JEFFREY A. CLARK
@19jeffclark65
[email protected]
My Thoughts on Leadership!
I remember back in my undergraduate course when the always-wise Judy J. Harris read a poem I want a teacher… to us that was remade from another similar poem. I remember it listing all the qualities that a student might want in their teacher. As I reflected back at all my wonderful teachers and role models, most of the picture perfect qualities hit right home. I believe that all people have a similar picture in their mind about leaders – I know I do.
Although I can’t fathom creating a list at this point, I am confident that I can describe the type of leader I enjoy being around in any capacity. I know what I like to see and I certainly know that I like to exhibit. It’s funny because I really believe admired leaders are honest people who can have easy and tough conversations with people and maintain positive integrity. Being competent in the aspects of their leadership setting is crucial. A leader is a visionary who can almost predict outcomes in vital situation and act with superior intuition. Kouzes and Posner (2008) conducted four huge studies on the same subject matter over the course of the past 25 years. To define the magnitude, I am talking about four studies with 100,000+ subjects issued about every 7 years. The task was to identify the most important qualities of admired leaders. What is important to note is that honesty, forward thinking, competent, and intuitive were the top four responses on all four runs of the survey. Honesty was ALWAYS the top quality. If that makes me normal so be it.
The beauty of the leadership roles I have had the privilege of holding is that those characteristics had long built my thoughts and actions on how to lead people. I am fortunate to have led some really great talented people of all walks of life. I have worked hand in hand with people of traditional life styles, alternative life styles, both genders, and from a plethora of differing cultures. People are just that – people. One must respect that and continuously reflect on the benefits received from those quality people. Leadership is a gift and it snowballs as experience is gained. I have learned a lot from people - students, staff members, friends, and supervisors – all walks of life. Regardless of intentions, I have expanded my own leadership capacity from others.
To lead without trust is very difficult if not impossible. Establishing honesty and learning to love your staff builds trust. Honesty is truly the easy part, one just tells the truth, speaks with they know and admits when they do not. Learning to love the entire staff and the positive qualities they bring to children is more difficult. Everyone sees the weaknesses of others however; thought should be given to the strengths they encompass. A leaders job is simply to put people in a position to use their strengths and help them manage their weaknesses for they will never become strengths. Don Clifton knew this when he constructed his work with Gallop Inc. over a half century ago. Leaders don’t tear people down, they build others up. Be weary of the old adage that we are bringing someone in to clean house. That is not a leader, it’s a manager and there is a huge difference. As good as some think I am at leading people, if someone really wanted to flake away at my performance, they could do so in a matter of months.
I have read literally 100s of pieces of work on leadership and have learned to empower those around you and reward them for their work. Some might misconstrue those qualities as soft or easy, I would argue that those people are only in search of weaknesses and do not embellish the idea of strength finding. Do I work well with everyone? No, and no one with any strength in leadership will answer differently. My convictions differ from others, and many of these people are very smart. I find the main difference in how they treat others. People are the greatest resource any organization possesses. I have worked with people who made idiotic statements and decisions. I have worked with people whose attitude is viral, and I still do. It’s a fact of life, but to think you cannot still cohabitate in a workplace with them and not learn from that is short sighted. We learn what not to do in situations and how the actions of leaders impact job performance as well as a person’s health. This is all part of that snowball of leadership.
I admire many leaders. My parents, regardless of whether they admit to it or not, were my first leaders. I can’t list all the qualities they embedded into my life. They exposed me to my grandparents who were also leaders and models of what I am today. They emphasized learning and found a way to send me to college. Judy Harris had a memorable impact on my teaching, leading, and human empathy. Dr. Bob Bowers encouraged me to continue finding positions of leadership when those around me were twice my age. Jeff Maley and John Kuhn gave me my first “titled” leadership role and taught me how to make mistakes and improve. John taught me the power of having fun at work. Dr. Karen Mantia taught me the power of unpopular decisions. Buck, Bob, Tony, and Tom taught me the power of a great team. People ask all the time; Who is my most admired leader? – the answer always funnels down to Abraham Lincoln. It has very little to do with the difficult tasks he was dealt or his ability to abolish slavery. His actions were admirable. He led from the front. He was out on the battlefields with the men reassuring them that they were doing the right thing and always had his support and admiration. It all snowballs into who I am today and what the community in which I work gets out of me.
I only caution, because it’s vital. The airline flight attendants say it every flight. Put your mask on first, you can’t help others until you insure the safety of yourself. To be great, you have to control and manage your heart, sole, health, and family. I worked my first year as an assistant principal about 90 hours a week. I wanted to prove myself and I wanted to do the best I could. I survived, but only because I was young and tough. Buck always told us that she wanted quality not quantity. She’s right. I was put in a position about five years ago where my life and my work were out of balance and I was a poor leader, poor father, and miserable friend. My friends, family, staff, and leaders stuck with me until I fixed it. One has to stay healthy and sharp. Taking time away to spend with your family and friends grows the heart; it’s as vital as anything we do in leadership. I know this because it nearly killed me. I will never go back to that state and I will always speak up and help others who don’t see it in themselves. There comes a time when you have to pull yourself up and work long and hard, but at some point there comes a time when you put your mask on first and commit time to the family and loved ones. Don’t lose site of that on your journey, I did.
