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If you DO already have a good working relationship with your principal, you already know how valuable this is. If you don't, maybe it's something you wish you had. Maybe you're thinking... " SURE, that sounds wonderful, but you don't know my administration." If you have the opportunity to find a principal who supports school counselors, you've truly found a treasured gem!
Here are 5 characteristics I've noticed of a principal who supports and understands school counselors:

1- The principal makes policy based on appropriate counseling duties.

When we really started pursuing RAMP, our principal started to understand the ASCA National Model and how our time should be best spent. He took testing off of our plate so that we could and would fill our days with appropriate duties for school counselors. I know our principal has seen this list, and I feel so respected as a professional who is known and heard in this way.

2- The principal holds school counselors to the high standard they should hold in the school.

This is closely woven into appropriate vs. inappropriate school counseling duties from number 1, but I think there is something more to it. As an unsupported counselor, you may feel strongly to advocate for GETTING RID of things that don't belong to you. BUT- have you thought of really pushing the things you SHOULD be doing? A good principal holds their school counselor accountable to being data-driven and proactive. They should want to see your data from your programs, classroom lessons, and small groups.

I know there are school counselors who are "old school," who would rather sit behind a closed door and their computer screen. Principals who step up and hold their school counselors accountable to their yearly data-driven SMART goals and uphold their annual agreement will push their school's school counseling program to new heights.

3- The principal makes an effort to call you a "SCHOOL COUNSELOR."

Maybe this is just a thing that I love... but I do. A proper title garners respect. A principal who recognizes that you're not an old school guidance counselor, but you're a 21st century, new-age school counselor is one who cares about what your job entails. We are called school counselors in announcements at school, on phone blasts home, and at faculty meetings. We got a new sign outside of our office that says "School Counseling Department" instead of "Guidance Department."

Direction and influence come from the highest school leaders down. When a principal uses the right terminology and sets the example, it can permeate the DNA of the school. Teachers will start to recognize the change and understand the importance. There were small, incremental changes over the past 5 years that got us to where we are... and that came from the direction of a principal who cared to use the correct language.

4- The principal who supports school counselors is student-centered.

Between the principal and the student is a school counselor. It is refreshing to work for a principal who cares about students... one who knows their names, who is visible in the hallways. Knows the star athletes and the students who are on the verge of not graduating. Knows the student who just had a baby and knows the first-generation student who got a full-ride scholarship to their dream college.

What I'm trying to say... is that I love a principal who knows their students well and wants to celebrate with the school counselor. Instead of always focusing on numbers and graduation rates, it's encouraging to work alongside the principal who truly wants the best for students... just like you do as a school counselor!

5- The principal asks, "How can I support you?"

Sometimes it's financial support for professional development opportunities, sometimes it's just walking by and saying hello in the mornings. The fact that a boss/higher up humbly asks how to best support you is a game-changer. This principal is approachable and available for better or for worse. This person helps you think through tough situations and keeps things confidential when you need them to.
Download a free PDF resource all about Positive School Counseling Program Promotion when you sign up for my email list

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5 Promising Characteristics of a Principal Who Supports School Counselors - Counselor Clique

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If you DO already have a good working relationship with your principal, you already know how valuable this is. If you don't, maybe it's something you wish you had. Maybe you're thinking... " SURE, that sounds wonderful, but you don't know my administration."

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BEING A DOER ISN'T ENOUGH FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS. STUDENT NEEDS DEMAND SCHOOL COUNSELORS MOVE BEYOND REACTING TO LEADING. Are school counselors doers or

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School counselors are uniquely equipped to bridge the gaps between administration, teachers, parents, and students. As the demands placed on everyone in a school community increase, it's vital that we view and include school counselors as part of our leadership teams. Let's make sure we recognize all they do and put their strengths to work for our students! Here are 11 ways school counselors serve as leaders in your building.

1. School counselors recognize and showcase diversity.

In many buildings, school counselors are considered the "heart" of the school. They help create an inclusive environment that is respectful, welcoming, kind, and open to all.

2. School counselors develop community partnerships.

Counseling staff work collaboratively with universities, community colleges, technical schools, local unions, military reps, and apprentice programs to provide a variety of opportunities for students. They are especially vital in ensuring underserved and first-generation students have access to and the tools to reach all possible post-high school options.

3. School counselors help during difficult situations.

Strengths such as listening, reflecting, and high emotional intelligence make school counselors valuable allies when trying to get buy-in from staff or the greater community on difficult issues. Counselors foster a culture of change via strong lines of communication and valuing input from all parties involved.

4. School counselors maintain strong home-school connections.

Counselors tend to be the liaison for parents when it comes to communicating with the school. This leadership role is especially important when assisting families who are not familiar with the school setting or have issues trusting staff.

5. School counselors maximize educational success.

School counselors can help to maximize the educational attainment of all students by providing students with mental health services (school or community-based) and developmental guidance that takes a proactive approach in helping students set and reach academic goals.

6. School counselors lead staff trainings.

Administrators who use their counseling staff (rather than outside contractors) to lead building-wide trainings can save a lot of money and gain quicker buy-in from staff. School counselors are experts on topics such as student engagement, positive discipline, suicide/self-harm, students-as-leaders, peer mentoring programs, and academic/social interventions for low-performing students.

7. School counselors protect and advocate for disadvantaged students.

Counselors identify and amend policies and practices that negatively impact disadvantaged students and advocate for equitable services for all students.

8. School counselors use expertise to bring data to life.

Like administrators, counselors are trained in data collection and analysis. They are skilled at using this information to drive decisions about placement, intervention, and overall student health and wellbeing.

9. School counselors mediate difficult situations between parents/students and staff.

Counselors are consistently looking for ways to support the relationship between school staff and parents. Acting as a mediator when one or both parties are upset about a situation is a critical way in which school counselors serve as leaders.

10. School counselors organize and lead crisis response.

Counselors are on the front lines after a tragedy has happened in a school or community. Staff, students, parents, and community members look to the counselors for guidance and support immediately following an event. Because of their training in emotional/mental, the counseling staff is critical in advocating for and teaching self-care to staff, parents, and students during a crisis.

11. School counselors empower and inspire.

School counselors inherently believe in people and work tirelessly to communicate that. By being visible and accessible at all times, their calming, caring, and encouraging presence helps support and empower staff in the building.

School counselors serve as leaders in many ways and we need to value their perspectives and strengths. They are vital to building positive learning environments in which students thrive.
Join our Facebook group Principal Life for more conversation about and insights into the challenges of school leadership.

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11 Ways Your School Counselors Serve as Leaders - WeAreTeachers

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School counselors are uniquely equipped to bridge the gaps between administration, teachers, parents, and students. As the demands placed on everyone in a school community increase, it's vital that we view and include school counselors as part of our leadership teams. Let's make sure we recognize all they do and put their strengths to work for our students!

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Why You Need a Defined Leadership Philosophy [and how to develop one]

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Every leader has his or her own unique leadership style. There are three commonly observed leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire. An authoritarian leader has a strong preference for structure and ground rules and supervises followers. A democratic leader seldom gives orders and prefers to help followers figure out how to complete work tasks. A laissez-faire leader allows followers to accomplish tasks in their own way with complete freedom. Leaders tend to embody aspects of multiple styles depending on the situation. A democratic leader, for example, may have to behave in an authoritarian way when making a difficult decision. Thus, while it might appear that a leader has a commonly observed style, it is not static or unchanging. Whether leaders recognize it, they are constantly evaluating their environment and people and their ideas as good or bad and decisions as ethical or unethical.

personal traits and experiences shape leadership style

Core values are an individual's guiding principles. They keep an individual grounded and centered. Core values might include honesty, dedication, trust or humility. When leaders are aware of their core values, they can use them to guide the decision-making process by determining whether the choice aligns with their core values. Core values live at the center of who a leader aspires to be and provides a grounding point for where leadership decisions are made (Kouzes and Posner 2016).

Attitudes are the way a leader views the world, that is, how an individual perceives, thinks, and feels about his or her workplace, profession and future. A leader's attitude can be judged by observing actions, words or reactions to everyday situations. Leaders exhibit attitudes purposely as well as accidentally. When a leader demonstrates an optimistic attitude, followers exhibit confidence. When a leader demonstrates a negative attitude, followers might exhibit defeat. Both intended and unintended consequences of attitudes can change the tone, demeanor and output of the workplace (Daft 2015).

Real-life experiences are events that define your professional history. That is, almost no one begins his or her career as a leader. Most leaders have spent time in an organization and have served in a variety of roles before assuming leadership positions. In addition, most experienced leaders have a work history that creates a story about them as workers. For example, a college president who began working as a waitress in high school, sold flowers as a college student, and worked odd jobs while earning her PhD brings with her a personal work history of service, responsibility and growth. These experiences, often tied to our tapestry of professional work history, are what mold us into who we are today and should be readily attributed to how a leader learned while working in a variety of employment settings.

Personal Leadership Philosophy: How it Works and Why it Matters

In practice, a PLP should begin with a brief introduction that provides details about leadership style. Second, the leader's core values should be shared describing how they influence his or her professional behavior. Third, the PLP should address how the individual's attitude or mindset impacts his or her leadership behavior. Last, a leader should share how real-life experiences shaped his or her personal work history.

A PLP should be reviewed often and shared with others. It is important that a leader not hide the content of a PLP, as the intent is to help others understand and appreciate the leader's history and leadership principles. Publishing a PLP can occur informally, such as sharing within a leadership team, or formally, such as posting on a LinkedIn profile or at the top of a resume. In addition, the accountability found when sharing the PLP helps the leader maintain a realistic approach to how he or she behaves and responds while leading in action.

The development of a PLP is something that is part of the Creighton University Master of Science in Organizational Leadership degree curriculum. During their degree studies, students analyze their core values, attitudes and real-life experiences and develop a personal leadership philosophy that can help them become more effective leaders and grow in their professional lives. Students are asked to apply their unique leadership philosophies in everyday life and we work to make sure the content is relevant from the conception of study.

The benefits of establishing a PLP are that it provides insight for both the leader and the followers. A PLP demonstrates reflective practices and self-awareness (Kouzes and Posner 2016). It can provide a framework to help leaders remain consistent in their leadership behaviors. Last, it can establish a standard that leaders can turn to when they are faced with a challenging situation.

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Why leaders should develop a leadership philosophy

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When leaders have clarity about who they are, how they lead, and what followers can expect, their actions become transparent and more consistent.

