- that's assault, not leadership"!
A few family members who demonstrated leadership are my parents and grandparents; they always lead and offer pathways to answers. Sometimes I chose the right one, and sometimes I didn't, but at least they made an effort.
In my career, I felt that my clinical teacher taught me the most about leadership. I could tell that other people looked up to her for advice; she always had all of the answers! But, she guided me through my internship, she didn't expect me to be perfect or to have all of the answers. She understood that it was my first time really planning lessons and using the standard course of study. She also knew that the point of the experience was for me to grow, and she definitely helped me in every way she could!
When I was a first year teacher, I felt that my team mates always showed leadership; and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I started teaching third grade (hahaha)! But, with their guidance and support, I grew and could eventually stand on my own two feet. We worked well, and if we had a disagreement about something; it was OKAY. It's okay to not share the same view as someone else, sometimes (in life) I feel like if I don't share the same view point, as someone else, I'll get chastised!
That's my take on leadership, and I wish that everyone could work the same way. Everyone in a leadership position started from scratch and had to grow as a person to become a leader; I think we forget that. And so, I leave you with this:
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader". —John Quincy Adams
Monday, February 24, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
A Lot To Do About Nothing...
I figured I need to get my once a month post in, so here goes...
I'm sitting on our bed with my napping pup (thank goodness). He goes through spells...some days he will sit at the window and relax, while other days he decides to sit at the window and bark at everything..the leaves, a bird, a cat, a person, a fly... I still love him, even when he has bad days, but we hide in the bedroom so I can get my work done without listening to the barking.
This blog has a lot to do about nothing, it's a little insight to our month...
This is my last week of subbing for the maternity leave person; I've been working half days for a week now so she can slowly get back into the swing of things. I enjoy getting off at 11:30 ish everyday; school days should be like that everyday! I have to say, it is bittersweet, doing this makes me miss teaching. However, since grad school is crazy and really busy, a big part of me needs to only work a few days a week.
Brandon says that I am too stressed out and never stop going; he's probably right ;) I decided to get a massage yesterday, you know those once every two years type of thing...I needed to relax, even if it was for a few hours, I NEEDED to RELAX. The intern at the school I sub at always asks me how my weekend was, and I always tell her how exciting it was..(NOT)! It usually consists of...oh I was in the library/Barnes and Nobles for "x amount" of hours working on school work. I feel like I have something good to tell her tomorrow...hey, I actually left the house to do something relaxing, and I even made it out to dinner with friends (see I'm not lame)...my how life changes when you get older.
Hey..I bought a car, not a new car, but its only a year and a half old, so it's new to me. AND I'M EXCITED about it. I'm not big on gloating, but did I say I have a new car?! If you know me, than you can appreciate this purchase too! My old Bessie, was very old...haha...she was missing a hub cap, when you started it, it squealed REALLY loud and it was a little embarrassing, if you were lucky, you might make it to your destination. We shared some good times too...like the time I was driving on Memorial Blvd. and the tire randomly fell off, that's a funny story to tell! So you could agree that it was time to move on to another car, new or semi new, we are happy to be able to have another reliable car.
And, we are coming up on our one year anniversary next month, and I can say that I love Brandon more and more each day. I think, in a marriage, you grow together so much and essentially, your partner becomes your very best friend! We never fight (I don't know if that's good or not) but we are good at communicating. Sure, I get irritated about things, and he gets irritated about thing that I do, but we don't yell at one another and we're not condescending. I'm happy to see what the future holds for us :)
That, folks, is my very uninteresting blog for the month!
I'm sitting on our bed with my napping pup (thank goodness). He goes through spells...some days he will sit at the window and relax, while other days he decides to sit at the window and bark at everything..the leaves, a bird, a cat, a person, a fly... I still love him, even when he has bad days, but we hide in the bedroom so I can get my work done without listening to the barking.
This blog has a lot to do about nothing, it's a little insight to our month...
This is my last week of subbing for the maternity leave person; I've been working half days for a week now so she can slowly get back into the swing of things. I enjoy getting off at 11:30 ish everyday; school days should be like that everyday! I have to say, it is bittersweet, doing this makes me miss teaching. However, since grad school is crazy and really busy, a big part of me needs to only work a few days a week.
Brandon says that I am too stressed out and never stop going; he's probably right ;) I decided to get a massage yesterday, you know those once every two years type of thing...I needed to relax, even if it was for a few hours, I NEEDED to RELAX. The intern at the school I sub at always asks me how my weekend was, and I always tell her how exciting it was..(NOT)! It usually consists of...oh I was in the library/Barnes and Nobles for "x amount" of hours working on school work. I feel like I have something good to tell her tomorrow...hey, I actually left the house to do something relaxing, and I even made it out to dinner with friends (see I'm not lame)...my how life changes when you get older.
Hey..I bought a car, not a new car, but its only a year and a half old, so it's new to me. AND I'M EXCITED about it. I'm not big on gloating, but did I say I have a new car?! If you know me, than you can appreciate this purchase too! My old Bessie, was very old...haha...she was missing a hub cap, when you started it, it squealed REALLY loud and it was a little embarrassing, if you were lucky, you might make it to your destination. We shared some good times too...like the time I was driving on Memorial Blvd. and the tire randomly fell off, that's a funny story to tell! So you could agree that it was time to move on to another car, new or semi new, we are happy to be able to have another reliable car.
And, we are coming up on our one year anniversary next month, and I can say that I love Brandon more and more each day. I think, in a marriage, you grow together so much and essentially, your partner becomes your very best friend! We never fight (I don't know if that's good or not) but we are good at communicating. Sure, I get irritated about things, and he gets irritated about thing that I do, but we don't yell at one another and we're not condescending. I'm happy to see what the future holds for us :)
That, folks, is my very uninteresting blog for the month!
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