A leader is someone who inspires others and promotes integrity and hard-work ethic. A single name immediately wound into my head the moment I read the word “Leader”. Ellen McLemore, a piano director at Lafayette High School, has proved her leadership qualities an inexhaustible amount of times. As the only director of a public high school piano class in Louisiana, the LHS Tennis team sponsor, and a Quidditch Club sponsor, Mrs. McLemore demonstrates many leadership qualities. Between preparing her students with an appropriate amount of knowledge of the fine arts, Mrs. McLemore still finds time to go above and beyond, nearly every day. She in charge of hosting and planning school wide pep rallies, scheduling the annual LHS Talent Show, and
As a teacher-leader, I have been assigned a number of wide-ranging and important informal roles in my career thus far that have enabled me to support and contribute towards the success of not only my students, but also my department and my school as a whole. By assuming these diverse leadership roles, I have been able to develop professionally, improve student attainment, positively influence the teaching and learning practice of my peers and contribute towards the culture and ethos of the schools I have worked in.
“Leaders don 't create followers, they create more leaders,” Tom Peter famously proclaimed. As the principal of Crestview Elementary, I have always taken this quote to heart by continuous striving to empower my faculty and staff. Most recently, I have decided to train my assistant principal, Kathy Robinson, who was appointed to her position this summer after ten years as a classroom teacher. I quickly recognized that she possessed many of the qualities that make great leaders. Kathy is an excellent communicator, a great problem solver, innovative, very personable, and cares about the students and staff (Sheninger, 2011). Therefore, I have decided to mentor her and hone her skills so that she will be prepared for a transition to the role of principal.
At Boys State, I learned that I may need to assume a position of power if I am the most qualified. For various reasons, marching was integral to the operation of Boys State. However, almost all the citizens had never marched before. Even though my previous experience as a marching band member conflicted slightly in style, I still had an advantage. When I noticed dozens of my peers struggling to learn marching, I viewed it as my duty and obligation to help them and provide strong leadership to maintain a cohesive marching bloc. I did, however, need to overcome the barrier that was my previous marching experience. I trained in a different leg style, so I needed to speedily learn the nuances of this foreign style. From this, I learned volumes about leadership. I learned that there is a place and time for me to serve as a leader; I learned that occasionally the most qualified leaders aren’t necessarily fully qualified, and to respect their efforts to become qualified; I learned that all leaders must overcome challenges to be successful. This trying experience taught me how and when to assume a position of power for the benefit of the
Leadership Jazz by Max De Pree is a treatise on what it means to be a leader and how to be a leader. Depending on the metaphor of a musical variety – jazz – he shares insight on how leaders ought to harness the different gifts, talents, abilities, and differences of team members to actualize goals. This means “that attracting and keeping talented performers/employees-all of whom, we must remember, are really volunteers – should be the chief concern of leaders in the profit and nonprofit worlds.” Drawing on the attributes of a jazz band, De Pree postulates that servant leadership is required to draw the best out of people. The success of which is dependent on the leader’s ability to connect voice and touch through gratitude, trust, respect, personal restraint, and the courage to be human. When this is done, the leader frees himself to experience incredible success ensuring that they are not hindered by their own failure to appreciate others. “Authors and leaders who see only a limited need for the gifts of followers limit themselves to their own talents.”
