Leadership is a Competition: You against the Best Version of Yourself

Where does one find leaders? Can you order one over the phone? Can you point one out in a crowd? Do leaders have a certain walk or a way of talking that make them leadership material? Can you create, develop, or manufacture a leader? Are leaders born? Can you teach leaders how to become more effective thinkers? Should good leaders be good followers? Should leaders not be afraid to challenge the status quo? Should individuals have to pass a leadership competency test in order to obtain a position of leadership? Where can or where will we find the next great leaders for our schools, businesses, communities, and countries?

Alot of questions about leaders and leadership right! The idea of great leadership or leaders has often been a curiosity and concern of mine as I have spent a majority of my adult life studying and trying to emulate as well as perform in a fashion that would give those on the outside looking in the idea, perception, or a reason that might help them conclude I was a good leader or demonstrated excellent leadership qualities. Having been influenced by my father, who was a Marine, the idea of leadership was impressed on me at an early age. For him, leadership was about being responsible and accountable to one's self as well as others. As I matured and got a taste of the real world, I realized that not everyone sees or commits to leadership from the same perspective.

K-12- The Leadership Void

Many of the problems impacting our society can be traced to many factors, but one of most glaring and challenging obstacles is the lack of compassionate, knowledgeable, and effective leadership in the right positions at the right time. In K-12 education field, many school principal or administrator positions are usually filled by former teachers or educators. On the surface this is a logical progression, however this becomes concerning when some, having only spent one to two years in the classroom are vaulted into school principal positions. Is one or two years an adequate gauge of whether someone is equipped to lead a school? This becomes even more problematic when those individuals being pushed into principal positions were ineffective and mediocre teachers. What then qualifies them to become dynamic leaders of the learning process, students, teachers, and communities they serve?

Unfortunately, because of popularity preferences, school politics, and lazy district or school system administrations, weak and unprepared principals govern many of our schools. While this reaffirms the narrative of a limited pool of good leaders as well as principal candidates, I would argue that the lack of leadership candidates is sometimes overstated and untrue. Poor leadership in our schools has forced this current normal for systems that don't think innovatively or without bias about developing and hiring leaders. Many would-be exceptional leaders are walking the halls of many schools and organizations but because they refuse to play company politics, aren't popular, or don't fit a particular narrative they are ignored.

Gone are the days where the principal had a minimum five to ten years in the classroom before even a sniff of becoming a school principal was a reality." If necessity is the mother of invention " then there's a whole lot of necessity that needs to addressed if we are serious about tackling the leadership vacuum in our schools.

There are dynamic and knowledgeable teachers that are capable of being great school leaders after only a few years in the classroom. However, I would argue that this would be the exception and not the rule. Operating and managing a classroom is not the same as being responsible for an entire student body and its teachers. Many new school leaders are overwhelmed and unprepared to take on the demanding task of directing the operation and leadership of a school because no one has really taught them how to manage people or how to help people learn to think and problem solve on their own as well as how to run a business- And yes! - Schools are in the business of Education and their leaders should understand the concepts of running a business.

Leadership Competition

Weak or ineffective leadership by weak and ineffective leaders are the same dynamics played out in many of our companies and organizations as well; individuals are put in leadership positions they are not equipped or are properly trained to hold. Failing schools, businesses, and communities that have poor or ineffective leadership as one of the contributing factors or causes of their deficiencies are plentiful. Why does this continue to happen?

We don't lack resources or knowledge! Do we lack the will or sincere effort? There are tons of books, articles, blogs, workshops, schools, institutions, think tanks, Ted Talks, websites, coaches, etc. that focus on what good leadership is and is not. So, I won't bore you. What I will say is that what works for one person or organization will not necessarily work for another. So, the only common denominators that can be impacted are the individuals that are tasked with leadership responsibilities or positions. One must either be committed to becoming a better version of one's self or not .

Leadership is a competition: you against the best version of yourself. What does this mean? The foundational and intellectual histories of all of us are often connected to or directed by one's experiences, environments, and value systems of what one holds as important or insignificant. One can either use these parameters or go against them depending on the level of maturity one has or seeks to reach as a leader. What goes into building and developing a version of one's self is critical to how your conscious and unconscious self-responds to life and life's challenges. As a leader or someone who hires leaders, one must be able to examine and be critical one's own biases if being an effective or outstanding leader or promoting or selecting an outstanding leader is a desired goal. True Leaders and leadership require one to be in constant competition or conflict with their conscious and unconscious biases in committing to what they know they should do versus what they actually do.

Leadership Biases

Have you ever been part of an organization, business, or school and wondered how a poorly skilled individual was put in such an important position of leadership and authority? We all know the old adage, "It's not what you know, it's who you know". Sadly, on many occasions many of us can relate to wondering if anyone is really in charge or should have been in charge in the first place. We all have biases that positively and negatively impact how we engage every aspect of our lives. Leadership biases just as all other types of biases speaks to a preference for or against a particular thing, person, or idea. Leadership bias can be blamed as one cause for incompetent individuals holding positions of authority as well as given praise for the selection of an outstanding leadership candidate. How does this make any sense? The answer is we are Human!"

When the human element is introduced into any of life's functions or actions our conscious and unconscious mindsets tap into the mental maps that reaffirm one's prejudices. One may then make choices based on biases that are familiar and comfortable. One might have a bias against an individual's, height, weight, hair color, gender, sexuality, nationality, color of skin, the school or university the individual attended, etc. Those in charge of hiring and training leadership candidates consciously or unconsciously choose candidates that look like them or fit their idea of a leader and authority figure. If not examined or checked these biases give birth to racism, ageism, sexism, etc.

Consequently, we have more of the same: inconsistent leadership birthed from an inconsistent process founded in biases. Committed and successful competitors /leaders recognize that they can't control how others see or don't see them, but they take pride and joy in what they learn about themselves and how they use that knowledge to grow.

"One cannot teach a man anything, One can only enable him to learn from within himself" Galileo Galilei

The genesis of this must begin with analyzing how one thinks and learns to problem solve while helping others do the same. Competitors/ Leaders must respect, appreciate, and welcome the intellect and skill sets of those you plan to lead or will lead while always finding ways to better themselves. No one can be a better you than you; no one can tell you how to be a better you than you. Regardless of how others see or don't see you, the leadership competition begins when you challenge the person staring back at you in the mirror to be the best.