Thursday, June 24, 2010
Quiet leaders have a big impact
There are many leadership qualities that are directly related to the leader's personality and character, and many more that are a combination of several different philosophies. Many leadership styles, though can be successfully implemented with a quiet approach. Quiet leaders are powerful, they focus on action instead of words and are able to generate excitement and develop quality in unique ways.
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There are many factors that come into play if you are going to be successful at leading quietly.
ReplyDelete1. Earning the respect of your team and colleagues.
2. Displaying confidence, but not overconfidence.
3. Being understanding, compassionate and open-minded.
4. Thinking laterally, not hierarchically.
5. Having a likeable and relatable personality.
6. Being approachable and easy to talk to.
Interesting topic! I agree with Kriz, that being a quiet leader probably works better than over reacting in the class room. Having said that I think that there are times when students need to have their sytem sort of jump started. Because if they get too used to the quiet leader, they will tend to drive themselves into a rut of apathy and indifference. I think that there are brief moments when students need to witness the 'less quiet' personality of the tutors.
ReplyDeleteNice Kris I completely agree though I don't know what you mean by 'quiet'.
ReplyDeleteThis issue of leadership or rather leaders who are active is extremely important in a classroom context. You lead by example and it is the work, the activity plus the passion which you (as a teacher) are able to transmit to your students that counts most not the talk especially in vocational institutions where we're dealing with mainly hands-on people.
I have had the opportunity to work in a number of schools over the years and with very different groups of students. One formula which seems to work with all is enthusiasm. Students perceive that immediately.
Hey Gilbert we have been conditioned to think of leadership in terms of bold, aggressive, charismatic, even rebellious behavior. Let’s face it, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The dramatic leader gets the attention. The brash leader gets his face on the cover of business magazines and newspapers. Whilst I do agree with you that enthusiasm is perceived immediately by stdents but also the other qualities that come with being able to motivate and respect. One of the most valuable qualities of a leader is his ability to listen and hear what is being said. A leader is not someone who has taken power by his own means, leading with an attitude of “my way or the highway.” It’s more about giving everyone a chance to contribute, share in the process and have ownership in the result.
ReplyDeleteEffective listening not only means giving team members a chance to talk and share suggestions, points of view and ideas, but it also means that each suggestion will be considered and respected.
Peace
In my opinion assertiveness is one of the main traits that differentiate between a good and bad leader. By assertiveness I mean knowing what you want and how to proceed and being able to put it to implementation.
ReplyDeleteAnother positive trait I appreciate in a leader is humility. A humble leader appreciates that he is no better or worse than the people he leads.
Then there are other important leader characteristics such as dedication, openness, integrity and fairness.
I also think that teaching should never be done in a "my way or the high way" attitude. Everyone should be able to voice or contribute their opinion. At the end of it all we as teachers learn all the time from out students. It is not a one sided learning system, it is a learning expericnce for us teachers as well as it is for the students, and we should respect each others point of views and perception of things.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but make comparisons with established local politicians like Mintoff, Eddie Fenech Adami, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Alfred Sant ... (I'd rather not mention Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat).
ReplyDeleteTheir styles varied considerably ... some were reformers, some teachers, some simply mediators without an agenda, some all round statemen ... come to think of it I am tempted to reformulate our original 'question' - how different are the roles of teachers and leaders.
Kris when I was asking what you meant by quiet I obviously was thinking -KMB was able to listen but was he a leader? was he a good teacher? did he, could he change people? could he re-educate the masses?
On the other hand it is interesting perhaps to compare to world leaders across the globe. Take Ghandi for example and his peaceful/silent protests. How quiet where they if he managed to stir so many people into action? Sometimes actions speak louder than words.
At the back of my mind I can't help myself from thinking about people like Frere or for that matter Manwel Dimech ... but that's another issue altogether perhaps
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ReplyDeleteI do not believe that having a subdued disposition is key for successful leadership, and on the other a hand submissive and restrained disposition sometimes lacks that extra bit of an edge – after all Jesus (the personification of humility and good), had a brief moment of ‘non-quiet’ leadership in the temple no?
ReplyDeleteI think that we need to differentiate between successful (in the sense of positive humanitarian aspects) and unsuccessful leadership (as in leading to deprivation of human rights etc). There were many leaders who were equally as successful with 'non-quiet' (for lack of a better word) leadership, but obviously had different ends and agendas – Hitler and Mussolini among others come to mind. Such leaders used the power of conviction without force (initially) but were definitely not quiet and humble about it. I think that charisma is one of the important key factors for leadership success whether it is done quietly or otherwise.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting to read Jesus mentioned in the blog. One here can compare Jesus to a businessman or a politician who assembled a team of 12 people who were far from being perfect, but managed to train them and motivate them to fulfill their mission successfully. His goal was to build, not destroy; educate, not exploit, to support and strengthen, not dominate. The strength and hope of the world are in small groups of people led by leaders who work to incorporate core values such as cooperation, goodwill and love.
ReplyDeleteChrist presents to us a model of management based on three categories of forces: the strength of self-control, the strength of action and strength of relations. The quiet leader is sensitive and is often acting on faith, the faith that small and obscure deeds add up to big changes. It goes by such names as self-control, self-discipline, self-denial and self-restraint but the basic idea is that of exercising restraint in regard to one thing or another.
ReplyDeleteAn effective and quiet leader exercise and act with, restraint, modesty, and firmness. While it may seem that these virtues are in conflict with one another, it is these 'creative tensions' that result from the conflict are the kind that quiet leaders can effectively balance to accomplish lasting change. Jesus, the greatest leader that ever lived was written to empower people at all levels of leadership.
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ReplyDeleteI find this exchange extremely healthy and the subject very interesting.
Reading through your posts I was thinking that the common thread between all the 'leaders' mentioned above was consistency but then again
I am not too sure that that is the case expecially when thinking of people like Muammar Gaddafi, the self-styled 'brother and guide of the great revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya', whose impulsive decision making led to his country's unstable political situation and who retains control (like most other dictators) through a rule of terror.
I am also thinking (again) of KMB, iz-zero, a nickname who doesn't make justice to the man's good nature, honesty and coherence but speaks volumes about his leadership qualities - or for that matter the lack of.
At this stage I have more questions than answers to forward to fellow teacher-bloggers but ultimately my gut feeling is that as different human beings we all have our personal way in dealing with people and it is only through years of teaching that we can perfect and find ways as to how best to guide our students through this life-changing experience that is education.
This particular thread may not really be perceived as giving any impact or insight on education related to e-Learning. However to direct this post back in direction, I would suggest that the authors above, refer to MOODLE VLE especially to Topic 9 Change Management, where the quality of leaders emerges as playing a vital role when trying to go through a process of change. Shifting to the e-Learning paradigm, requires as can be seen here, a sizable amount of change management and this is where qualities of leaders come in.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned above as well, in reality teachers are leaders; most often as a teacher one needs to be able to lead... and many definitions attributed to leaders (see Lesson on Topic 9 in MOODLE) can be summarised as the ability to "influence and persuade others to agree on a purpose"... being quiet or not, is not considered as a "must-have" characteristic of leaders. Most frequently that depends on the individual's personality. There are other attributes which one needs to have in order to not only be able to lead but also to manage change successfully.
I am surprise noone mentioned Mahatma Gandhi who is known for his principles of truth and non-violence. His life is a lesson in quiet determination, unflinching faith and profound values. Through a simple and humble life, Gandhi went on to become an icon of freedom and peace, leading India away from British rule and inspiring the lives of ordinary people to perform extraordinary tasks.
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