I feel so fortunate to work for an institution that believes in life-long learning and supports my growth as both an employee and as an instructor. As I reflect on the past week in the leadership institute and the points that continue to resonate I am struck by the overall concept of what it means to be a leader and how leaders inspire 'the best' from others (those in their employment, or those with similar values and ideas in the case of a movement).
Ultimately leaders create a vision for the future and inspire others to join them on that path. When I participated in the Library Leadership and Development Program and the University of Saskatchewan, one of the principles that was shared with us was 'lead from where you stand'. In other words, anyone, at any position in the organization can be a leader and demonstrate the characteristics that we commonly associate with leadership. You can have a positive impact on your colleagues, act with integrity, lead by example and build trust. An example that comes to mind for leading by example occurred when my colleague and I were creating the D2L module for ATL on research skills. We modeled the way by strictly following copyright, referencing and citation practices. We were keen to provide a good example of how to use external resources 'properly' in an online course, providing a learning opportunity for those who viewed the class materials. It was a small thing, but might help to inspire others to follow suit.
The qualities that I admire most in a leader are accountability, and integrity. I also am in awe of those who stand up for what they believe in and use their voice to advocate for social justice issues. One of the greatest leaders in the world right now is Greta Thunberg, a Swedish student who is an outspoken climate activist inspiring millions of people to participate in weekly 'School Strikes for Climate'. In her own words, she has said that "no one is too small to make a difference" (Hewitt, 2019, para. 3). This principle complements 'lead from where you stand' as it recognizes that anyone can be a leader and can have a positive impact on the world around them.
References
Hewitt, R. (2019, May 29). No one is too small to make a difference review Greta Thunberg's vision. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/29/greta-thunberg-review-speeches-that-appeal-to-both-heart-and-mind.
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