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The Power of Vulnerability | Brené Brown | TED

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Brené Brown Reveals Which Four Skill Sets Make the Best Leaders

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I've spent twenty years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, and I recently completed a seven-year study on brave leadership. The goal of Dare to Lead is to share everything we've learned about taking off the armor and showing up as leaders in a skills-based and actionable playbook. Here are a few of the big ideas that emerged from this research:

You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulnerability. Embrace the suck.

Daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100% teachable, observable, and measurable. The foundational skill set of courage-building is "rumbling with vulnerability." Once we have built these rumbling skills, we can move on to the other three skill sets: Living into Our Values, Braving Trust, and Learning to Rise. Our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability.

Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead.

The greatest barrier to courageous leadership is not fear-it's how we respond to our fear. Our armor-the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that we use to protect ourselves when we aren't willing and able to rumble with vulnerability-move us out of alignment with our values, corrode trust with our colleagues and teams, and prevent us from being our most courageous selves.

To scale daring leadership and build courage in teams and organizations, we have to cultivate a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectation, and armor is not necessary or rewarded. We have to be vigilant about creating a culture in which people feel safe, seen, heard, and respected.

The skill sets that make up courage are not new; they've been aspirational leadership skills for as long as there have been leaders. We just haven't had the courage for real talk about courage. But it's time. And if you want to call these "soft skills" after you've tried putting them into practice-go for it. I dare you. Until then, find a home for your armor, and I'll see you in the arena.

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Daring leadership requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with our whole hearts.

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* This conference is for Raise Your Hand Texas alumni.
One of the most exciting times is during the annual Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation leadership symposium. Months of meticulous preparation and setup unfold into two days of fellowship, presentations, breakout sessions, and dialogue on all things public education, with local, state, national, and global emphasis. The symposium inspires Raise Your Hand Texas alumni to broaden their scope of influence beyond their campus to push their thinking and practice beyond its current state.

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This conference is for Raise Your Hand Texas alumni. One of the most exciting times is during the annual Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation leadership symposium. Months of meticulous preparation and setup unfold into two days of fellowship, presentations, breakout sessions, and dialogue on all things public education, with local, state, national, and global emphasis.

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Principals as Leader-Managers | Education World

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Principals often view leadership and management as two different roles, but the most effective principals know how to blend the two. Included: Tips for combining leadership and management skills to be a more effective administrator.

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Technology is compromising the health and well-being of teachers, blurring the already-indistinct boundaries between work and home and leading to an unsustainable "always on" mentality, researchers assert in a new study.

It's not an entirely new problem. For decades, educators have labored under the twin pressures of expanding responsibilities at work and increasing domestic demands. As dual-income families became the norm, larger class sizes, more paperwork, and a gradual shift in caretaking duties toward school systems have strained the capacity of educators, encroaching on personal time traditionally set aside for family and friends. Well before the pandemic, stress topped the list of reasons teachers quit, according to a RAND study, which identified long hours and the burden of taking on second jobs to supplement income as primary factors in early retirement.

Technology is rapidly pushing things toward a breaking point. The proliferation of computers, and especially cell phones, is putting the last vestiges of personal space at risk, compelling teachers to spend more time outside of school hours planning tech-enriched lessons while responding to nighttime emails and text messages. This pattern of incursion-researchers call it "techno-invasion" or "pervasive connectivity"-can make them feel as though they're on call at all hours of the day and even late into the night, explains Caroline Murphy, a researcher at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick, in the current study.

For teachers, there are few places to turn to for respite. While the public sector has typically traded lower wages for better work-life balance, the commodification of teaching-driven by a greater focus on test scores and evaluating teacher performance-has led to what some experts call the "marketization of education." Increasingly, the profession looks like the private sector, "in particular in relation to demands around working time, and the development of an 'always on' culture," Murphy points out. In what amounts to a broken promise, the expectations keep growing, but the pay hasn't kept pace.

Without new policies defending teachers' fundamental right to disconnect-to reclaim time with their families and friends, and to relax and restore themselves-the outcomes are all too predictable. Rising job dissatisfaction and deteriorating mental and physical health are real risks, according to the research. The issue is serious and growing, and it demands immediate attention.

Internet Leakage

Online communications have led to a pervasive "encroachment of work on individuals' time off through ubiquitous connectivity," says Murphy. The mere expectation that an email or text may arrive from a principal or student, and demand a response, is an intrusion into a teacher's personal space.

Theoretical emails eventually become real ones. The average teacher receives up to 100 emails each day, a staggering amount that can feel insurmountable-and the pressure to reply quickly can feel irresistible. In a 2019 study, employees reported that they started responding to emails 6 seconds after receiving them. Meanwhile, in a 2015 study, researchers observed that employees experienced "significantly lower daily stress" when limiting the frequency of checking email to three times a day, compared with those who had no restrictions.

There's also a significant cognitive tax to checking emails and other notifications, like texts or reminders: According to a 2017 study, the barrage of pings and warnings emanating from our phones are almost impossible to ignore, even when the phone is off and turned upside down on the table. "The mere presence of one's own smartphone may occupy limited-capacity cognitive resources," the researchers conclude, "thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks and undercutting cognitive performance." Shutting the cell phone off and abandoning it in another room was the only way to restore sanity.

The Technology Learning Curve

The deluge of new technologies unsupported by adequate training-from learning management systems to new apps, videoconferencing software, and multimedia lesson-planning-is undermining competence and professionalism, Murphy argues.

"I have NEVER been this exhausted," exclaimed Sarah Gross, a veteran high school English teacher who did hybrid teaching last fall, according to the New York Times. "This is not sustainable."

Gross isn't alone: In 2021, researchers analyzed over a decade's worth of studies and found that teachers were being pushed to adopt technology in their classrooms without the "technical resources and equipment necessary for its correct didactic use," a particularly insidious problem that culminated in "conflicts between teachers, as well as in their relationships with colleagues or with other people involved in the environment, eventually producing, in the worst case, damaged personal and interpersonal relationships that affect their health."

In a study published earlier this year, researchers found that nearly half of the teachers surveyed spent 20 or more hours per week creating new lessons, adapting materials to online classrooms, and troubleshooting tech issues. Notably, this pattern is expected to continue past the pandemic as schools commit to deeper integration of technology and even offer some form of remote instruction permanently.

A Heavy Toll

This new source of anxiety is not only linked to decreased job satisfaction, motivation, and competency but is also a health and safety concern, "causing physical ailments such as headaches, sleep issues, muscle cramps, back aches and high blood pressure," according to Murphy.

It's not technology itself that's the problem-it's that technology erodes the boundaries that have historically constrained altruistic teachers. "We may feel that if we don't get a task done, our students will suffer or programs will fail," explains John McCarthy, a former teacher and current consultant. "However, if we become mentally exhausted, overtired, or drained of energy, we risk a complete shutdown mentally or physically-and at that point, no tasks will get done."

According to a 2015 survey, 78 percent of teachers feel physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of the day, and while technology isn't the sole source of stress, it is "one of the most significant contributing factors to increasing stress levels," Murphy points out, adding that educators routinely report that "invasion of privacy" is a "significant source of work exhaustion."

Pushing Back-Without Going Back

That's not to say that Ludditical solutions like banning technology should be pursued; technology creates enormous efficiencies and is here to stay, but it must be carefully managed. Murphy asserts that we need to establish and adopt policy that "supports the healthy adoption of technology outside of school hours by both teachers and students."

While the United States is lagging behind other countries, "right to disconnect" legislation has been proposed in New York to protect workers from being penalized if they choose not to respond to emails after work hours. Meanwhile, major companies have begun to acknowledge the problem. Volkswagen banned internal emails from being sent or received through its servers during off-work hours in 2012, following "complaints that staff's work and home lives were becoming blurred." And in 2016, France adopted new labor laws giving employees the right "to not have to take calls or read emails related to work during their time off." The law's stated goal is to "ensure that the employees' non-work hours, vacation time, and personal and family life be respected."

So what should be under consideration for schools?

Model better practices: Consider developing policies or guidelines that encourage school leaders to avoid sending emails after school hours, except in the case of emergencies. What may seem like a simple question or request can have bigger implications as teachers feel the need to regularly check email at night to avoid appearing nonresponsive.

Give "permission to disconnect": Leaders can provide explicit permission giving teachers the right to disconnect from work-related communications outside of normal school hours. The policy should be socialized among all stakeholders in the learning community and honored with no questions asked.

Survey your staff: Conduct work-life balance surveys to gauge staff well-being. Ask questions such as "How often do the demands of your job interfere with your family life?"-good lists of questions can be found in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Quality of Worklife Questionnaire and the Staff Distance Learning and Wellness Survey from Broward County Public Schools.

Keep your cell phone clean: Teachers should consider removing access to work emails from their smartphones, and school and district leaders should encourage it. "You may find it more helpful to only check email on your computer-that way, when the school day ends, you can close your computer and walk away from the pings and the temptation to check your inbox," suggests classroom teacher Lauren Huddleston.

Be transparent about your obligations: Block visible time on your calendar for typically unstructured tasks like writing emails, grading papers, and planning lessons, suggests educational consultant and former teacher Marissa King. Consider clearly demarcating your work hours on your calendar as well, and set up out-of-office messages that state your work hours and indicate when you'll respond to late emails.

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Defending a Teacher's Right to Disconnect

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Remember personal time? For many educators, technology has driven it toward extinction-and it's time to get serious about reclaiming it.

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When Yulia Laricheva saw someone have a heart attack in the office of a New York City advertising firm, she knew something needed to change. At the time, she was afraid to talk to management about the work culture.

"If we spoke out, we would get blacklisted, retaliated against or fired," she said.

Laricheva said the expectation that she would work at all hours of the day started to affect her own health.

"It was making me sick. I was having heart palpitations, I was stressed, I couldn't disconnect," she said. "I'm very committed to my job. But there has to come a time when you say pencils down, when you go home and rest."

Now, Laricheva, a Brooklyn resident, is supporting a bill introduced by New York City Councilman Rafael L. Espinal Jr. called the "Right to Disconnect."

The proposed bill would make it illegal for private employers in New York City with 10 or more employees to require their workers to check and respond to electronic communications during non-work hours.

"I think it's no secret that technology has really blurred the lines between our work hours and personal time," Espinal said. "It was time government had a serious conversation about how to create real protection for workers who are really easily accessible."

Espinal said the bill was designed for workers who are "supposed to work seven to eight hours a day but are putting in 12 hours because they are accessible outside the office."

"This does not mean your boss cannot reach out after work hours," Espinal explained. "It means that for whatever reason, if you decide not to respond, you don't have to fear you will be without a job the next day."

The bill includes some exemptions, Espinal said.

"There are jobs that require workers to be on 24 hours," he said. "If your contract clearly states that your duties require you to be on-call, then these protections don't apply to you."

