Leadership and Change

by May Anne Joy D. Romanes

I wrote this article back in 2016 as a newbie teacher in a public school. Three years after, I have been leading the best breed of teachers--the teacher-researchers--in one of the exemplary Schools Division in the country.  It is nice to go back to what I have been reflecting before, and how my views grow with time and experience.

A lot has been said and written about leadership. There might be more harmful than positive notes about it. Nevertheless, it would be more beneficial to swim in a river of positive things about leadership than to loathe a filthy river of negativity of management.

A good leader grows their people, and at the same time, grows with them (Green as cited by Brainy Quote, n.d.). Surely, who would not want to pride themselves of being the best and brightest in the pack; however, life had never been generous with perfection; hence, people must change in order to improve.

Change, as a word, is well-loved and well-used by a myriad of leaders. The thing is, everyone seems to like the idea of change; however, if the things that need to be changed were pointed out, often, adverse reactions result. This leaves people puzzled, whether people genuinely want change, or not.

Heifetz (as cited by Goodreads, 2017) wrote that people want to change when they believe that it is a good thing. Hence, the challenge to the leaders is to present change to the members, as if they are giving them a gift—though people do not know what is in store for them, they are excited and will happily exert an effort to know what it is. Aside from being a catalyst for change, a good leader is a servant. Without a doubt, serving is the most critical function of a leader. It is difficult to imagine a leader who is incapable of action. In the first place, true leaders love action. They believe that service adds meaning to their own life (Schwarzenegger as cited by Brainy Quote, n.d.). That is to say, the more they serve people in its purest sense, the more they find significance in their life. Further, they believe that whatever has been done to others will find its way to be reciprocated, and sometimes it goes back even more, although it is noteworthy that no amount of reward can equal the whole-hearted service of a good leader.

No matter how good a leader is, he/she cannot do everything alone in the organization; otherwise, it will not be sustainable. Although it is of the highest nobility to serve our members well, we should not deny them the pleasure and pains of learning and growing. The life of the organization is determined by how the people identify themselves with it. Hence, the more the goals of an organization are similar to that of its people, the more they would commit themselves. This is the basic service that a good leader could give to the members—to help reach their goals while reaching theirs. Hence, a good leader does not only look into ‘what is in it’ for the organization but also looks ‘what is in it’ for his/her people.

A Chinese proverb warned that leadership is a cold and lonely place (Reach Education, 2017). To the millennials, it is a lonely gig (Leadership Crescendo, 2012). The change removes people from their happy, comfortable places, but to serve with one’s whole heart brings joy (Tagore, as cited by Brainy Quote, n.d.). Thus, it can be said that leading through genuine service and love to the people does brings not only change but also brings joy. Because of this, leadership becomes a happy gig.


References:

Goodreads. (2017). Ronald A. Heifetz > Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/122962.Ronald_A_Heifetz

Leadership Crescendo. (2012). Leadership is a lonely gig. Retrieved from https://
leadershipcrescendo.com/2012/06/21/leadership-is-a-lonely-gig/

Reach Education. (2017). Leadership can be a lonely place. Retrieved from https://www.reached.co.nz/leadership-a-lonely-place/