Who school leaders are – what they do, attend to, or seem to appreciate is constantly watched by students, teachers, parents, and members of the community. Their interests and actions send powerful messages. They signal the values they hold. Above all else, leaders are cultural “teachers” in the best sense of the word. (Deal & Peterson, 1990, p. 201)
Abstract: There are numerous definitions of leadership, all of which contain elements related to people (the leader and the follower(s)), communicating in person or by the written word, actions (organizing, directing, coaching, and/or motivating), and for a purpose (meeting a goal(s) or accomplishing a task(s)) (ADP 6-22) (Fisher 2015) (Bolden 2013) (Hogan 2005). Additionally, everything done occurs within a given context. Effective leaders are poised, proficient, pertinent, and practical in the application of the art of leadership. This means leaders are ready to engage the group with effective methods and
As human beings the vast majority of us wish we could change the world, whether that be helping humans, animals, the environment, it is helping those that cannot help themselves. However, we also realize to help with these causes it takes money and for the most part a great deal of it. But, some people are fortunate enough and can help change the lives of many. That is what Ellen DeGeneres has done with her leadership skills, guidance, celebrity status and wealth. Through her kind heart and passion for the social good she does everything she can to make the world a better place. It is true that money can certainly help in spanning social good, however, multiple pennies can also impact those in need. Social good is something that anyone can do. It is not about celebrity status or being a millionaire. Social good is about feeling good about helping others when they are in need. It is about creating a sense of connectedness to humanity and being humble all the while influencing those that follow you. This is what Ellen DeGeneres is all about. This paper will discuss, Ellen 's foundations and charities, how these reflect her personal values and leadership integrity, how her giving enhances her celebrity image and whether her integrity is compatible with her image.
For many years, I have been told by teachers, family, and friends that I am a good leader. Until fairly recently, I had never truly thought about what it means to be a good leader and just took it as a compliment. Leadership is an intangible concept which cannot be properly outlined in a dictionary, but one which must be formed and explained only through one’s own philosophies and experiences.
Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.
Anne Mulcahy was an employee of Xerox for 24 years that she spent within Sales, Human Resources and served as the chief of staff for former CEO, Paul Allaire. At 47 years old, all of that changed when Mulcahy took over as the CEO of Xerox. She had an excellent reputation within the company but nobody, not even herself, had pinned her as the CEO type. Many companies still believe in the old adage, that the CEO has to be a strong willed male, who saw the big picture, distanced himself from the rest of the company and has particular “leadership” characteristics. Mulcahy did not exude any of these above-mentioned characteristics besides the fact that she was very strong willed. As
My leadership can be seen in my experience as the Director of Resource in my school of 600 students, Preschool through the eighth grade. I supported parents, teachers and administrators as they maneuvered the obstacles involved in identifying learning needs as well as the challenges that follow after identification. I worked directly with teacher and families to complete the necessary paperwork and advocated on their behalf with the public school system. Under the role as director, I was solely responsible for
For decade’s individuals, companies, and organizations have spent an unprecedented amount of money on researching, molding, modeling and working to define what a leader is and what characteristics make successful leaders. Despite all the research, there is not a quick answer or even full agreement as to what makes an individual an effective leader. The definition of a leader is “someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority.” (Robbins, Decenzo, Coulter, 2015. P.370)
Student leaders come in all shapes and sizes. They choose to lead based on their skills and preferences. Whether in social groups, athletics, or within the classroom, student leaders demonstrate certain traits that benefit both themselves and those they are leading. Generally speaking, leaders are classified as role models within the student body. They are the students who challenge the status quo, who ask questions and demand answers. They inspire athletic teams and social organizations alike; they bring to light the issues that an organization or club faces and work toward a solution. The traits and skills that these leaders exhibit socially, athletically, and academically can be both inherit and learned. The
When I first started teaching, I was told to think of a teacher who truly made me feel special. When asked to reflect on powerful leaders, I was able to remember the people who have truly modeled for me true leadership. In my academic career, I can only think of one leader who has made me excited for what was to come. My college principal, Julianne Malvueax was the most outspoken, ambitious and engaging leader I’ve known. In the week 4 discussion, I recalled describing the feeling of overall joy and excitement I felt when listening to her speak. Whenever she entered a venue, you could feel the electricity in the room. When students left her presence, we knew we wanted to change things. We knew that we were an integral part of the institution’s mission and she reminded us of this constantly. After thumbing through the resources, I realize that Malvueax was an effective leader. Not only did she get us excited, the goals she set for our institution were clear. We knew what she expected from us as
Determination, courage, and confidence are all characteristics needed to be a good leader. The principal player in a music group is considered to be a leader. Even bands need leaders, if we didn’t have leaders where would we be today? John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” A good leader is liked by the people, has power, and produces followers. When there is an unwillingness to make things happen, to take the initiative and accept responsibility; this is when a leader emerges. Leaders develop through drive, creativity, and devotion.