Similar legislation has been considered in Europe. In France, a law requires businesses with 50 or more workers to include the right to disconnect in annual negotiations with staff. Germany doesn't have "right to disconnect" laws on the books, but many companies offer it to their employees.

"The way I see it, this bill is just about creating more fairness," said Larissa K. Barber, a psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies how technology affects work-life balance.

"Many labor laws haven't kept up with the changing nature of work," Barber said. "Now, we have 'boundary-less' work that spills over into remote work spaces, like our homes."

This "boundary-less" work creates a feeling Barber calls "workplace telepressure."

"It's the preoccupation and urge to respond quickly to text-based messages, like text messages or emails" Barber said. "If I get an email from you, I know that you know I have access to that email very quickly. Then, I get worried if I don't respond, you'll think it's some sort of a social snub."

"Workplace telepressure" doesn't just create anxiety, Barber's studies have shown.

"We did see that people who experience more 'telepressure' are more likely to experience work burnout and report more sleep quality issues," Barber said.

"I don't think people should be penalized for not working during off-hours," Anthony Limongi, an editor in Manhattan, told NBC News. "For your mental health, you need that space and boundaries. Overwork isn't just stressing people out short term, it's causing serious effects down the line."

When Nicole Contreras, a New Yorker working in fashion design, heard of the bill, her first reaction was, "That sounds wonderful."

"My brother just moved to Europe, partly because he felt overworked here," Contreras said. "Most people have that problem, especially if you don't have a union that protects you."

Despite the almost-universal recognition that more could be done to maintain work-life balance, Espinal's bill is not without critics.

In a Jan. 17 hearing, Casey Adams, the director of city legislative affairs at the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, explained his opposition to the "right to disconnect."

"The DCA has serious concerns about our ability to effectively enforce a law that requires the agency to closely regulate the development and implementation of workplace communication policies by thousands of employers across hundreds of industries" Adams said.

Limongi had the same thought. "I'm not sure how they would enforce it," he told NBC News.

If it passes, the bill says companies that break the proposed law would be subject to a small civil fine.

Adams said that while the department of consumer affairs shares Espinal's "concern about the effects that the advent of 'always on' communication," the De Blasio administration believes the city should focus on causes like ensuring reliable benefits and paid personal time for workers.

"For professional employees with responsibilities, most of them want to be in touch and know what's going on if there's a problem," said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of Partnership for New York City.

Wylde, who represents the city's business leadership and largest private sector employers, spoke in opposition to the bill at the City Council hearing. She told NBC News the bill is "a rather naive response to the notion of a work-life balance."

"That's really the job of an individual," Wylde said. "To establish what their work-life balance is, when they want to disconnect, and to communicate that to their employer and work it out."

Espinal said he isn't surprised by critics like Wylde.

"If it were up to the business community, there wouldn't be any protections for workers," he told NBC News. "It takes the government to step in and create new protections."

For Laricheva, the bill is a step towards making New York better for all.

"I'm a workaholic, I'll admit it. But I also know it should be legal for a worker to disconnect," she said. "Why can't we work to make New York a more livable city, instead of just a playground for the rich?"

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A "right to disconnect"? New York City Council explores protecting off hours

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When Yulia Laricheva saw someone have a heart attack in the office of a New York City advertising firm, she knew something needed to change. At the time, she was afraid to talk to management about the work culture. "If we spoke out, we would get blacklisted, retaliated against or fired," she said.

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Servant leadership : How to lead with the heart ?  | Liz Theophille | TEDxSaclay

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said:

"The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions...The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the "top of the pyramid," servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

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What is Servant Leadership? - Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

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While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase "servant leadership" was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: "The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.

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There is a popular saying that a good leader is never born, but they are made. Though there have been quite a few debates going on regarding this saying, some said, a leader is a leader by birth, and others used to say a leader cannot be a good leader unless they learn from their own experience in practice. But in today's time, whether you are a born leader or you want to become a great leader afterward, you will always need to have a clear concept about what is the best leadership theory out there.

Due to not following or having a proper understanding of the current leadership theories, is probably the reason many talented people end up their career as only a follower rather than becoming a great leader. And looking at our business world already being in great shortage of good leaders.

So now the researchers have come up with several leadership theories, that reveal certain behaviors. Later on, leaders can adopt this to sharpen up their skills to become professional leaders later on.

So this makes it essential to know the real idea of the ongoing leadership theories. And this is for anyone thinking about leading a team successfully. And so today's post will be all about understanding the best theory of leadership. Also, we will discuss all the key leadership theories that current thought-out leaders need to acquire in order to brush up on their leadership capabilities.

What is The Best Leadership Theory in 2021?

In simple words, if followed, the best leadership theory shows or guides a leader to overcome any hurdles and challenges at any point in time while leading a team. And the leadership theories that we will be highlighting in this post, will allow any new or old leaders to find out what kind of leaders they really are by analyzing their current leadership style.

Moreover, this will help them scrutinize their performance as a leader. And this would be able to make them realize where they are going wrong and how they can manage their team more efficiently.

The top ten common leadership theories that have changed the way we look at leadership today include:

1. The Great Man Theory of Leadership

2. The Trait Theory of Leadership

3. The Skills Theory of Leadership

4. The Style Theories of leadership

5. The Situational Theory of Leadership

6. Contingency Theory of Leadership

7. Transactional Leadership Theory

8. Transformational Theory of Leadership

9. Leader-Member Exchange Theory

10. Power & Influence Leadership Theory

Major Leadership Theories That All Team Leaders Should Master In

Now that we know the top leadership theories, so let's know in brief detail about the key leadership theories that every team manager/leader should masterto turn themselves into effective leaders to run their team like a well-oiled engine.

1. Contingency Theory

The main point of this theory implies that there isn't any singular best way to lead anything. Like the other theories in this list, this theory isn't directly actionable. It is more like an instrumental form of leadership theories.

Moreover, this theory asserts that the leadership style of a leader is only effective as long as it fits the situation. The estimation of this is done through the assessment of their leadership style within the company. After that, they match their style with the ones that complement their styles the most.

It mostly assumes that your leadership styles are largely set due to the contingency theory needing to match them based on the situations that best suit them. Meaning you are not really trying to make the leader's styles adapt to the situations rather you are trying to identify that specific style in which they already fit well.

The company can create a leadership map once the assessment of the leadership style is done. It is mainly assessed based on three criteria like The relationship between the leader and employee (Leader-Member relation), How the task is set up by the leader (Task Structure), and The difference in power between the leader and the employees or followers (Positional Power).

Contingency theory is, therefore, more suitable for large companies that have an assemblage of leaders and projects to handle.

Also Read: Business continuity, disaster recovery & contingency plan

2. Behavioural Theory

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are two different sets of people. One who thinks leaders are made through experiences and developing skills while the other one believes that they are born. Well, when it comes to explaining the idea of a behavioral theory of leadership, it mostly sides with the camp that believes leaders are made.

Therefore in this theory, one neglects, the qualities that set the natural leaders to stand out in the crowd while comparing them with their equivalents. This theory supports more of those actionable leaders and weighs its belief on the fact that people are able to learn from their experience, observations, and develop their behavior & skills to turn them into good leaders one day.

Moreover, it considers the efficient leadership approach of a person to be the outcome of their many solid or gained skills. Which makes its conviction of any individual can acquire the learnings to become a good leader even more evident.

3. Situational Theory

The Situational theory of leadership inspires the leader to enact by critically dissecting the circumstances. In a more clear sense, it encourages the idea of changing leadership style or approach based on the situation rather than fixing yourself into one common method.

Moreover, it stretches the essentiality of variables in situations. And it doesn't believe that one single type of leadership style can be better than the others. So based on its theory, different situations necessitate different leadership styles and decision-making. A responsible leader must act assessing the overall situations and make adjustments in his approach based on that.

4. Trait Theory

There are inheritance and traits of some leadership qualities that set them apart from other leaders in some common scenarios. These are the capabilities that impel them with the status of leadership. And the conception of trait theory mainly concentrates on these various traits of leadership personalities.

A great leader generally possesses the characteristics like confidence, integrity, and commitment. And one can easily confine the scope of the leaders by linking them with only certain skills & qualities. Think about those people who have all these qualities but are not leaders. And there are people who don't hold any of these qualities but yet leading a team well.

So therefore the theory of traits leadership implies that leaders that lack natural-born traits lag behind the leaders with traits. And this makes them more suitable for the role of a leader as well.

Moreover, the theory also points out specific attributes of a leader like the sense of responsibility, cleverness, creativity, answerability of their team members. This enables an individual to shine in the field of leadership. As the greatest leader is not the one that does the greatest things but makes the team members realize their strength and motivates them to do the greatest things. But it also has its share of flaws as well, as it doesn't provide a leadership list of traits conclusively.

Also read: 10 Pro Tips To Become Great Leader & Manage Your Team

5. Transformational Theory

This theory perpetuates the thought of a leader gaining trust and commitment through inspiring, motivating, and caring for them towards a definite vision. Simply said, leaders, in this case, get results by transforming the environment & their bond with the followers.

The stronger the bond they have with their followers the better will be the result. Moreover, due to having a good relationship, the team members stay on the same page with the motivation & inspiration of the leader.

More so, the transformational leader normally tends to have flying ethical & moral values. And at any point in time, they wouldn't want to compromise with these values irrespective of their situation. At any cost, they would want to achieve their goal. And at the same time, they would want each of their team member to perform & contribute to their own potential.

6. Transactional Theory

It also refers to management theories or exchange leadership theories of leadership that have the thought of people following the leader according to its management style. Moreover, this is done inside a mixture of rewards & incentives or in some cases punishments.

The theory revolves around the role of administration, planning & teamwork. More so, the basis of its leadership actions considers rewards and punishment. And its leadership style uses rewards and punishments as part of motivating the employees. Also, according to this theory, the leader is able to motivate the team member by concentrating more on their own self-interest.

A common thread that it highlights is that there is no implication of leader-team having a strong bond between them. At the same time, the biggest flaw of this theory is thinking that with reward and punishment, you can motivate or reform anyone and everyone.

Having said that, for any leader, this theory is probably one of the easiest to apply. But it is more useful and effective for the team that orchestrates tasks with minimal creative input.

7. The Great Man Theory

It is probably one of the first leadership theories to be penned down. And this theory indicates the idea of a great leader is born and not developed. It is quite the opposite of behavioral theory as we can see as it works on two simple assumptions of Great leaders that are born & not made and the prominence of the leaders shows up when they are most desired.

The theory also implies that in any leadership role, they can perform beyond their ability. And its great leaders are born with outstanding qualities. For instance, they are more proficient at managing, empowering, and naturally charismatic in doing so. Someone that goes above and beyond despite all odds to reach their goals.

