A Refusal to Prepare for Leadership
As mentioned yesterday, I would like to spend some time this week talking about Greenleaf's views on Servant Leadership in Education, from his essay by the same title in Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness. Bear in mind that this was first published in 1972!
There are three major faults within education from the viewpoint of servant leadership, according to Greenleaf. The first fault is "for the refusal to offer explicit preparation for leadership to those who have the potential for it." Greenleaf goes so far as to say that he suspects some influential educators not only denigrate leadership but administer what has been called an anti-leadership vaccine.
Do you agree with Greenleaf's assessment? What was your experience when you were in the classroom? I realize for some of you this was awhile ago, but think back as best you can! Can you recall any educators, especially at the university level, that inspired you and encouraged you to grow as a leader? Isn't this something that every educator should be doing?
My experience tells me that too many educators are overly concerned about the abstract concepts within their discipline. Too many educators either: 1) don't see the value of integrating leadership principles into their daily lectures and exercises; or 2) don't want to spend the time to learn how to do this.
Two Questions:
1) What does your experience tell you?
2) If we do need to change the culture among educators, what actions can we take to do so?
There are three major faults within education from the viewpoint of servant leadership, according to Greenleaf. The first fault is "for the refusal to offer explicit preparation for leadership to those who have the potential for it." Greenleaf goes so far as to say that he suspects some influential educators not only denigrate leadership but administer what has been called an anti-leadership vaccine.
Do you agree with Greenleaf's assessment? What was your experience when you were in the classroom? I realize for some of you this was awhile ago, but think back as best you can! Can you recall any educators, especially at the university level, that inspired you and encouraged you to grow as a leader? Isn't this something that every educator should be doing?
My experience tells me that too many educators are overly concerned about the abstract concepts within their discipline. Too many educators either: 1) don't see the value of integrating leadership principles into their daily lectures and exercises; or 2) don't want to spend the time to learn how to do this.
Two Questions:
1) What does your experience tell you?
2) If we do need to change the culture among educators, what actions can we take to do so?
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