I extend a huge thank you to Shellie Porter Caudill for inspiring me to put this to words. You have always been an admired leader in my mind. I learned as much from you young lady as you did from me.
Jeffrey A. Clark
Although I can’t fathom creating a list at this point, I am confident that I can describe the type of leader I enjoy being around in any capacity. I know what I like to see and I certainly know that I like to exhibit. It’s funny because I really believe admired leaders are honest people who can have easy and tough conversations with people and maintain positive integrity. Being competent in the aspects of their leadership setting is crucial. A leader is a visionary who can almost predict outcomes in vital situation and act with superior intuition. Kouzes and Posner (2008) conducted four huge studies on the same subject matter over the course of the past 25 years. To define the magnitude, I am talking about four studies with 100,000+ subjects issued about every 7 years. The task was to identify the most important qualities of admired leaders. What is important to note is that honesty, forward thinking, competent, and intuitive were the top four responses on all four runs of the survey. Honesty was ALWAYS the top quality. If that makes me normal so be it.
The beauty of the leadership roles I have had the privilege of holding is that those characteristics had long built my thoughts and actions on how to lead people. I am fortunate to have led some really great talented people of all walks of life. I have worked hand in hand with people of traditional life styles, alternative life styles, both genders, and from a plethora of differing cultures. People are just that – people. One must respect that and continuously reflect on the benefits received from those quality people. Leadership is a gift and it snowballs as experience is gained. I have learned a lot from people - students, staff members, friends, and supervisors – all walks of life. Regardless of intentions, I have expanded my own leadership capacity from others.
To lead without trust is very difficult if not impossible. Establishing honesty and learning to love your staff builds trust. Honesty is truly the easy part, one just tells the truth, speaks with they know and admits when they do not. Learning to love the entire staff and the positive qualities they bring to children is more difficult. Everyone sees the weaknesses of others however; thought should be given to the strengths they encompass. A leaders job is simply to put people in a position to use their strengths and help them manage their weaknesses for they will never become strengths. Don Clifton knew this when he constructed his work with Gallop Inc. over a half century ago. Leaders don’t tear people down, they build others up. Be weary of the old adage that we are bringing someone in to clean house. That is not a leader, it’s a manager and there is a huge difference. As good as some think I am at leading people, if someone really wanted to flake away at my performance, they could do so in a matter of months.
I have read literally 100s of pieces of work on leadership and have learned to empower those around you and reward them for their work. Some might misconstrue those qualities as soft or easy, I would argue that those people are only in search of weaknesses and do not embellish the idea of strength finding. Do I work well with everyone? No, and no one with any strength in leadership will answer differently. My convictions differ from others, and many of these people are very smart. I find the main difference in how they treat others. People are the greatest resource any organization possesses. I have worked with people who made idiotic statements and decisions. I have worked with people whose attitude is viral, and I still do. It’s a fact of life, but to think you cannot still cohabitate in a workplace with them and not learn from that is short sighted. We learn what not to do in situations and how the actions of leaders impact job performance as well as a person’s health. This is all part of that snowball of leadership.
I admire many leaders. My parents, regardless of whether they admit to it or not, were my first leaders. I can’t list all the qualities they embedded into my life. They exposed me to my grandparents who were also leaders and models of what I am today. They emphasized learning and found a way to send me to college. Judy Harris had a memorable impact on my teaching, leading, and human empathy. Dr. Bob Bowers encouraged me to continue finding positions of leadership when those around me were twice my age. Jeff Maley and John Kuhn gave me my first “titled” leadership role and taught me how to make mistakes and improve. John taught me the power of having fun at work. Dr. Karen Mantia taught me the power of unpopular decisions. Buck, Bob, Tony, and Tom taught me the power of a great team. People ask all the time; Who is my most admired leader? – the answer always funnels down to Abraham Lincoln. It has very little to do with the difficult tasks he was dealt or his ability to abolish slavery. His actions were admirable. He led from the front. He was out on the battlefields with the men reassuring them that they were doing the right thing and always had his support and admiration. It all snowballs into who I am today and what the community in which I work gets out of me.
I only caution, because it’s vital. The airline flight attendants say it every flight. Put your mask on first, you can’t help others until you insure the safety of yourself. To be great, you have to control and manage your heart, sole, health, and family. I worked my first year as an assistant principal about 90 hours a week. I wanted to prove myself and I wanted to do the best I could. I survived, but only because I was young and tough. Buck always told us that she wanted quality not quantity. She’s right. I was put in a position about five years ago where my life and my work were out of balance and I was a poor leader, poor father, and miserable friend. My friends, family, staff, and leaders stuck with me until I fixed it. One has to stay healthy and sharp. Taking time away to spend with your family and friends grows the heart; it’s as vital as anything we do in leadership. I know this because it nearly killed me. I will never go back to that state and I will always speak up and help others who don’t see it in themselves. There comes a time when you have to pull yourself up and work long and hard, but at some point there comes a time when you put your mask on first and commit time to the family and loved ones. Don’t lose site of that on your journey, I did.
I extend a huge thank you to Shellie Porter Caudill for inspiring me to put this to words. You have always been an admired leader in my mind. I learned as much from you young lady as you did from me.
Jeffrey A. Clark