Moreover, based on the theory, a person has all the personality traits of a leader such as, confidence, charm, intelligence, social & communication skills by birth that make them stand out in the crowd. In simple words, this theory tries to affirm that you cannot learn these skills and that you are either born with the key attributes of leadership or you are not.
Also Read: 8 Ways To Support Your Team Member's Mental Health
Apply The Best Leadership Theory To Lead Your Team Like a Pro

In today's time, the success of a team to a great extent depends on good leadership skills. The leadership abilities of a good leader will mostly develop from how well they are able to grasp & apply these well-known leadership theories to overcome the challenges that they are facing over the years.

Moreover, few leadership experts believe that for effective leadership, there is no alternative to striking the right balance between needs, awareness of the situation, & behavior. And as a matter of fact, great leaders always look after their follower's needs, analyze their current situation, and based on that make the adjustment in their behavior accordingly.

A number of factors depend on experiencing success in leadership these days. Theories of having a contingency plan, assessing the situation properly, having the right kind of relationship with the followers & understanding the complete context of the overall situation is what a great leader needs when they look to succeed and perform better as a team leader.

The Perfect Tools For Better Leadership Theory Application

In today's digital world, just applying the above theories of leadership to lead a team effectively in a company or business might not be enough. So a leader and its follower need assistance from a solid business and task management tool like and WP Project Manager. Both these tools are user-friendly and cost-effective making the key business departments and team projects easily manageable & organized.

WP ERP, the complete business management solution tool comes with three essential modules like CRM, HR Management & Accounting, which as its name suggests takes care of all these significant departments of a company with ease. On the other hand, WP Project Manager makes the task, time & communication management skill of a team leader and his/her team more professional & refined than ever. Hence both the tool enhances the application capacities of key leadership theories & help polish their basic skills required to become a great leader.

Final Words

Let's hope these leadership skills & ideas discussed above will help the upcoming leaders to understand all the key theories of leadership better. Hopefully, by applying these well-known leadership theories, future leaders will make a definite plan and will also know how they need to proceed with managing their team effectively.

How many of these top leadership theories did you apply as a leader? Feel free to share your views with us regarding your experience of utilizing your favorite theories of leadership in the comments below.

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Best Known Leadership Theories That You Must Master In 2021

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There is a popular saying that a good leader is never born, but they are made. Though there have been quite a few debates going on regarding this saying, some said, a leader is a leader by birth, and others used to say a leader cannot be a good leader unless they learn from their own experience in practice.

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Emotional intelligence (EQ) development is important for all of our students. Learning about feelings: how we feel, what makes us feel the way we (and others) do, and what we can do to improve how we feel are life long skills.

Kids can have a hard time expressing how they feel. This may be due to a variety of factors, such as limited vocabulary, shyness, feelings of vulnerability, or low emotional intelligence.

According to the Emotional Intelligence Consortium, emotional intelligence is the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.

Assessing a child's understanding of feelings and how they recognize their own feelings and the feelings of others is a crucial first step when providing counseling services.

I try to use fun and engaging activities to help build rapport while I assess their prior knowledge. My students and clients tend to talk more openly when they are engaged in an activity that pertains to the subject we are discussing.

For instance, while my students are coloring a feelings coloring page I will make an observation about what feeling character they are coloring and ask them some of the following questions:

I wonder how they feel?

Have you ever felt that way?

I wonder what made you feel that way?

What helps you feel better when you feel this way?

Do you know anyone who has felt that way?

What can you do to help someone who feels that way?

If you are reading this and are thinking, "I wish I had a feelings coloring page for my children I work with." have no fear. You can snag my feelings coloring page freebie at my Teachers Pay Teacher shop. Just click here or the image below to be taken to the download. 🙂

Using feelings posters is also an excellent way to assess/increase emotional intelligence. I love using sticky darts and ask similar questions as those stated above to the feeling the dart landed on (or closest one to the dart).

If you would like printable (8 1/2 x 11) feelings poster, make sure to like The Helpful Counselor on Facebook to download the fan freebie (located in the upper right hand corner of the page).

If you are on the lookout for more fun and engaging ways to assess and increase emotional intelligence, you may be interested in some of the items from my store:

I hope you have found my ideas and freebies to be helpful. If so, I would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Catch me on the web:

All my best,

Heather

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Emotional intelligence (EQ) development is important for all of our students. Learning about feelings: how we feel, what makes us feel the way we (and others) do, and what we can do to improve how we feel are life long skills. Kids can have a hard time expressing how they feel.

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Today's Word: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - John Maxwell Team

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Book a free call with a Program Advisor to learn how the John Maxwell Team can help you take your leadership to the next level.

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Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as EQ, helps us better understand what motivates others. It also helps us work more cooperatively with others.

The more skillful you are at discerning the feelings behind others' signals the better you will be able to control the signals you send back to them. As a result, you will be more successful in life.

The good news is, that emotional intelligence is something you can improve upon.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our 3 Emotional Intelligence Exercises for free. These science-based exercises will not only enhance your ability to understand and work with your emotions but will also give you the tools to foster the emotional intelligence of your clients, students, or employees.

In order to be successful in life, it's important to develop the skills of emotional intelligence so that you can better understand and negotiate with people better.

According to the book written by Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ, the concept of emotional intelligence could even be more important than IQ when it comes to success.

Emotional Intelligence Frameworks: What Are They?

Emotional intelligence is a widely discussed topic in psychology and it has received extensive media attention over the past two decades (Matthews, Roberts, & Zeidner, 2002).

Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that are thought to contribute to the appraisal of emotions in oneself and others. It can also help contribute to the effective regulation of emotions as well as feelings (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).

In comparison to emotional intelligence, the idea of an IQ tends to be more focused on solving problems. This is a much more clear-cut way of looking at things when compared to something like EQ.

However, as we know, there are many other factors involved when it comes to predicting success.

In the 90's, Salovey and Mayer suggested that one's ability to understand, regulate and use emotions could actually be measured and studied.

The publication of Goleman's emotional intelligence book in 1995 signified the beginning of a new trend. As a result, this concept became much more widely recognized.

While not everyone agrees with the idea of Goleman's model of emotional intelligence, there is general agreement that it does exist, and that it is a factor that comes into play in terms of professional and personal success.

Goleman's prototype describes Emotional Intelligence or EQ in terms of five realms that are split among four sections. Two of these realms are related to personal competencies while others are related to social competencies.

Five Domains of Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman's model of emotional intelligence includes five realms.

1. Know your emotions.

2. Manage your emotions.

3. Motivate yourself.

4. Recognize and understand other people's emotions.

5. Manage relationships (others' emotions)

These five realms are broken down into four quadrants:

1. Self-Awareness.

2. Social Awareness.

3. Self-Management.

4. Relationship Management.

The idea of emotional intelligence is widely recognized as a positive trend, because it is something that can be improved and developed.

While everyone may not accept this, research suggests that emotional intelligence is something that one can improve upon over time.

Personal competence is comprised of self-awareness and self-management.
Self-awareness has to do with self-confidence, awareness of your emotional state, recognizing how your behavior impacts others and paying attention to how others influence your emotional state.
Self-management is about keeping disruptive emotions and impulses in check, acting in congruence with your values, handling change flexibly, and pursuing goals and opportunities despite obstacles and setbacks.

Social competence is comprised of social awareness and relationship management.
Social awareness competencies include things like picking up on the moods of others, caring about what others are going through and really hearing what someone else is saying.
Relationship management competencies involve getting along well with others, handling conflict, clearly expressing ideas and using sensitivity to manage others' feelings.

In terms of emotional intelligence, self-awareness and self-management have to do with our ability to relate to ourselves.

Social awareness and relationship management have to do with our ability to relate to others.

Self-Awareness

"If you understand your own feelings you get a really great handle on how you're going to interact and perform with others...So one of the first starting points is, 'what's going on inside of me?'"

Chuck Wolfe President, C.J. Wolfe Associates, LLC

Self-awareness involves being able to read your own emotions and recognize their impact. It also involves knowing your strengths and limits and having a sense of self-confidence.

It's about having the ability to both recognize and better understand moods and emotions and about understanding what drives those moods and emotions and how that affects others.

In order to practice this skill, you must develop an awareness of your own emotional states.

Self-Management

Self-management competencies involve having a sense of achievement, displaying honesty, integrity and, trustworthiness and being able to keep disruptive emotions under control.

It also involves having a sense of optimism, being adaptable and flexible and recognizing and seizing opportunities as they arrive. Those who practice this competency accept responsibility and learn to choose their own emotional response.

Self-management also involves learning to re-frame stressful situations into situations that are simply challenging. Tuning into those emotional triggers can help you better manage your emotions as well.

Social Awareness

Social awareness competencies involve being able to sense other people's emotions, understanding their unique perspectives and learning to take an active interest in things they are concerned about.

It also involves having a sense of organizational awareness and a sense of service.

Relationship Management

Relationship management involves having a sense of teamwork and collaboration, being an inspirational leader and learning how to resolve disagreements.

Those who are well versed in this competency know how to guide and motivate others, and use a wide range of tactics for persuasion.

Relationship management also involves being able to initiate and lead people in a new direction and learning how to bolster other's abilities through feedback and guidance.

Diagrams of the EI concept

Gill, Ramsey, and Leberman (2015) used the self-awareness competency to explore the perspectives of successful emotional intelligence trainers.

Causal Loop of Self-Awareness

In the research, the team examined a process they deemed essential in terms of emotional intelligence skills, the idea of a self-awareness causal loop diagram.

This diagram above explores a unique way of thinking, the idea that there is a relationship between different learning themes.

This self-awareness growth model is intended to communicate the broad view of emotional intelligence training.

The model provides a guide for establishing a process of development while retaining a sense of freedom for the trainer to bring his or her own talents and methods to the learning experience.

The repetitive nature of this model explores the sometimes-chaotic nature of self-awareness development (Gill et al., 2015).

8 EQ Competencies

Another model of emotional intelligence, developed by Freedman and Fariselli (2016), is also a good model. This model provides a set of unique measures that can help one develop their emotional intelligence (Freedman, Ghini, & Jensen, 2004).

The tools in this model are utilized for a wide range of coaching, training, hiring and developmental needs, and they are focused on eight key EQ skills for leadership and life.

The model includes eight EQ competencies divided into three major realms or "pursuits" (Freedman, 2015).

These pursuits are:

1. Know Yourself: Be more aware of emotions and reactions.

2. Choose Yourself: Be more intentional in responding.

3. Give Yourself: Be more purposeful as you move forward.

In addition to the EQ scales, the assessment also includes a questionnaire on key performance outcomes.

