Why Leadership Matters...

...thoughts for the 2024 elections

I don't think it is any surprise to those who know me that I expect a great deal from people who put themselves into positions of leadership.  It does not matter whether I like or dislike a person who is in that position and it does not necessarily matter whether I tend to agree or disagree with them.  What matters to me is that they are in a position of leadership and I expect them to exhibit certain qualities.  

Today I wanted to share a few examples that I hold up for myself from my own experiences. I hope you find them of use as you consider how you view the qualities of a leader (or potential leader).

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The Crushing Weight from Above Revealed

At one of my jobs as a Software Engineer (not long after graduating from college), I had the privilege to work for a person who was an excellent supervisor.  She quickly earned my respect and I still hold her up as an example of a fine person exhibiting excellent leadership skills.  Immediately after I was hired, she provided me with a vision that she saw for my role in her team.  She allowed me a chance to respond with how I felt about that role and indicated that she was willing to modify the role as I learned more on the job and as she observed how I worked on the job.

I always felt that it was safe to disagree with her and she encouraged feedback.  Even if the final decision did not go the way I was advocating, I was convinced the decision was based on her best judgement given the facts and the feedback she had received from the entire team and whatever other resources were necessary. In fact, I knew that I could continue to disagree with the decision even after it was made - but I was also expected to work as a positive part of the team within the context of the decision. And I was okay with that.

Every member of the team felt valued.  Each person felt like they belonged.  And we learned how much weight she was keeping off our backs when she moved on to a new job.  As I look back, my respect for this person increased when I consider how much pressure she must have been under and how well she dealt with it.

It did not take long for the team and the project to begin falling apart once leadership changed from a model that was consistent, informed, and competent to one that was erratic and misdirected.  The atmosphere changed from one that was affirming to one that felt like we worked under constant threat. The focus shifted from working together to complete our tasks to doing whatever it took to make our management look good. One would think having a good team that made good choices and accomplished tasks would do just that - but they did not seem to agree with that assessment.

The difference for the members of the team I worked with was one person. The individual who provided us with the space we needed to be successful.

Same Pieces, Different Results

Dave Rowry was the Junior Varsity baseball coach during my junior year in high school.  I played on both JV and Varsity teams that season (sparingly on Varsity).  Typically, a junior who was on JV might get a bit discouraged and finally give up the sport, but varsity was loaded with seniors and I loved the game. I just wanted to play.

In the end, it was all to my benefit because I was able to experience another example of leadership that I still reflect on.

Coach Rowry was filling in for one season, so he could have done the minimum and then passed things on, largely intact, to the next person who took on the role.  But, he didn't do that.  He built a team that was disciplined and understood that a team often requires people to take on roles.  While he did not waste many words on long explanations, we rarely were asked to do things without knowledge of the 'why' that came with the task.  

There was one coach that applauded my determination to back up first base.   Guess who that was?

It was clear when he was pleased with your efforts and it was equally clear when he was not.  He made more noise applauding hustle, effort, and being a team player than he did when a player simply succeeded on natural ability.  He put people in positions where their skill set would be most likely to succeed.  

Coach Rowry took note prior to game 17 that I had played 16 games without an error.  Then he said (with a mischievous smile), "We can't have that." 

Actually, he was calling attention to something I was very aware of because it was personal to me. I took pride in playing excellent defense. But, of course, no one else was going to notice unless the coach called attention to it. And he did all of this so the rest of the team could hear it. He was displaying, for my peers to see, his amazement that I had played excellent defense and was affirming that I had been an important part of the team.

He found a way to do that for each individual without making it seem like he was trying too hard to think of something. That’s a gift I wish more leaders had - but I know it isn’t easy to learn how to do it.

