Leadership Traits Part 4

In Welcoming New Leaders in Education from Actualization, Walter McKenzie talks about some leadership traits. He asks,

“How do these leadership traits resonate with you?”

Here is part 4 of 5 where I will share my thoughts of specific traits that he listed.

“Balanced – protecting personal happiness while pursuing professional success
Accountable – self-monitoring performance, learning and growth
Ethical – acting with honesty, integrity and a low tolerance for hypocrisy”

Balanced:
Too many times I have seen teachers leave our profession. I hear about how hard they work, how much their life is consumed by paperwork, conferences, standards, testing, etc. Yet, these are the teachers that don’t seem to talk about their life outside of teaching. I tell many young teachers that this is the way to burn out quickly. It is important to have balance in my life. I have hobbies and exercise to relieve my stress. I love teaching but it doesn’t consume every waking moment of my life. It can’t. It shouldn’t. That is not the sign of a good leader. Instead, it is a sign of someone who can’t control their own life.

Accountable:
Being accountable is what helps me meet my goals. Without being accountable, I wouldn’t know what I have achieved or how far I have come. I like to set professional goals and personal goals so that I am constantly growing. Without growth, I will become stagnant and dull. A good leader needs to be working towards growth at all times.

Ethical:
Ethics involves my values and my integrity. Without them, I have nothing. When I give my word I stick to it. Whenever I meet someone who lies to me, I lose respect and trust for that person. Without respect and trust, I have no desire to work with someone like this. The main reason I have moved to a new job is because I have lost respect and trust for my boss. I do not want others to feel this way about me so I have some basic principles that I follow.
1. I don’t talk behind someone’s back. If I talk about them even in passing, I mention it to them.
2. If I have nothing nice to say, I keep my mouth shut.
3. I will not lie.


How do you feel about these traits? Do you agree or disagree? Please share.

Image: 'Transformational Leadership'
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