These success factors include four-component scales:

Effectiveness: The capacity to generate results (includes Influence and Decision-Making).

Relationships: The capacity to build and maintain networks (includes Network and Community).

Wellbeing: The capacity to function optimally and preserve energy (Balance and Health).

Quality of Life: The capacity to maintain a healthy balance and be fulfilled (Achievement and Satisfaction).

These four scales are combined into one overall "Success" variable (Freedman & Fariselli, 2016).

2 Emotional Intelligence Graphs

Numerous studies have shown that emotional intelligence scores are a good predictor of performance when it comes to critical life success factors.

The graph below shows the results from one study, which examined over 75,000 individuals, primarily managers, and employees, from over 15 workplace sectors and 126 countries.

As shown in the graph below, there is an extremely strong positive correlation amongst emotional intelligence scores and overall performance and success scores.

Each dot on this scatter chart below represents one individual's EQ score and their overall success score (Freedman & Fariselli, 2016).

A regression model was also created to show the emotional intelligence competencies that had the highest scores of success.

As you can see from the chart below, seeing possibilities (exercise optimism) and maintaining that sense of internal drive (engage intrinsic motivation) are at the top of the list.

Both of these ideals are in the "Choose Yourself" part of the model, which focuses on taking responsibility for personal action.

What is an Emotional Intelligence Matrix?

The emotional intelligence matrix, based upon the tenets of emotional intelligence, examines the idea of nature versus nurture as well as strengths and weaknesses (Service & Fekula, 2008).

The basic premise behind emotional intelligence is all about building awareness and building a capacity to work well with others. Being aware of our own emotions and using them consciously can help us be more aware of others' emotions. As a result, we will learn how to manage ourselves much more effectively in relationships.

Learning in Action Emotional Intelligence Matrix

Learning in Action Technologies (2002) provides a wonderful Emotional Intelligence Matrix. This matrix outlines capacities, competencies, skills, and workplace behaviors.

The emotional intelligence matrix provides a map for better understanding the relationship between capacities, competencies, and workplace skills.

Understanding these subtle differences their relationships and their hierarchy of development is very helpful when it comes to interpreting behavior and targeting organizational or educational initiatives.

On a historic level, leadership and organizational development have typically focused on skill development, which is perfectly appropriate for the technical learning environment. However, a more robust model is called for when it comes to other organizational initiatives that impact people and how they work together to get the job done.

According to the research, these types of initiatives should be focused on things like capacities, competencies, and the resulting workplace behaviors (Learning in Action Technologies, 2002).

Without attention to strengthening these core capacities and finding a way to work them into daily work life, the long-term potential for organizational change might be greatly diminished.

According to the matrix, the capacities are broken down into:

1. Self-reflection.

2. Self-regulation/self-soothing.

3. Empathy.

Competencies are broken down into:

1. Emotional self-awareness.

2. Accurate self-assessment.

3. Self-control.

4. Innovativeness.

5. Adaptability.

6. Resilience.

7. Trustworthiness.

8. Conscientiousness.

9. Accurate self-assessment.

10. Developing others.

11. Political awareness.

12. Conflict management.

13. Building team bonds.

14. Leadership.

The matrix can be viewed here at its original source.

So why are these skills so important in the workplace?

In jobs that require a mid range of complexity like a mechanic or a sales clerk, top performers in the field are 12 times more productive than those performers at the bottom. Moreover, they are 85% more effective than the average worker.

In the most complex jobs, such as an account manager or an insurance salesperson, the top performer is 127% more productive than an average performer (Learning in Action Technologies, 2002)

Research done among two hundred different companies and organizations infer that 1/3 of this difference may be due to technical skills and cognitive abilities. The other 2/3 may then be the result of emotional competence.

For those in leadership roles, over 4/5 of the difference is actually due to emotional competence.

According to Ratey (2002):

"The brain is a social brain, the neurons making connections with their neighbors or dying for lack of contact."

Ratey explains that a baby comes into the world with a maximum open-loop brain without limbic regulation. Without limbic regulation, the vital systems and rhythms would collapse and die.

As a result, children must learn to self-soothe and self-regulate.

According to Lewis, Amini, and Lannon (2001), emotions are at the very root of everything we do with the limbic brain at the center of this advanced emotionality.

This open-loop design means that our emotions and moods are contagious. Emotions often leap between two individual brains, workgroups, or large gatherings of people.

This open-loop design can help teams work together. However, it can also perpetuate or spread violence.

Lewis and colleagues (2001) also talks about how emotional intelligence develops out of the relationship between an infant and their caregiver.

These early relationships and patterns shape a child's understanding as well as his or her definition of the self and others. In adulthood, we continue to require a source of stabilization outside of ourselves. Looking at the open-loop design, this indicates that we cannot be stable on our own.

The Four Fundamental Relational Components

According to the literature, there are four fundamental relational components or strategies we can implement throughout our lives.

1. Acknowledgment.

2. Mirroring.

3. Modulation.

4. Creating or Co-creating.

Acknowledgment of the self and others with recognition of the self as separate from the others is the first component. This includes honoring each individual's right to have his or her own experience. This acknowledgment first of oneself and then of the other is the foundation for self-reflection and differentiation.

Mirroring is the next component. Mirroring expands and deepens this acknowledgment of the other's experience. Recent research has indicated that mirroring is perhaps the most powerful form of empathy. As you observe how other people act and behave you will internally feel what they feel.

Modulation is the 3rd component. Self-soothing behavior originates from the caregiver in childhood. Once we learn to modulate our own experiences we can then help modulate others.

This type of learning helps the brain to develop.

Creating or Co-creating is the final component. As children, our caregivers provide an alternative activity to help us move forward as we explore and learn. As adults, we can arrive at the same place by using our own internal voice.

According to Fonagy (2000), organizations made up of people cannot effectively co-create without first attending to these first steps in the process.

This foundation is laid down in the first four years of life. With intention and focus and participation in positive relationships, the brain's plasticity continues this emotional development throughout our lives.

As we examine the core components once again, as it pertains to emotional intelligence, we begin to see the pros of cons.

The Core Capacities of Emotional Intelligence: Self-Reflection, Self-Soothing & Empathy.

Self-reflection is that ability you have to identify with various thoughts and sensations. It also has to do with your ability to connect with both pleasure and discomfort.

The ability to observe yourself and reflect helps you make conscious choices. As you acknowledge your personal power you realize you have a choice in your actions.

If this self-reflection is lacking we may:

Have difficulty learning from experiences.

Blame others.

Commonly make victim-based statements.

Display reactionary behavior.

Have difficulty understanding that we choose our response in any given situation.

Have limited ability to self-correct.

Have difficulty reflecting on how we co-created the outcome.

Have difficulty solving problems.

If self-reflection is highly developed we can adjust our behaviors and continually re-assess and observe.

When self-soothing is lacking we may:

Not hear or accept information that is negative.

Deny things are true or blame others.

Get upset in ways that cause us to feel undervalues or dismissed.

Sabotage outcomes.

If self-soothing is highly developed we are better able to manage ourselves if someone is blaming us or attacking us. We are also able to welcome news without censorship, which helps us recognize and categorize disturbing information.

Self-soothing also helps us enjoy positive support from others.

If empathy is lacking we may:

Not listen or become isolated and out of touch.

Not feel honored or acknowledged.

Believe we don't count.

Become disconnected.

When empathy is abundant and highly developed we tend to understand people more, listen more and are better able to understand and appreciate someone's differences.

Daily Practices for Self Reflection

According to Learning in Action Technologies (2002), there are 8 key things you can do in terms of daily practices to help in self-reflection:

1. Practice being present now.

2. Notice your judgments about yourself and your judgments about others.

3. Practice noticing and naming your experiences.

4. Focus on what you want, not what you don't want.

5. Recognize that other people are simply mirrors of yourself.

6. Practice awareness by noticing the stories you create and your interpretation of them.

7. Practice unbundling your feelings.

8. Notice the degree with which your emotions, thoughts and wants are positive or negative.

You can practice being present by stopping several times a day to notice what you are thinking or feeling. You can also try noticing the sights, sounds, and smells of your environment as well.

Noticing your judgments is all about realizing that everyone is different. Make it a point to suspend your judgments and simply appreciate the life within you and around you.

Noticing and naming your experiences is another good technique. When you strive to name an emotion you can better understand the full array of feelings that are present.

Everyone is your mirror, and often times the feelings and experiences we have are contagious. In terms of self-reflection, it pays to be aware of what feelings you are giving off at any moment.

The next tip is all about the stories we tell ourselves. These are unique for us. How we react in any given situation is based on our life experiences up to that moment in time.

Unbundling your feelings is another good tip. This involves stopping and paying attention to what might be going on. When we have intense feelings like anger or jealousy, we tend to bundle them together.

It's easy to get caught up in the victim mentality. The victim mentality tends to be more negative. The first step you can take to get out of this mode is to pay attention to how many times a day you frame your experiences as positive or negative.

Simply being aware of your attitude helps you create a new level of consciousness.

Practices for Building Trust

Solomon and Flores (2001) recommend ten practices for building trust for yourself and others:

1. Practice inviting feedback from others.

2. Practice mentoring others.

3. Notice when you tend to beat yourself up.

4. Identify people who helped shape your viewpoint and/or trust.

5. Pay attention to the degree that you trust yourself in important relationships.

6. Act as if you really count, which you do.

7. Get to know the people who are really important to you.

8. Notice your level of trust in important relationships.

9. Practice delegating to others if you are a leader.

10. Practice assuming that other people's intentions are positive.

Getting feedback from others can be intimidating. By practicing getting feedback, you become much more comfortable with the process. Try asking someone directly for feedback and notice how much more comfortable you get each time.

Mentoring others is another great practice for building trust. Mentoring can help improve your self-awareness and your empathy.

If you find yourself beating yourself up more often than not, try asking yourself what situations prompt this feeling? Work to identify the origins so you can start treating yourself with more respect.

Identifying pivotal people who helped shaped your viewpoints can also help you build a sense of trust. You can also pinpoint those who eroded your trust and work to change your viewpoint.

Paying more attention to the degree that you trust yourself in different relationships can also be very helpful. Try making a list of those people that you trust and people who are important to your level of success. Rate the degree that you trust them and identify some key messages that may come about that discount you.

Acting as if you really count is another key factor. When you act as if you count, you face your fears. When you make a habit of feeling the fear and pushing through the fear, you feel empowered.

Getting to know the people who are really important to you is another great way to build a sense of trust. As you do this, try and notice your level of trust in important relationships. As you think about these people act as if you are about to have an important conversation with them, and imagine what you might say.

