What will be your Leadership Legacy?

Shirley Kavanagh NAPD Conference 2014

What is Leadership?

"Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth." Burns 1970.

“Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow” Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner 1990

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do things you want done because they want to do it” Dwight D Eisenhower

“Leadership is about influence, nothing more nothing less” John Maxwell

“If your actions inspire others to learn more, dream more, do more and become more, you are a leader” John Quincy Adams

What you say about Leadership

“Leadership is about coping with change”

“Leadership is about having a calmness about you, it reassures others that you are in control”

It’s about having an ability to cope

with Pressure.Don’t Panic Everyone!

“It’s about staying calm. Shut the

door and in your office let out that

roar!”

“It’s about being a good listener. You

might not like all you hear but your staff somebody who will

to listen”

“It’s about being adaptable, about taking charge and

about communicating to staff, students and

parents”

Some Assumptions about Leadership

• There is no single, “right” leadership style• The ability to lead others is underpinned by a thorough and honest understanding

of your own strengths and limitations • Leadership is a life-long learning journey – what got you here may not get you to

the next step in that journey• Leadership requires the mobilisation of creativity and innovation, it does not mean

that all new ideas must come from the leader• Relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow• Leadership is grounded on the ability to engage and encourage the hearts of

others -- to help them to derive a sense of purpose in and from their work• Today relies more upon the ability to connect, than upon the exercise of command

and control• Leaders must be clear about the imprint they wish to leave on their organisations

and then frame their action and behaviours with that legacy in mind

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And some key assumptions about behaviour

Leadership is a fishbowl

Performance is contractual -- Effort Is personal

Intent is not action

Relationships Matter,

Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast

People have to trust the messenger before they will trust the message

Data may guide the head and the hands but stories move the heart

Everything’s a theory until you try it

The Principals Dilemma - Leadership and Management

Management Leadership

Coping with complexity Coping with Change

Both necessary for success and must be balanced

Management Leadership

What is a good Leader?

Build Trust

Forward Looking

Integrity

Knowing what you

don’t know

Engage People

Being able to Inspire

Resilient

Courage

Some thoughts from Leaders

So what can we say now about Leadership

Communicate Effectively

Authentic

Influencing

Self Aware“Emotionally

Intelligent”Resilient

Recognise and develop their

people

Inspire and EngagePeople

Role model desired

behavioursImprove and

change things and look for a

better way Leave a Footprint

Earning the Right to Lead

A critical factor impacting peoples’ decision to follow is your authenticity as a leader:

• It is the alignment of your actions and objectives with your beliefs and values

• It is the ability to be resilient and take the roles very seriously – but not oneself

• It is the willingness – as much as the ability- to help others to use their talent and capability to succeed

• It is the willingness to lead with and from the heart

The Foundations of Authenticity

• Display a consistency between their words and their deeds– They practice what they preach

• Demonstrate coherence in their performance of the different roles and duties and what’s expected of them

• Are comfortable with their styles and the actions they take– They display confidence and optimism even when facing new and difficult

situations or issues

• Are eager to learn about themselves and able to use that learning to enhance effectiveness– They are reflective about their actions and proactive in seeking out feedback.

Authentic Leaders

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Questions to ask “The Person in The Mirror”

• Personal values and motivational drivers– What really matters to me? – What gives me a true sense of purpose in my work as a leader?

• Leadership focus and priorities– Do my commitments match my values?– Does how I spend my time and energy reflect my priorities?

• Balance and perspective– Can I look at situations from multiple viewpoints, including those quite different from my own?– Am I open to challenge? Can I effectively challenge and influence the thinking of others?

• Resilience and self-confidence– Can I accept who I am in order to use my strengths to best advantage?– Am I willing to acknowledge and to address my weaknesses in order to drive my continuous

personal growth?• Genuine humility

– Do I always remember to not take myself too seriously, but to take the job very seriously?– Do I truly value the contribution of others and treat them with genuine respect?

What is a Leadership Legacy?

How your colleagues, your staff, your partners

Think, Feel and BehaveAs a result of the time they

spent working with you

Your legacy is not about image it is about effect

It is about you becoming a role model for others

React

Relate

Respond

….to one another

….to problems & opportunities

….to successes & set backs

….to change & the unknown

….to the next new thing

It is the model you create and ‘live’ for how people should

Let’s try it! - Your Legacy Statement

Before you start to think about your legacy statement, a few hints and tips:• Not as easy as it looks!• Focus on behaviours!• This is an aspirational statement • Be challenging and Stretching• Be as clear and specific as you can but don’t

seek perfection!

“One Child, one teacher,one pen and one book can change the world”

One Final Thought!

Some Tips and Tools

Why should anyone be led by you?

• What drives you to want to be a Leader?• What special capabilities do you offer?• How do those capabilities provide value to the people with

whom you work?• How do those capabilities add value to your school?

Learning Lessons Conducting an After Action Review

• What was supposed to happen?• What actually happened?• Why was there a difference?• What have we learned?

Four Questions, One flip chart, People Involved and someone to facilitate

Requirements

Guidelines for difficult conversations or feedback

Some Do’s• Be certain that you know what you really want out of the conversation• Consider how you will manage your own emotions -- before you begin the exchange • Identify the parts of the discussion that are safe to talk about and will not produce ‘fight or

flight’• Be specific• Give immediate and direct feedback• Accept responsibility for your perception and emotion – use ‘I’ statements• Check to make sure you are understood• Give the recipient time to react/reflect• Play the ball not the player – it’s about behaviour and actions not personalitySome Don'ts• Don’t evaluate or judge - describe• Don’t end without drawing out the implications and action plans.• Don’t feel obliges to fill up silences.• Don’t exhibit behaviours that may be perceived as boredom!

The Difficult Conversations

Apply the 5 / 5 / 5 Testo What do you think will be remembered in 5 minutes?

o How will the conversation be remembered in 5 hours?

o How will your message be remembered in 5 days?

Don’t avoid the Elephant in the room!

• Prepare and Circulate an agenda in advance – let people know the objective of the meeting . • Keep things moving rapidly along.• Cover each point on the agenda in order and in the alotted time• Involve each of the participants, ask for input.• Bring things to a clear conclusion and get the necessary decisions • Only organise a meeting when it is necessary to do so.• Assign responsibility for topic discussions in the agenda• Start and end the meeting meeting on time• If a problem cannot be resolved, appoint someone to conduct further investigations and put it on

agenda for the next meeting.• Don’t be afraid to ask for written reports instead of calling meetings• Appoint someone to create action points with target dates and circulate these quickly following

the meeting. Make sure you follow up progress.• Always end on a positive stimulating note.

Organising and Chairing a Super Productive Meeting

Effective Presentations

1. Clarify the message you want to get across2. Consider your audience3. Practise and rehearse4. Assert Yourself

– Posture– Presence – Don’t apologise!

5. Make contact with your audience6. Use your voice – Volume, Pace, Pitch7. Breathe – make a conscious effort to pause and establish comfortable

breathing patterns8. Drink – warm water, don’t gulp ice cold water this will constrict your

voice9. Finally, a note about humour – only use it if you know it will work!