Saw a Tweet today that said "Would you rather be liked or effective?"
This Tweet really aggravated me!
Well, why can't you be both???
Shouldn't you be both?
Why do I have to choose
Perhaps the most important piece of being an effective long term leader is to develop trust. If you haven't invested the time in developing relationships, people are mush more likely to revert back to their previous behaviors.
Today I was fortunate enough to attend VASCD in Williamsburg Virginia, and hear Andy Hargreaves speak. One piece that struck a chord with me was when he discussed teachers that are later along in their career and have become less motivated, less engaged in the their profession. He spoke elegantly about reengaging these teachers that have the experience and the knowledge but have become jaded and less committed to their profession
Do you really think you can motivate, encourage, and nudge these jaded teachers back onto the right path if they don't like you? You must build that social capital before you can raise and improve your human capital.
I take pride in my ability to develop social capital in my building and between my staff and myself. I like and trust them, and I believe they feel the same way about me. I use the social capital I develop every day as I provide feedback, critique, correct, and cajole staff members. This way I can develop my human capital (staff) and make sure that we are providing students with the best possible education.
Liked or effective?
In my opinion, you can't be one without the other.
I think the issue is that a leader can't make being "liked" one of their goals. Leaders must make difficult and frequently unpopular decisions in an effort to move an organization forward. Hopefully, in the long run these decision will lead the organization closer to meeting their long term goals. and fulfilling their missions. If so, trust will be developed.
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