A view of leadership as it pertains to equality in Essays - Chivalry

A view of leadership as it pertains to equality in education for all students regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status will be reviewed during this 2010 Go Global experience in South Africa. In preparation for this trip, different articles and books were reviewed for insight on management and leadership. Included in these readings were suggestions on how best to lead, as well as direction for handling toxic relationships. Toxic relationships can be defined as those relationships that are shadowed with negativity and tend to be reactive and judgment based in nature. Creating a sense of team building and acceptance were found to be key roles for those in leadership positions. Leaders should have a sense of direction, not misuse their power, and should be able to inspire others. A leader should also be humble in attitude and encourage all team members to brain storm and contribute to the task. Whether leading personally or professionally, in a business or in a school, a leader should recognize the dynamics of the group under their direction and be able to modify accordingly. While great leaders should be flexible, they must retain their convictions and focus toward attaining the goal or vision. It has been through a conviction that great leaders have inspired others to desire and create change. These leaders have intelligently led by example, never condemning another's beliefs, but instead inspiring in others the desire to change. It is through charisma and intuitiveness that leaders are able to begin movements that create change. Movements for change are not limited to only political greats, they are also found in our own school systems. Assuming the role of the leader in a school must be carefully considered. It should be a role that one assumes with the understanding that they will both directly and indirectly affect, either positively or negatively, many that will follow their lead. Staff and students alike will be affected by the type of leadership roles they have in their school systems, so it must be remembered that school leadership is not limited to the parameters of the school, it affects generations that in turn will affect futures. "Life is an echo--- what you send out comes back." Chinese Proverb There have been many great leaders throughout history, including Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and even Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Each person was seeking to right a perceived injustice during a particular time in our history. Through history we have seen leaders who would initiate ideas that others would continue, some who would make contributions small, yet impactful, and others who would change the course of history. No matter the result, one thing was consistent, all great leaders throughout time possessed similar leadership qualities. Reading Response to Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republica Bohemian Rhapsody www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010218 Living Responsibly: Vaclav Havel's View www.acton.org/publciations/randl/rl_article_284.ph?/view=print Vaclav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia, has been compared to Nelson Mandela, being considered a "saint in the West." Havel, a playwright who put his career on hold to lead a group against communist totalitarianism, a man who would be imprisoned, and a leader who would later become president, is a man of conviction. Speaking and responding to the global force for freedom and the "long struggle between conscience and tyranny", Havel is the author of the essay on "the Power of the Powerless" which deals with the indifference seen in our Western cultures. "'It would be suicide for the world' -the indifference to the freedom of others ultimately becoming indifference to freedom for ourselves." Vaclav Havel The idea that if we assume apathy for circumstances that do not directly affect us, we will ultimately become indifferent to our own freedoms has much significance. It sends a message that we must work as a community in order to continue to move forward. Leaders play a crucial role in focusing their team. Their qualities must include the ability to persuade a group to work together for a common goal, and dissuade, without insult, those ideas that serve only a selected group. As future leaders, we must recognize that our beliefs should not be subjective, nor are they limited. Our goals should always serve the good of all. "The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart." Mr. Havel