If you are a leader, it may behoove you to start delegating. Doing so without micromanaging is a good way to build a sense of trust with others.

Last but certainly not least, try assuming that other people's intentions are positive. If you assume others have a positive intention, your day will flow much better.

Daily Practices to Increase Empathy

1. Practice acknowledging yourself.

2. Practice acknowledging others.

3. Get to know your team members.

4. Practice tuning in to others.

5. Learn and practice the essential elements of dialogue.

6. Practice initiating conversations at times of stress.

7. Practice listening without interrupting.

Try greeting yourself in the mirror each morning with honor and generosity of spirit. Express some appreciation for who you are and what you have accomplished.

One good way to increase empathy is by practicing acknowledging others by saying good morning and using their name. Look into their eyes and let them know you are interested in what they have to offer.

Getting to know your team members and other key individuals can also help you build empathy. Really make a point to notice people and pay attention to what they might be thinking or feeling.

Tuning into others on a regular basis is important because as you do this, you will be building your empathetic skills.
Being unafraid when it comes to initiating conversations in times of stress can also help boost your empathetic skills. As you do this, really pay attention by listening and learning.

Finally, it's always a good idea to practice listening without interrupting. You might be surprised at how often you tend to interrupt. Research shows that the average person listens for less than 20 seconds before interrupting.

Listening to others takes practice, but it's a great sign of respect.

The Emotional Intelligence Wheel

The Relational Model below shows how different patterns of interaction help develop the brain and build emotional intelligence.

1. Creating opens up synchronized space that fosters learning and expanded internal capacity.

2. Acknowledgment, both of the self and others, affirms others presence and creates a sense of openness.

3. Mirroring others emotional experiences lets them know you care and understand.

4. Modulating and creating resonance with others while maintaining a non-anxious presence, helps lower stress and anxiety and create a sense of openness.

To learn more about building emotional intelligence, take a look at our article: How to Improve Emotional Intelligence Through Training. Alternatively, you may find this handy PDF from Learning in Action Technologies useful if you wish to learn more about EQ in the work environment.

Using Mind Maps for Emotional Intelligence

Mind maps were developed by Tony Buzan as a note-taking technique. Mind maps can help you get out of the linear thinking mode and into a radial thinking mode.

Mind maps help you uncover the thoughts, which the brain has about a subject from different viewpoints. Using a mind map, you can you activate both right and left brain thinking as an alternative to logical linear thinking (Erdem, 2017).

Mind maps have many benefits. They can help you:

1. Have better recall.

2. Improve creativity.

3. Problem solve.

4. Focus better on a subject.

5. Organize your thoughts.

Mind maps have an important place as a lifelong learning tool when a constructivist approach is used as a base in the learning-teaching process (Erdem, 2017).

Mind maps are a highly effective way to get information in and out of the brain. Mind maps help you think more creatively and think outside the box.

A mind map has an organizational structure that radiates out from a common center. Using words, symbols, and images you can then build out branches from that center.

By using a mind map you can jot down ideas as they pop into your brain. There is no need to create any kind of linear, logical structure.

Akin to brainstorming, mind mapping is a wonderful way to boost the creative process.

The five essential characteristics of mind mapping include:

1. The main idea, subject or focus, which is displayed in a central image.

2. The main themes, which radiate out from the central image appearing as branches.

3. The branches, which are comprised of a key image or keyword, which is drawn or printed on its associated line.

4. Topics of lesser importance, which are represented as twigs off of relevant branches.

5. The branches, which form a connected nodal structure.

How to Make a Mind Map

Think of your general main idea and write it down in the center of the page.

Figure out some sub-themes of your main concept and draw branches to them from the center. This might look like a spider web.

Focus on using short phrases or even single words.

Add images to invoke thought or to portray your message better.

Try to think of at least two main points for each sub-theme created and create branches out to those.

In terms of emotional intelligence, we can examine the Goleman Model, as shown below. Daniel Goleman's model of emotional intelligence includes five realms, which are then broken down into four quadrants:

1. Self-Awareness.

2. Social Awareness.

3. Self-Management.

4. Relationship Management.

As seen on the mind map the main branches are broken down even further helping one see all of the different facets of each quadrant.

By examining each of these four quadrants, one can quickly see the skills required to develop each one.

One great way to use a mind map for emotional intelligence would be to list out all of the different facets within each quadrant and how they apply to you, so you can see what areas might still need some improvement.

Emotional Intelligence Grids

So now that you have explored emotional intelligence and know more about it, how can you start to improve upon it, you might ask?

There are some simple ways to start changing your perspective. Just like willpower, emotional intelligence can be developed and strengthened over time.

The more you work to understand your emotions and how they drive you, the better your personal and professional life will be.

Let's examine some strategies now that can help you take inspired action toward boosting that emotional intelligence.

Self-Awareness

The way you define something becomes your understanding of it.

Work to improve your vocabulary of descriptions - for example, if you experience fear, try describing exactly how it feels for you. Do you feel anxious, panicked, nervous or just worried?

Accept yourself exactly as you are.

Be assertive. Practice saying no in a way that is not offensive.

Say what you need to say and say it!

Resist impulses. Try delaying or resisting temptation and act accordingly to control emotions.

Be flexible. Practice transforming your emotions from one state to another. For example, try smiling when delivering disappointing news.

Self-Management

Practice and learn your ability to regulate emotions. Do something at the moment to stop the emotion or change it, or try and relax into it.

Try regulating your emotions. That regulatory capacity helps build your emotional intelligence. When you get angry for example, try rethinking the situation or looking at it differently.

Be aware of other's emotions.

Social Awareness

Recognize the emotions in others and the fact that they are driven by their emotions like robots.

The emotions you identify on others acts like a virus, impacting everyone.

Learn to outsmart this tendency by connecting with and overriding the negative emotion with your own positive feelings.

Don't believe everything you hear.

Give back to society and be helpful when you can.

Connect with other positive people or social groups to help build your skills. For example, Toastmasters, Ted talk groups or other groups can be helpful.

Relationship Management

Form boundaries around your emotions. Learn to recognize your own emotions as separate from other's emotions.

Recognize that other people's emotions do not have to be your emotions.

You have the option to not react to every emotion sent your way.

Self-Motivation

To stay motivated, it's important to stay focused on strong goals. This gives you a sense of self-confidence and self-efficacy.

Try and maintain a positive attitude, despite other's negative emotions. Stay in a motivating environment as much as possible.

Self-motivation is a complex subject. It is linked to your level of initiative when it comes to setting goals. When you truly believe you have the skills and abilities necessary to achieve your goals, you expect and get success.

Exercise to Enhance Emotional Intelligence

1. Try listing 10 positive emotions and 10 negative emotions you can connect with.

2. Start with Happiness and Sadness on the top of each list.

3. Strive to understand each of the emotions you listed and identify how they can be caused.

4. Notice the specific effect of these emotions and how they make you feel.

A Take Home Message

Emotional intelligence helps you to be smart about your emotions. It's not solely about being nice. It's more about being authentic and honest.

The idea of emotional intelligence helps you become more aware of your feelings and how your feelings impact others.
If the idea of emotional intelligence is more important than IQ, in terms of personal or professional success, it behooves us to continue learning more about it.

In the end, boosting your sense of emotional intelligence can help you read other people's signals better and react more appropriately to those signals.

The Harvard Business Review also acknowledges emotional intelligence as something that is important, suggesting that EQ is a paradigm shifting idea.

Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence as:

Knowing your emotions and having self-awareness - being able to recognize feelings as they happen.

Managing your emotions or handling feelings appropriately.

Motivating yourself or marshaling your emotions in pursuit of a goal.

Recognizing the emotions in others and empathizing.

Handling relationships and having the skill to manage the emotions of others (see this article).

In Goleman's book " Emotional Intelligence " he talks about managing with heart, which includes engaging in teamwork, maintaining open lines of communication, being cooperative and listening and speaking your mind (Goleman, 1998).

Goleman also talks about the destructive effects of miserable, intimated workers as well as arrogant bosses.

All of this leads to decreased productivity and things like missed deadlines, all of which impact the bottom line.

That is really the heart of the issue when you get down to it. A happy worker is a productive worker.

According to Goleman:

"The rules for work are changing. We're being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and each other."

Goleman believes that having the emotional intelligence necessary to facilitate cooperation and collaboration elevates us all toward success.

That is the true benefit of emotional intelligence.

For further reading:

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our 3 Emotional Intelligence Exercises for free.

If you wish to learn more, our Emotional Intelligence Masterclass© is a 6-module emotional intelligence training package for practitioners which contains all the materials you'll need to become an emotional intelligence expert, helping your clients harness their emotions and cultivate emotional connection in their lives.

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Emotional Intelligence Frameworks, Charts, Diagrams & Graphs

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Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as EQ, helps us better understand what motivates others. It also helps us work more cooperatively with others. The more skillful you are at discerning the feelings behind others' signals the better you will be able to control the signals you send back to them.

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School counselors must also begin to recognize areas of conflict between personal and professional values. They must clarify their personal core beliefs and values and ensure their values will not be exposed at the expense of students' exploration of their own beliefs.

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Joseph Lathan, PhD

Educational leaders play a pivotal role in affecting the climate, attitude and reputation of their schools. They are the cornerstone on which learning communities function and grow. With successful school leadership, schools become effective incubators of learning, places where students are not only educated but challenged, nurtured and encouraged.

On the other hand, poor or absent school leadership can undermine the goals of an educational system. When schools lack a strong foundation and direction, learning is compromised, and students suffer. According to a Wallace Foundation study, "Leadership is second only to classroom instruction as an influence on student learning."
YOUR MASTER'S DEGREE: What Does it Take to Earn Your M.Ed. Online [VIDEO] >>
The Makings of a Successful School Leader

But what makes a successful school leader? How do you become truly effective as a principal or in a leadership position? While there is no one solution to successful school leadership, there are certain strategies, skills, traits and beliefs that many of the most effective school leaders share.

The following traits are common among the most successful school leaders.

1. They Understand the Importance of Building Community

Effective school leaders build and sustain reciprocal family and community partnerships and leverage those partnerships to cultivate inclusive, caring and culturally responsive school communities. To build these community networks it is essential that school leaders are visible in their schools and community, develop trust and create a sense of transparency and shared purpose with parents, staff, community members and students.

Megan Tschannen-Moran, author and professor of educational leadership at the College of William and Mary, discusses the importance that trust plays in building communities in her book, "Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools."

Tschannen-Moran explains, "In schools with high levels of trust:

Teachers are motivated and willing to try new strategies because they trust leaders to support them.

