Introduction

	We All Need The Same Training
	Leadership vs. Management
	What Is Leadership?
	Human Wants
	Four Competencies Needed
	Three Kinds Of Leaders
	Primary Needs
	Secondary Needs

Four Competencies Needed To Be Effective Leaders

There are four areas of knowledge you must have to even begin to be a successful leader. First, you must know yourself—intimately. Second, you must know your people—inside and out. Third, you must know your job—completely. Fourth, you must know the laws and principles as they relate to leading yourself, leading others, and causing them to want your leadership. Extensive knowledge in these four areas is the best preparation one can have to become and remain a successful leader.

First, We Must Know Ourselves

Leadership competency begins with knowing ourselves very, very well. What we know about ourselves coupled with how we feel about ourselves as human beings, as professional educators, and as leaders, is of paramount importance to our effectiveness. Many of us learned the teaching "Love thy neighbor as thyself." In truth, however, we may have learned the "Love thy neighbor" part the best—and overlooked or even shied away from the "as thyself" part. Yet, it is the whole teaching of these words that has worth and meaning to us and those we lead—and for good reason. We can't and probably won't do much for others unless we feel pretty good about ourselves. Love, like charity, begins at home.

Knowing ourselves includes recognizing that all of us are actually three people in one: what we are, what we think we are, and what others think we are. What we think of ourselves is very important, but not more important than what we really are, of course. And a close look will reveal that, as leaders in the classroom or school, we often try to operate out of what we are or what we think we are. In leadership and management situations, however, the truth is what others think we are. That's right, truth in a leadership situation is whatever those being led believe to be so. This is the truth we have to concern ourselves with—and deal with—as we lead people. We must feel very good about ourselves to be able to make adjustments and handle and deal with this reality of leadership and management.

Therefore, what others think we are is the most important factor we must deal with in leading others. If our students or staff think we are unfair or that we're incompetent, arrogant, or a poor communicator, it doesn't really make any difference whether we are or not. We must deal with—and trust as reality—the perception of those being led. Remember, right and wrong and good and bad are immaterial. What those being led think is the primary issue when it comes to functioning successfully as a leader. And we can't say "They're wrong"—and forget the issue—even if they are wrong in their perception. Neither can we make long lists which prove them wrong and then discount what they think. Rather, we must accept student or staff perceptions as the truths which count—and take action to change these perceptions of us. We must know ourselves and feel good about ourselves to operate from this platform.

As leaders, we must also know ourselves well because we are all the result of our experiences—past, present, and anticipated. Whether we were a poor child or a wealthy one, our past experiences as human beings can dictate that we bring our past to our jobs in some way. Whether we love our work or hate our work, we bring the present to our job. And if we are looking forward to retirement, the future and the experiences we anticipate may prevent us from doing the job today. We must recognize that we all have expectations, prejudices, idiosyncrasies, and hang-ups as the result of our experiences. That's why we must know ourselves intimately. If we don't, we may impose our weak side or dark side on those we lead. If we don't know ourselves, we may abuse our positional power and victimize rather than lead those in our charge. If we don't know ourselves, we may not know what changes or adjustments we need to make to cause others to want our leadership. That's why knowing ourselves is a prerequisite for becoming and remaining an effective leader who leads in the right ways for the right reasons.

Second, We Must Know Our People

To lead effectively, we must also know our people—thoroughly. We may not be psychiatrists or psychologists, but we must be behaviorists and know human behavior. We must know what makes our people "tick." We must know their strengths and weaknesses. We must know what turns them on and what turns them off. Without such knowledge, we won't be able to motivate people with the right ideas, the right work, and the right methods or techniques. We won't have the right expectations. Rather, we're apt to try to lead by treating all people the same. Worse, we probably won't make any adjustments to cause others to want our leadership, because we won't know what adjustments to make with each person we are leading.

We need to know human behavior and those we lead because people are our number-one responsibility and our number-one asset in the classroom, the school, and the district. It's hard to help people win if we don't know them or know what motivates them as human beings. And it's hard to get the work of the classroom, school, or district accomplished if we don't know the strengths and weaknesses of the people doing the work.

