The common sense of Leadership

I often find myself smiling when I reflect on the essence of leadership. A quiet interior smile, yet powerful, reflecting what I constantly receive from others and the abundant generosity that shapes one's life. Recently, I've come across various subtle yet valuable materials discussing the balance of authority in education and the empowerment of the true self. Authority has become a sensitive word in education, not because of its whole meaning but due to the constraining aspects it sometimes entails.

Today, literature on leaders and managers is abundant, covering discussions from human nature and basic psychology to complex constructs and refined personas. While the formal body of leadership remains constant, we often see how delicately but powerfully the refined variations of charisma, empathy, and freedom in leadership shape themselves into different and interesting molds. There is a connection and a sort of elegance in all these variations, which I would summarize as the common sense in leadership.

I find that common sense is an intrinsic concept today, something we necessarily need to find within ourselves to have a voice, make a difference, and continue to build the delicate power of leadership. Integrating leadership concepts into educational theory requires a distinction between two types of authority I encountered long ago in a powerful book by J. M. Bocheński: deontic and epistemic authority.

I suggest that leadership leans more toward epistemic authority, while management leans toward deontic authority. Rather than biasing them, I view them as magnets with opposite poles, attracting and creating equilibrium, a middle ground.

In this middle ground, charisma plays a significant role. Charisma is a fascinating phenomenon, and I assert that in educational management, one needs both expertise and discipline. With a great amount of empathy, when equipped with these two, one adorns oneself with a natural and universal type of charisma.

Last but not least, I truly believe in inspiration, especially in education. Where there is inspiration, there is motivation, and vice versa. What brings them together is creativity. Between charisma and creativity, motivation shines. We need to find our common sense, to find the motivation to give, to inspire others, and that is where personal leadership blooms.