What can Educators rediscover about themselves through their students? In “The Leadership Manifesto”, there is a chapter as part of the inner development of a leader that refers to forgetting about unquestioned beliefs. This chapter focuses especially on the parts of our belief system that we have carried with us for a long time and that we may need to leave behind when we take on responsibility.
Leadership challenges tradition, and so does Leadership in Education. This does not simply refer to the need to change traditional teaching styles. As I have already mentioned, you do not become an Educational Leader just because you decide to change your teaching methods. However, changing our teaching methods can be a great starting point if we want to rediscover ourselves as leaders through the unexpected decisions of our learners. In fact, these decisions can make Educators reconsider their own habits and rearrange their plans. This kind of flexibility may sometimes be difficult to achieve, but the Leadership skill developed through this process is extremely valuable because it encourages creativity. It is the same creativity that young learners develop every time they think differently and explore an alternative way of approaching something.
When Educators are willing to change what is not working for their students, even when they do not always agree with their choices, they can also recognize that Leadership is not about maintaining authority at all costs. Someone might say that this sounds easy, but it is not. You can prove this to yourself by thinking about how insecure you may have felt when a student asked you something you did not know, or when a student supported an opinion more strongly than you were prepared to handle. Through the TRU-GUT Method, Educators have the opportunity to change the way they lead because their leadership becomes a visible process. Learners can observe how their Educator responds to difficulties, adapts to unexpected situations and reconsiders decisions when necessary. Students learn about Leadership by watching their Educator practice it, while the Educator has the opportunity to reflect on their own Leadership journey. Teaching then becomes a means of getting closer to students as individuals, rather than focusing only on the knowledge that needs to be acquired.
In The Leadership Manifesto, I refer to the profound moment when you ask yourself whether every belief you have inherited still serves the person you have become. This is one of the most important lessons an Educator can gain when deciding to become a Leader. The Educator not only begins to understand what their own transformation involves but also becomes more confident when responding to questions that their traditional way of thinking may previously have prevented them from considering. The Educator as a Leader remains the same person but develops a different set of skills and a new understanding of their role. These skills eventually allow the Educator to set an important example for their students. The students do not simply hear about Leadership; they experience it through the transformation of the person guiding them. This is how Education can become an opportunity to move beyond the transmission of knowledge and towards the development of Leadership.
In The Leadership Manifesto, I refer to the profound moment when you ask yourself whether every belief you have inherited still serves the person you have become. This is one of the most important lessons an Educator can gain when deciding to become a Leader.