We must know people because the day of "We'll do it my way because I'm the boss" is over. It's gone—forever. So is the myth that the higher we go in position or title, the more others must adjust to us and follow our commands and demands. It doesn't work that way. In fact, the opposite is really the truth. The higher people go in title, rank, position, or function, the more knowledge of human behavior they must have. The higher they go in position, the more methods, techniques, and skills they must know and be able to employ to get people to do what they want and need them to do.

We must know those being led individually, because we don't lead groups. We lead individuals. And this is done by acquiring a thorough understanding of the primary needs, secondary needs, and people motivators. We need this knowledge to lead people. We need this knowledge to know how to engage people, meet their needs, and cause them to want our leadership.

As leaders, we are in a people profession. We have to lead people to get work accomplished and to experience success. And we have many different kinds of people to lead: students, parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, cooks, custodians, nurses, bus drivers, aides, and many others. If we don't understand human behavior and know those we lead, the chances of our being an exceptional leader in the classroom, the school, or the district are very slim.

Third, We Must Know Our Job

As we said earlier, there are two sides to every job in a school—for leaders and followers alike: the technical side and the people side. We must be highly competent on both sides of our job if we intend to be successful. Unfortunately, schools often spend 85 percent or more of their budgets on employee salaries—and less than 1 percent on continuous training to increase the value of the school's most important investment: the faculty and staff. It really doesn't make much sense. After all, it's a fact of life that teachers and administrators must grow continually if they intend to survive, much less find exceptional success.

In any job, we are continually faced with the decision to concentrate our efforts, expertise, and resources on either things or people. We often focus on things because they are tangible. We can see and touch them. And things are so much easier to manage. Yet, the vast majority of the material things we use in schools come and go. They get used up or worn out. But people stay. It may not be the same people—but they're still people. And the new people who come into our classrooms and schools will be more like than unlike people of the past who worked in our school or studied in our classrooms. We need to ponder this reality if we think getting rid of a couple of people will solve all our problems.

The students who come to our classes next year will be more like than unlike those we have this year. Why? Because all people have the same primary and secondary needs. All people have the same motivators, even though their motivators vary in degrees of intensity. We need to remember this fact the next time we think our problems would be over if we could get one particular student out of our class. When people leave, they are replaced by other people—and these people will be more like than unlike those who left. We must have equal competency on both sides of our jobs—the technical side and the people side—if we intend to be highly effective leaders.

Fourth, We Must Know The Laws and Principles

We also must know the laws and principles of leadership and management as they relate to leading ourselves—and leading people. The value of the laws and principles cannot be overstated. If you want to play the game, you've got to know the rules. The laws are the rules of the game. They should be seen as guideposts to use in every leadership situation. They are our leadership predictors or forecasters. They tell us what will usually happen to us, as well as to those we lead, if these laws and principles are violated. They continually give us insight, vision, and direction—even when we are bombarded with a hundred different urgings or requests. The laws help us act wisely because they apply in every situation—normal or abnormal. They also apply in every instance of decision-making and problem-solving and helping people move to higher levels of performance. The laws give a leader consistency in thinking and effort. They always agree with sound teaching and management practices. They give constant direction that is in agreement with leading and functioning in agreement with the work and mission of the organization. Better yet, the laws give a conditioned response in the many problem situations we face. The laws give us a support system to follow continually—and a way to take the trial and error out of leading.

The laws are objective, not subjective. They reveal the normalcy of people and their behavior. Therefore, we are less likely to believe those we lead are bad and are more likely to see them as human beings who have limitations and shortcomings—and then have the perspective to respond accordingly. Equally important, these laws govern all of us in leadership positions: students, teachers, staff, and administrators. When these laws are taught to those being led, everyone benefits because we can all operate with the same foundations, values, and opportunities for success.

The laws and principles of leadership and management are the foundation for effective leadership practices. In truth, these laws and principles are just like economic laws. Nobody created the economic laws. It's just the way things work. And so it is with the laws and principles written in this book. However, in successful schools, teachers, principals, and superintendents are applying these laws whether they know it or not—naturally. In places that are failing, leaders are almost always doing exactly the opposite of what these laws teach.

These are the benefits of the laws to every teacher, principal, and superintendent. This is why every leader ought to know these laws and principles as they relate to leading themselves and leading others. When they do, leading is made easier and following the leader becomes a more productive and satisfying experience as well.