ImpactA person may not be considered king even he has a big kingdom but has no followers. A president is senseless if no people to preside. In just the same way, a school head will only be useful if he has a team who works smoothly with him. Effective leaders are respectful followed by their subordinates.
Goodleadersusuallypossesspositive professional qualitiessuch as; independence, self-confidence and intellectual stability, industriousness and conscientiousness. He may also possess socialqualities such as; agreeableness, friendliness, social nearness and support. Leaders must also possess personalqualities-speechfluency, achievementinitiative, personalintegrityandethicalconduct.
Effectiveness requires both the presence of these positive characteristics and the absence of what we call “dark side” characteristics such as; arrogance, vindictiveness, selfishness, emotional, compulsiveness, over controlling, insensitivity, being aloof, touch ambitious, or unable to delegate or make decisions. These irritating tendencies alienate subordinates and interfere with a person’s ability to form a team. These dark side characteristics are negatively related to ratings of team performance and that subordinates are almost always aware of them Nonetheless, they are hard to detect using interviews, assessment, or inventories of normal personality because they coexist with high levels of self-esteem and good social skills. Because managers with dark side tendencies often do well in procedures that evaluate the leadership potential of strangers, their counterproductive tendencies will be apparent only after they have been on the job for some time.
As leaders in our classrooms and possibly future heads of schools or greater callings, we must try to have a positive personality, whether professional, personal or social. This way we won’t need to assert ourselves to be chosen leaders when there are team activities, our peers will do that for us!
By: Esther M. Calderon | Master Teacher 1 | Kitang Elem. School | Limay, Bataan|