Sure enough, I had a tough play in right field during that last game that would have been a spectacular play if I could have held onto the ball.  Most scorekeepers would have given the player a hit. But, Coach Rowry noted that I had lost one step because I initially turned the wrong way on a ball that was driven over my head.  With no small amount of exaggerated glee, he told the scorekeeper to award me with an error rather than give a hit to the batter.  The message?  You've done great and I see that - and I know you can do even better!  And I believed it.

And, full disclosure, I was already disappointed that I missed that catch. I knew I had turned the wrong way and I expected to make that play nine times out of ten (at least). Difficult play? Yes. But, I still expected I would make it the next time it happened.

That team went 14-3 and every player contributed.

The next season, this JV team became the Varsity team, with only a couple different players. We had a different coach and most of the same player-pieces, we were playing similar teams since many of the JV players at other schools also moved up to Varsity. But this same group under different leadership never reached the same level of success, playing roughly .500 ball over the next couple of years. 

There are so many variables that one can never tell for certain what the causes might have been for different results.  But, I can tell you that strong leadership from one person brought more out of each participant and better results for the whole.

Chaos in the classroom

Most of us have examples in our lives of teachers we thought well of and those we... well… thought less well of.  Without belittling how incredibly difficult teaching can be, I bet most of us can list certain characteristics each of these teachers had that made them competent and effective leaders in the classroom. As a person who has been in both student and teacher roles, I know I can point to numerous examples where classroom leadership was successful and several others that were not.  

In my opinion, a successful leader of a classroom shows respect for the subject, respect for the profession, and respect for the learners.  

Certainly competence plays a role - I consider that part of the 'respect for the subject.'  But, I have seen clearly competent individuals belittle or make light of the very subject they intend to teach - especially when they have to teach introductory courses in their subject area.  Why in the world should students present their best efforts if the instructor makes it sound like they don't think it is worthy of that effort? Teachers who were great leaders understood that the introduction to a new subject is often the most difficult steps a new learner will take. And, as such, they take that stage of teaching and learning very seriously.

Teachers that are also great leaders signal to the students that they actually care about students and their learning.  These people send consistent messages about the desirability of acquiring knowledge and developing skills.  The best teachers found alternatives to keep as many people engaged and moving forward as was humanly possible  And, in all cases, they presented their topic as accurately as they could and showed professional competence as a model for students to emulate.

I am guessing that you learned to love and/or dislike an area of study partly because of one person and the qualities of leadership (good or bad) they exhibited when they served in the role as instructor. Of course, the choice to learn or not learn is still up to the learner, but when the teacher is also a good leader in the classroom, learners are more likely to make the choices to succeed.

Leadership Matters

I realize that many of us grow tired of the commercials, the constant attention, and the tension and worry that comes with Election Day in the United States (and elsewhere when it happens). I would like to encourage each of you to dig past the rhetoric and puffed up statements that are intended to inflame and anger. Instead, think about the people being placed before us and hold them up against these qualities.

• Good leadership encourages individuals to be part of a team.

• Good leadership allows for disagreement and hears different points of view, giving them value even when the final decision cannot have full consensus.

• Good leadership recognizes the value of roles of all types and understands the different viewpoints each role might bring with it.

• Good leadership is concerned about encouraging the highest level of excellence each team member is capable of achieving.

• Good leadership supports members who are struggling when they need it, encourages those who need encouragement, challenges those who could use it, and adjusts so the entire team succeeds with the support of each team member.

• Good leaders are role models - recognizing that they represent the whole.  And, when they do poorly, they recognize it reflects badly on more than just themselves.

• Good leaders exhibit integrity and competence. 

• Good leaders instill confidence. 

• Good leaders take communication seriously

• Good leaders accept responsibility.

• Good leaders acknowledge their own failures and work to adapt and change to address them as best as they are able. 

• Good leaders stand up for all people when any of them feel threatened or weakened.

• Good leaders are always looking to improve themselves.

• And the best leaders recognize that they lead effectively only when they serve.

Thank you for considering my thoughts and words. I hope they are of use to you in some way.