RISE as Leaders

The Greatest Glory in living lies not in never falling, but in Rising every time we fall- Nelson Mandela

The century that we live, otherwise called as the generation alpha or the information age where the young people are endowed palpably with technology and resources that enriches the life of a 21st century citizen with more options of solutions with minimal hassle. The institutions and organizations across the world has astound stories to explain everyday about the proven talents who showcase their responsibilities through acquired and in born talents to meet and solve their challenges in day to day life. Educational institutions like schools and colleges play a crucial role in constructing the future leaders. A statement we all have heard and said quite a number of times. But now it is time to perform the role to nurture a generation that can cavity into technology savvy leaders with respect, integrity, skill and empathy for the smart survival in the 21st century from the perspective of an educator. This emphasizes the fact that a teacher leader can mend successful future leaders with intellectual and character qualification by excelling the knowledge sharing beyond the educational sphere.

Canice Nuckols, an Educational Administrator from Grafton School, United States mentioned in an article about teachers as leaders that every person has their own perspective based on culture, personality and qualification, which certainly affects the processing of information sharing and its interpretation. Educators in the current scenario accomplish many roles and the most important one is the role of a leader which happens very frequently within the classroom providing an environment that augment the lives of students as well as their peers. Every educator who participate in the construction of the next successful generation is expected to glean the essential traits that would help themselves as well as their youngsters to attain the 21st century leadership qualities

Leaders with Respect

There is a famous quote by Bruce Lee, Knowledge gives you power, but character gives respect. Leaders becomes successful not just by the power but by the respect that the society provides. A small act of respect will go a long way. Educators in institutions have a wide spread goals that can be achieved by the act of respect and compassion towards their peers and learners. This power key towards endeavoring the leadership qualities is by identifying the value and worth of the people around you and honoring those integral qualities through appraisals and actions. Based on a research survey conducted across more than 3000 people around ten countries, it was conceded that apart from helping in addressing the conflicts behaving in a respectful manner is also considered as a vital leadership responsibility.

Leaders with Integrity:

Several studies were carried out to identify the important characteristics of an educational leader who can be an exemplar for their students and their colleagues. In all the ages of life, the best leaders were seen among those people who had displayed honesty thorough out their life within an outside their profession. This soft skill in an individual is proved to provide and produce an endowed performance with integrity and value that can be identified through action and reaction to the vital decisions made within the team members which includes the students and the peers. As such it becomes a prime factor for the leaders to act, decide an impose methodologies that create a value and culture to the legacy of the organization and their followers. This trait of a leader is believed to be acquired naturally with the passion towards their profession and life.

Leaders with Skill:

Have we ever thought of how will be the schools of tomorrow be like? Well, it is high time to think about it, as the educational institutions are nowadays not just nurturing the young leaders of future but also it is molding and reshaping the experienced leaders to become skilled leaders of tomorrow. From the perspective of an educator who thrive to achieve the skill set for nurturing themselves requires to understand and evaluate the outcomes of the student achievements acquired through 21st century skill practices. ?A successful leader will always be a learner. Exploring the new path ways is one of the vital characteristics needed in a skilled leader who will have the passion towards learning and experimenting the new tools in addition to their own repository of talents. This includes technological and innovative investigations trough curiosities. As said by Albert Einstein It is a miracle that curiosity will survive formal education #curiosity

Leaders with Empathy:

Putting yourself into others shoe is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires moral values and feelings to understand your peers deeply. One of the rare and unique trait of a successful leader in the current scenario. Better performances within the team members happens when they feel that they are valued and accepted. Empathetic behavior in a person can be attained with simple actions that create powerful bond among a leader and their followers. This includes presenting the whole you within organizational meetings, developing the qualities of an undemanding listener, focusing on communications beyond words which are sometimes deeper. A peoples’ leader is identified when the person chose “we” over “me”, which makes the followers proud and empowered that would drive them to achieve more success with their leader. Ref: Matthew Lynch on The Edvocate.

Future is a never ending process with ever building targets, where it becomes the responsibility of an educational leader to establish strength, determination and care that would maintain a balance between intellectual and emotional development of the student, teachers and the staffs of the organization. The RISE qualities in an educational leader will always serve the organizations in an effective manner in any generation or culture.

A sign of a good leader is not how many followers you have, but how many leaders you create- Mahatma Gandhi

Surya Vignesh
Head of Innovation and Enterpreneurship
Global Indian International School        

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