Page 17 - Leadership Platform

Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird said “You never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and
walk around in it”. I think empathy is very important in leadership and it can be
an advantage as it is a mirror to how others perceive your own decisions.

Me?
So how would people perceive me as a leader in terms of the LINKS leadership
metaphors? Sometimes I am a boundary rider, making things easier for my team,
and sometimes I am at the hub, a central point of reference; I think that flexibility
is fine as long as it is coupled with purpose.

Change?

Einstein said “The important thing is not to stop questioning”.
I think that this can lead to efficiency in the fast changing world of education as
we need to prioritise change. I agree with Peter Drucker’s statement that “There
is nothing as useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all”.

Nonetheless, a core part of a Leader’s job is implementing change. That change,
even when it has clear benefits, will not always be popular. But it helps if you
have been working towards a happy environment in your team. I have decided
that a few cakes help collaboration. And that’s one thing that we have definitely
learnt on the LINKS course!
Going on?

Sometimes good strategies can be muddled by over-elaboration. I hope that my
Platform will be a useful snapshot of what I think about leadership now. If I go
on much more it will not be something my memory can easily recall, limiting its
usefulness, so I am stopping here. But my thoughts on what it means to be a
good leader won’t.

Jonathan Barton, Sha Tin College

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