Mentoring and Listening.
I firmly believe that a great leader is an exceptional listener. A leader listens to what was said, to what was not said, and to what people wanted to say (but didn’t). Beyond that, they can gather and synthesize this information into coherent packages and attach it to action: institutional, departmental, or individual change. A leader can expand on the conversation by drawing on theory, best practices, policies, or earlier experiences, and walk with people in the direction of improvement.
During my time in educational leadership, I have been involved mostly as an Associate Chair (mentor and colleague). In this position I assisted with the launch of programming at a new prison, which involved hiring, training, and continual mentoring of many new instructors. I found over time that developing relationships was crucial to ensuring new instructors were successful. They needed to know that I wanted the best for them. Staff needed to feel safe and supported in order to ask questions, debrief, and reflect. These conversations did not have to be scheduled. Like in teaching, often the most powerful moments are unplanned and out-of-the-blue. I think that a large part of leadership is noticing these moments and allowing time for these moments to appear. That is, relationships and personal growth happen in the in-between moments. They are just as important (if not more) than meetings, deadlines, and outputs. |