Students are motivated and connected to the school because they trust their teachers.

Families are supportive because the principal and teachers have built trusting relationships with them."

2. They Empower Teachers and Cultivate Leadership Skills

Great school leaders know that they are not running a one-man show; that they cannot do it all alone. They know that they must surround themselves with great teachers and colleagues and, not only that, they must fully support teachers and staff by encouraging them to continually learn, develop and, perhaps most important, become leaders themselves.

It is no secret that when people are fulfilled and given opportunity for career growth, as well as autonomy and control over their careers, they are more productive, more engaged and more effective overall. In a recent Gallup poll, it was discovered that 33 percent of U.S. teachers are engaged in their work, while 51 percent are not engaged and 16 percent are actively disengaged. These statistics are startling to say the least.

Through offering professional development opportunities and support services to teachers, as well as by creating an environment where teachers are able to experiment, innovate and lead, principals can ensure a healthy environment for educators that will have positive repercussions for students. Another Gallup study found that "highly talented principals on Gallup's Principal Insight assessment were 2.6 times more likely to have above average employee engagement at the schools they lead three years later." Gallup has studied the issue closely, even issuing a report titled " Six Things the Most Engaged Schools Do Differently."

In his book, "What Great Principals Do Differently," education author and researcher Todd Whitaker wrote: "Great principals focus on improving the quality of the teachers within their buildings. By carefully hiring the best teachers, by supporting their efforts and their ambitions, by holding all staff members to high expectations, and by working to carefully support the individual development of each professional, principals impact student achievement."

3. They Utilize Data and Resources

Successful school leaders use data, including standardized and school-based assessments, to drive continuous improvement through site-based decision-making for the express purpose of promoting equitable and culturally responsive opportunities for all students. The opportunities that data present are many and the most effective leaders are able to leverage that data to make strategic decisions to benefit their students.

According to educational technology company Illuminate Education, "building a foundation for data-driven decision making" is the first of " Six Steps for School Leaders to Use Data Effectively."

A report from the Wallace Foundation asserts that: "When it comes to data, effective principals try to draw the most from statistics and evidence, having 'learned to ask useful questions' of the information, to display it in ways that tell 'compelling stories' and to use it to promote 'collaborative inquiry among teachers.' They view data as a means not only to pinpoint problems but to understand their nature and causes."

4. They Have a Vision and a Plan

The very best leaders are also visionaries. They have a goal that they can unite a team around and a plan to help them get there. Not just that, but they are able to clearly articulate their school vision and goals.

Vision is perhaps one of the most important qualities a leader can have as it provides momentum and direction, not just for the team leader but for each and every team member. Of course, in order for leaders to be successful in pursuing their vision and enacting their plan, they must pair their vision with unrelenting passion. Vision and passion from an effective leader should generate inspiration, motivation and excitement that permeates throughout the school.

According to a " Successful School Leadership " report published by UK-based Education Development Trust, "Effective headteachers provide a clear vision and sense of direction for the school. They prioritize. They focus the attention of staff on what is important and do not let them get diverted and sidetracked with initiatives that will have little impact on the work of the students."

5. They Create Collaborative, Inclusive Learning Environments

Inclusive learning provides all students with access to flexible learning choices and effective paths for achieving educational goals in spaces where they experience a sense of belonging. The best educators know this and prioritize inclusivity, creating safe learning environments that nurture every student. Leaders that prioritize inclusive learning also typically believe that every person can contribute to the greater learning community and therefore they encourage collaboration between faculty as well as students.

"Perhaps the most critical role in successful inclusive schools is the role of the principal," wrote the Inclusive Schools Network. "The school principal's active participation is the single most important predictor of success in implementing change, improving services, or setting a new course. The school principal is central to facilitating systemic change and leading faculty to adopt new attitudes and new practices."

6. They Are Passionate About Their Work

Passion is a critical ingredient for nearly anyone who wants to be successful and happy in their job. But passion is especially important for school leaders, who typically have a great influence on their school's climate and culture.

Passionate people have a contagious energy that can greatly affect teacher satisfaction and drive as well as student performance. "All the knowledge in the world can't make a good leader: It's the care for the work and the people who collaborate with you that makes the difference," wrote Forbes. "This is in large part because people want to follow a passionate leader. Someone who cares about not only the cause for which he or she is working, but also the other people who are involved in the effort. Passion for the projects, for the company and for the people involved are key to successful leadership."

7. They Encourage Risk-Taking

What most educators already know is that failure can be the greatest teacher. Just as teachers should encourage risk-taking amongst their students in order to spur growth, truly effective leaders encourage risk-taking amongst their subordinates and colleagues by creating a supportive environment that rewards not just successful ideas or initiatives but effort as well, no matter the outcome.

"Failure is required for learning, but our relentless pursuit of results can also discourage employees from taking chances. To resolve this conflict, leaders must create a culture that supports risk-taking," wrote the Harvard Business Review. "One way of doing this is to use controlled experiments - think A/B testing - that allow for small failures and require rapid feedback and correction. This provides a platform for building collective intelligence so that employees learn from each other's mistakes, too."

8. They Lead by Example

We've all heard the saying, "Do as I say, not as I do." Of course, the irony is that actions are much more telling than words. Leaders who lead by example position themselves as tremendous role models for not only the students in their school or district but for colleagues and parents as well. A leader that leads by example almost always receives respect and admiration, without which he or she will find little luck in leadership. As philosopher and physician Albert Schweitzer once said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing."

9. They Persevere - Staying with a School for at Least Five Years

Change, while good, can also be disruptive when it occurs too frequently. In the case of school leadership, it has been documented that frequent turnover results in a negative school climate, which in turn has a negative effect on student performance.

"Committed and effective principals who remain in their schools are associated with improved schoolwide student achievement. As a corollary, principal turnover is associated with lower gains in student achievement," reported the Learning Policy Institute. "Principal turnover has a more significant negative effect in high-poverty, low-achieving schools - the very schools in which students most rely on their education for future success. The negative effect of principal turnover suggests that principals need time to make meaningful improvements in their schools. One study found that it takes, on average, 5 years of a new principal leading a school for the school's performance to rebound to the pre-turnover level."

The best leaders, therefore, are willing to commit to a school and persevere despite the obstacles or challenges. After all, realizing a vision doesn't happen overnight; true transformation takes time. A leader's commitment displays not only passion but dedication, which can have a tremendously positive effect on school culture.

10. They Are Lifelong Learners

Perhaps the most important of all qualities that a school leader can possess is the unquenchable thirst for knowledge. As John F. Kennedy said, "leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." The best leaders, no matter what industry they work in, know they will never know it all. They are humble in their knowledge yet confident in their abilities. They're endlessly curious individuals who never stop questioning, and learning.

The Harvard Business Review put it perfectly when they said: "It takes a real sense of personal commitment, especially after you've arrived at a position of power and responsibility, to push yourself to grow and challenge conventional wisdom. Which is why two of the most important questions leaders face are as simple as they are profound: Are you learning, as an organization and as an individual, as fast as the world is changing? Are you as determined to stay interested as to be interesting? Remember, it's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

The report also quotes the noted writer and professor John Gardner, who observed, "The best leaders I've gotten to know aren't just the boldest thinkers; they are the most insatiable learners."

"LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING ARE INDISPENSABLE TO EACH OTHER" -JOHN F. KENNEDY

It is hard to think of an industry where constant learning is more applicable than education.

To be a successful and effective leader is no easy feat. Yet, effective school leaders are desperately needed in thousands of schools and educational institutions across this country and around the world.

As noted educational leadership expert Professor Kenneth Leithwood stated in a Hechinger Report article, "Indeed, there are virtually no documented instances of troubled schools being turned around without intervention by a powerful leader."

For those interested in following their passion for the topics discussed above in a top-notch academic program, School Leadership is one of five specializations offered as part of the University of San Diego's online Master of Education degree program.

Joseph Lathan, PhD

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Educational leaders play a pivotal role in affecting the climate, attitude and reputation of their schools. But what makes a truly effective leader? Here we offer insight on 10 educational leadership qualities that make for a truly effective school leader.

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What makes a great leader?

Is it someone who takes command with a firm leadership style?

Does it take an ethical leader who seeks to follow their moral compass and embraces the shared values of their employees?

Or is a successful leader one who can transform a company's culture so that it allows each individual to thrive? While also reaching company goals and staying true to each core value of the business?

It is all of these things and many more.

If you're an aspiring leader who is intent on supporting your team, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed at all you need to be. Especially if you're also focusing on transforming and improving organizational culture. And want to be recognized as exhibiting ethical leadership behavior.

Take a breath because we've got your back.

We're going to explore the 13 core values of a leader that you should foster to be the type of leader you dream of.

Let's start, in a typical leadership style, at a high level.

What are leadership values?

Values are the underlying beliefs that guide our decisions and actions and ultimately shape our days and careers.

Leadership values are a subset of those values that positively influence one's ability to lead effectively or be a 'good leader.'

You can foster and develop leadership values with time. However, as with many character traits, you will probably have a tendency toward one specific leadership skill or another.

You can uncover these natural leadership qualities by asking yourself questions such as:

What values guide my personal life?

How do I react in common situations (such as when confronted with change)?

What kind of leaders do I gravitate to (such as a passionate leader or a more strategic leader)?

You should also consider this question: What are the goals, mission, and culture of my company?

The leadership values related to effective leadership at your company will lie at the intersection of your personal values and your company's values.

The importance of a leader with values

Everyone has values, but not everyone exhibits good leadership values.

Anyone in a leadership role should be aware of the values they hold, their strengths, and the areas they can improve on as they grow as a leader.

Why?

Because your values determine how you execute leadership, the team environment you create, and the success of your company. The values you display as a leader will permeate your entire organization and affect its performance.

Leaders who adhere to their values earn respect and commitment from their teams. Value-driven leadership can inspire others not just to follow them but to adopt those values as their own.

By embracing the notion that you can develop leadership qualities, you can also choose leadership values to develop. This is possible both through leadership training and mindful attention and practice.

13 Important values of a leader

Let's review 13 core values that an outstanding leader should demonstrate.

1. Empowerment and development

As a leader, you are in a position of power.

Instead of trying to keep all that power and control for oneself, an effective leader empowers others and amplifies their own impact as a result.

This empowerment can come from formal employee training, ongoing coaching, and workforce development. Mentorship and the delegation of responsibilities can also help.

Empowering others through mentorship and delegation of complex tasks creates a stronger team. With it, you will help build future leaders you can rely on with confidence.

2. Vision

Leaders have the important responsibility of creating and maintaining the organizational vision. What does the company seek to become in the next 5, 10, or 20 years, and what steps are required to realize that goal?

