As a society, we would like to believe
that our most influential leaders truly have our best interests at heart. There is a naivety in all of us that we are
electing good people who want to put the public’s needs first, make decisions
based on ethical principles, and to place themselves second to the promotion of
the greater good, but that is simply not the case. I had a friend who is in politics who told
me many times that you cannot get ahead in politics without being highly
self-centered because a better part of a political career is about promoting
yourself and your interests. People
travel to listen to these people speak, pay massive amounts of money to fund
their campaigns, and rally around them like a pack of high school cheerleaders
throughout elections, so it is no wonder that these individuals begin to buy
into themselves and see their personal importance as greater than the
constituents who support them. Trends
and tendencies indicate that the individuals that we put in political
leadership positions are not going to keep their promises and will choose to
serve themselves before serving their public, yet, for those of us who believe
in democracy and consensus, hope springs eternal. We hope for the best and brace for the worse
in a political vicious circle of optimism, disappointment, and cynicism, but we
continuously find ourselves back in the optimism phase because we all want to
believe in the idea and existence of true, ethical, and honorable leadership.
While reading Kendra Cherry’s article, Leadership Theories: Eight Major Leadership
Theories, it occurred to me that many politicians buy into the “Great Man”
theory of leadership because they have to have that kind of unabashed level of
self-confidence and belief in their own extraordinarily unique gifts to ask
people to donate time, money, and energy to support their personal causes. Like
many Great Men who everyone assumes will live up to their Great Man reputation,
many of these political leaders fall short of their promise when events become
convoluted and issues become problematic.
The “Great Man” theory of leadership revolves around personal and public
perception, but it does not take character traits that revolve around integrity
and principle into account as a viable component of being a leader. This leadership theory is a self-serving form
of governance where personal promotion is the priority, making the good of the
masses secondary to the welfare of the leader.
Teachers are transformational
leaders. We take our leadership position
as a role of guidance and facilitation as opposed to one of authority and grandeur. Successful leadership revolves around the
growth and accomplishments met by our students as opposed to personal accolades
and honors. Our students come
first. We come to school early, we stay
at school late, and we work on weekends to create appropriate lessons,
individualized supports, and effective curriculum to allow all of our
students to meet their full potential. Our personal success is found in our
students’ success. Cherry notes, “These leaders are focused on the performance
of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential.
Leaders with this style often have high ethical and moral standards (2015).”
Teachers do not pick education as a career for monetary gain. We do not pick it for the prestige of the
career. We choose to be teachers because
we want to make a difference in children’s lives. We choose this profession because we want to
have a positive effect on the future, but in reality, education chooses us. The
nature of this wonderful vocation carefully selects its members, filters out
the individuals who may not be up for this calling, and settles comfortably in
the hearts, minds, and spirits of those who were placed on this Earth to pass
on knowledge, care, and compassion to our students, who we hope will grow into future "Great Men".
References
Cherry, K. (2019, October 11). The Major
Leadership Theories: The Eight Major Theories of Leadership. Retrieved
from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-theories-2795323
