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Robert Scott
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan
I’m the person that doesn’t necessarily consider myself a leader. I’ve never had a title that put me directly in that capacity. However, many times throughout my life, I’ve found myself leading from the bottom up. Now, as I find myself studying leadership, I realize that I was able to do that because I had leaders that trusted me and looked to me for advice.
When in the military, leadership is distinctly defined and orders appear straight forward, but my service experience was different. After basic military training and technical training, I found myself in several roles that required me to train others within my unit. I was a physical training leader, a unit director on personnel systems matters, and an IT coordinator. I trained others daily on how to correctly input secret information into Air Force systems.
Yet, I was an airman that had been in the military for less than a year.
I found myself in the position out of sheer luck and the willingness to say “yes”. My commander asked who could do the job, and honestly, I didn’t know any better, but I put myself out there to learn. I led from the bottom up! I was able to do this because my commander liked that I was eager, and he was open to letting me try!
This story is like rice in a dish. Every good dish needs a solid foundation. From that foundation, you can add spices and top with delicious meats and veggies! Rice can make or break a meal, just as every good leader with a solid base can extend their leadership beyond themselves. Good leaders empower others and encourage them to take on leadership roles. Leaders are to train other leaders, with the ultimate goal of seamless operations and the perfect team.
As a high school biology teacher, I find myself often caught in the middle. I lead and empower students, and sometimes, depending upon the circumstances, and administration, I find myself leading colleagues within the school site or district. Within the district, I’ve worked as a science curriculum director, and have counseled school sites on our continuous improvement model.
At the school site level, I’m a department chair and teacher. All of which I never considered leadership roles until embarking upon my quest to complete a doctorate degree.
I’m the rice at all levels.
Thanks to great leaders, I’ve been the foundation and represented the organization. I see it as a bottom-up model. Those at the bottom make the greatest impact as we are with the students and customers. While those at the top support and manage those at the bottom, to ensure they are performing to the best of their ability. One common strategy that is often employed is that of creating teams to lead.
Team leadership has become prevalent in today’s society. It relies on a multitude of other leadership styles to accomplish complex work at a fast pace. It does this by removing the top leadership from the organizational structure. In essence, it flattens the leadership tiers.
With the onset of globalization and technology, it has become necessary to utilize this leadership style in order to be competitive. There are several different team structures to include “senior executive teams, project management teams, task forces, work units, standing committees, quality teams, and improvement teams” (Northouse, 2019, description section, para. 1). In these teams, members are independent with common goals. They may meet in person, or virtually.
Good teams have increased productivity, make better decisions and utilize resources more effectively. The three-legged stool, as Senge (2012) describes it, helps build better teams and individuals. Aspiring towards a goal, communicating on that goal, and understanding the intricate parts associated with it, leaves little to chance.
Teams that practice this approach produce results that are of higher quality and tend to be more creative than teams with poor structure. Teams with problems, which are typically virtual teams, tend to lack trust for one another. Overall, teams must learn to divide up the leadership role and that involves a degree of risk (Northouse, 2019).
To accomplish this, the leader must have a wide variety of skills and the ability to match the needs of the team. Northouse (2019, as cited in Hackman 2012) discussed the eight characteristics all teams must have in order to ensure success: a clear and elevating goal, results-driven structure, competent team members, a unified commitment, a collaborate climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership.
Recipe for Leadership
Be dynamic.
Be willing to take risks.
Share the leadership role.
Trust in others.
Learn from your mistakes and develop new skills.
The title of a leader isn’t always needed.