"...As a visionary leader, you should be thinking about more than just the next quarter. You should also be thinking about the next decade, and what your company's reputation and place in the world will be after 40 quarterly results."

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors

When you center vision as a leadership value, this means you keep the big picture at the forefront of your decision-making.

It also means employing foresight to plan for obstacles. Keep an eye out for anything that may get in the way of your company's vision, and be ready to update the vision as you gain more experience and information.

Successful leadership also includes the leader's ability to communicate that vision to their team members. The message must be shared in a meaningful, actionable, and engaging way.

3. Communication

"Communication and communication strategy is not just part of the game-it is the game."

Oscar Munoz, executive chairman of United Airlines

Communication is the foundation of any relationship.

In a work setting, centering communication as a core leadership value manifests in many ways. It can take the form of conveying context to employees. Or it can be setting clear expectations for individuals and teams. Or even providing and seeking constructive feedback.

A leader may have a clear vision, but unless communication is a driving value, others will not be able to share it.

4. Reinforcement and influence

Positive reinforcement and recognition to your team members are important forms of communication.

"The number one thing that you have to do as a leader: to bolster the confidence of the people you lead."

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

When things are busy, it can be all too easy to speed along without making an effort to show that you noticed someone's contribution.

However, positive reinforcement is a huge aspect of improving employee motivation and engagement. Not only that but in lifting your influence as a business leader.

Without recognition, the motivation of team members can lag, and their productivity will grind to a halt.

By demonstrating appreciative behavior, you encourage others to reinforce each other too. This helps boost morale across the organization.

5. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand others, see from their point of view, and feel what they are feeling. It is a value that is held in high regard by many senior executives and good business leaders.

The importance of empathy as a leadership value is not simply to be nice or likable. You can build a far stronger team by exercising empathy and understanding each person's motivations with whom you work.

Empathy will help you match people's strengths and skills to roles where they can make the most impact. It will help you build and sustain positive and productive relationships. It will also help you recognize the core values of others on your team.

This is the knowledge that you can harness for the betterment of each individual and the company.

6. Humility

Leaders must constantly be learning. To be in that receptive state of mind requires humility.

Opportunities to build wisdom can easily be lost if you are not willing to recognize and process mistakes. Humility also means knowing when to ask for input from others.

If you have a gap in knowledge in a certain area, seek advice from those with more experience or from coaches. If your strategy is not connecting with your audience, consult the people closest to the work or your customers.

Having a strong sense of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and humility is a key leadership trait. It prevents leaders from becoming insulated from the outside world. In turn, this allows them to focus on becoming better leaders all-around.

7. Passion and commitment

An extraordinary leader is not only capable of commanding influence or communicating successfully.

They are also:

committed to meeting organizational goals

passionate about the company and their leadership role within it

and demonstrate ferocious resolve when faced with adversity

A leader with this kind of mindset can motivate everyone around them. Their passion and energy are so infectious that it drives and uplifts the entire team.

8. Respect

As a leader, you can demonstrate respect through many of the behaviors already listed here:

Empowering others

Strong communication skills

Recognition of employee abilities

Empathizing with the situations of others

Respect should also move in all directions. Treat upper management, your board, employees, and customers with the respect they deserve to gain respect in return.

It's also important to build a culture where differences are respected and appreciated. Having diverse viewpoints within the organization is a strength, and those who differ from you in opinion should feel as valued as those aligned with you.

9. Patience

Patience is a value that is often learned with time but is an incredibly important skill for those in leadership roles. At its heart, patience is about delayed gratification.

Leaders need to be patient with new hires who aren't up to operating speed yet. They also require patience with existing team members who are working out how to deal with complex issues. This is especially true where the leader may be able to tackle with greater ease.

Patience also benefits leaders who have long-term goals, such as quarterly or annual sales targets. These goals can only be achieved incrementally through perseverance and patience.

10. Resilience

A key nature of business is change, and as a leader, you often take the brunt of big changes - or even initiate them.

You must be able to weather these times, not only for yourself but for your team.

This is not to say you can't have human reactions to challenges, but ultimately your team will respond to how you handle hardship and communicate the outcomes.

Employees look to their leaders for cues during unpredictable phases, and a show of resilience at the top will bolster the entire organization.

Resilience has tangible positive outcomes as well. As BetterUp's study on resilience shows, it increases revenue, encourages innovation, and retains employees.

11. Honesty and transparency

Employees want a coach and leader who is honest and transparent about their performance, business objectives and directives, and internal company politics.

Nobody likes to feel like they are being lied to or deceived.

Transparency does not mean telling everyone everything as soon as you hear it - there is a time and a manner in which to convey information.

You want to be aware of how new information impacts people and impart it with care, utilizing values we've discussed like empathy, communication, and respect.

Take a company reorganization, for example. You don't want to sound the alarm that change is coming before you've worked out the details. Nor do you want to spring the news on people the day before everything shifts.

Valuing transparency, in this case, would mean communicating why there is a reorganization and getting other company leaders on board with how it affects them and their teams. It could also include hosting a Q&A for everyone who will be affected and setting clear expectations for how and when changes will occur.

"Being transparent about our plans enables us to get better feedback."

Shantanu Narayen, chairman, president, and CEO of Adobe Inc.

12. Accountability

One of the values that many employees admire in a leader is accountability.

Accountability means taking responsibility for one's duties and goals and, at times, owning responsibility for the shortcomings of one's team.

However, strong leaders also need to be prepared to hold their employees accountable for the tasks they are responsible for, which helps to promote personal growth with your team.

13. Integrity

Integrity is a character trait that gains respect and trust.

As a leader, integrity means approaching all of your work with consistency and coherency: the way you communicate with others, carry out your organization's mission, and approach new situations.

Integrity means honoring commitments (including to yourself) and doing what you say you will do, as well as approaching challenges in ways that are coherent with other values and beliefs.

Leading with integrity can sound abstract because it encapsulates so much, but you can think of it as integrating all of your core leadership values - the end doesn't justify the means if the means violate our core values.

The people who work for us notice if we only exhibit our values when times are good. By knowing your leadership values, reviewing them, and having them guide your actions, you will be leading with integrity no matter what your company faces.

Core values of a leader make for great leadership

Becoming a great leader is a journey and one which will last your entire career.

Of course, the sooner you start focusing on these leadership values, the faster you'll become the leader you want to be:

1. Empower and development

2. Vision

3. Communication

4. Reinforcement and influence

5. Empathy

6. Humility

7. Passion and commitment

8. Respect

9. Patience

10. Resilience

11. Honesty and transparency

12. Accountability

13. Integrity

Are you looking for a helping hand in developing your leadership skills? Check out how we help leaders grow.

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Leadership values: 13 essential values of a leader

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What makes a great leader? Is it someone who takes command with a firm leadership style? Does it take an ethical leader who seeks to follow their moral compass and embraces the shared values of their employees? Or is a successful leader one who can transform a company's culture so that it allows each individual to thrive?

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Steve Jobs brought Apple back from the brink of bankruptcy and turned it into a billion-dollar empire. "Coach K" of Duke University fame is one of the winningest coaches in all of college basketball. Julius Caesar personally led the Roman armies into battle again and again.

Have these great leaders discovered something the rest of us haven't?

They recognize that your values create your world . Leadership values , like personal values, affect all of your decisions in the workplace. They allow you to inspire others, influence decisions and have a positive impact on your organization.

There's no magic formula to becoming an inspirational leader like Jobs or Buffet. All you have to do is get in touch with your leadership core values .

Leadership core values

Everyone has different values. They're based on our past experiences, our habits and even the ways our brains are wired. But there are three important values of a leader that you must master in order to inspire and influence others.

Service

Servant leadership means that everything you do is rooted in serving a greater good. Those who embody service leadership values have discovered their purpose in life and won't let anything get in their way. They want to do good in the world, because they know that is what brings a life of meaning and true fulfillment.

Passion

Do you wake up each morning excited to start the day? Or do you hit the snooze button and wish for five more minutes? If you answered "yes" to waking up excited, you've discovered one of the most important values of a leader . Passion is what allows us to live each and every day with energy and commitment and encourage others to do the same.

Vision

Tony says, "Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear." This is the essence of having a crystal-clear vision. Your leadership vision gives you a deep belief in yourself that helps you stay focused and bounce back from adversity. It allows you to emanate confidence. And it's what ultimately inspires others to follow you.

Leadership values list

Along with service, vision and passion, great leaders can have many other powerful values that guide their decisions and lives. This leadership values list can get you thinking about which ones you hold.

How to develop your leadership values

Knowing your leadership core values is an essential part of being an effective leader. When you're in touch with your values - and live them every day - you'll make better decisions, build trust in the workplace and inspire others to follow your example.

Determine your leadership style

All great leadership is servant leadership. Your specific leadership style is a combination of service with your other values. Democratic leaders will hold empathy and communication as leadership core values , while visionaries value creativity and innovation . Affiliative leaders may value loyalty and harmony, while pacesetting leaders will appreciate hard work and responsibility. Once you determine your foundational leadership values , you can learn to incorporate other values to become a better leader .

Examine your decisions

Pay more attention to the decisions you make day to day. Why did you make that decision? Connect it back to one of the values above or one of your own values. Also look at which decisions were easy, and which were more difficult. The difficult decisions probably didn't relate as easily to your leadership core values . If you were able to make a decision quickly and it left you feeling satisfied, chances are it just "felt right." That's because your leadership values guided you.

Reflect on past experiences

Examine your actions and decisions outside of the workplace as well. Think back on key moments in your life where you felt extreme emotion: happiness or sadness, pride or embarrassment, fulfillment or emptiness. Why do you think you felt that way? On occasions you felt positive emotions, you were likely living in line with your core values. If you felt negatively, you weren't able to align your values with your experience. These personal values will overlap with your leadership values , providing valuable insights.

Write it down

Start by making your own personal leadership values list . Write down each value that matters to you, then group the similar values together, making no more than five groups. For example, honesty, integrity and authenticity may go together, or optimism, resilience and adaptability. Choose one word from each group that is most important to you. You now have a list of your five leadership core values .

Apply your leadership values

As you encounter new experiences and challenges, you have the tools to reflect on your leadership values and apply them to your decision-making. If your values align with those of your workplace, you'll find plenty of ways to apply them. If they don't, you'll have an opportunity to bring new insights and inspiration and create a more positive and open company culture .

Read to live your leadership values?

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Steve Jobs brought Apple back from the brink of bankruptcy and turned it into a billion-dollar empire. "Coach K" of Duke University fame is one of the winningest coaches in all of college basketball. Julius Caesar personally led the Roman armies into battle again and again.