David, 

 

Well done.

 

I second Janet's thought that what you have given the field through your work on this list is harder than it looks, and takes more time than I can imagine. Your work on this list has helped so many of us in the field (as Janet said, "...pushed, prodded, engaged...").

 

Your final choice of topic led to the list below and certainly, you have demonstrated many of those ideals. Thank you for taking the "bird's nest" position and for helping many of us to see that wider view as well.

 

 

Cyndy Colletti

 

 

 

From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David J. Rosen
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 7:30 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 1457] Leadership Qualities, Experience,Skills and Behaviors

 

Colleagues,

 

Here's the updated list, with a few quotes from participants:

 

 

 

Adult Literacy Education Leadership

These are not the go-it-alone leaders we see depicted as statues in our parks         (Paul Jurmo)

Collaboration builds strong leaders (Betsy Rubin)

Leaders should earn their right to lead (Robert Molino)

[A leader is] the lucky one out front, who is in the place to see something coming that the ones who follow can't see yet.  Something like the lookout in the "bird's nest" on the ship's top mast (Philip Anderson)

 

[Leadership is] the decision to see that everything around us goes well                 (Jeniffer Herrera-Andújar)

 

[Leadership is] a role, a process and a relationship (Anita Webb)

 

Qualities

*	Positive energy, passion and commitment needed to do this hard work and inspire others 

·        Vision, for example, a vision of a better system of adult learning

·        Ability to stay focused on a mission

·        Patience

·        Organized

·        Creativity

·        Courage

·        Self-confidence

·        Self-control

·        Persistence/tenacity

·        Honesty

·        Flexiblity/adaptability

·        Humility

·        Sensitivity/understanding

·        Reliability

·        Consistence

·        Follow-through

*	Willingness to learn 
*	Willingness to "roll up one's sleeves, and not asking an employee or subordinate to do anything that they themselves are not willing to do

Experience 

*	Extensive experience with relationship building and networking 
*	Having a big picture world-view of our profession 
*	Life-long learner 
*	Experience as a community organizer or involvement with organized labor

Skills and Behaviors

A leader:

·        Demonstrates expertise (i.e., knowledge of the theory and practice, based on study and experience)  in how to:
....  plan and implement effective learning systems for various learner populations, purposes, contexts, etc.
....  deal with funding-related tasks (i.e., get funding, manage it well, deal with funders, . . . )
....  select, train, guide, mentor, support, coordinate, and otherwise lead the people who do this work.

·        Communicates clearly and well and supports the flow of information and ideas throughout the organization

·        Demonstrates valuing collaboration, consultation and participatory decision-making

·        Values  team work, and can facilitate team activities as well as participate while others do the facilitating

·        Advocates one's organization to those above, below and laterally;  advocates for the organization's or program's mission, its clients and its staff

·        Is decisive when necessary.  (There are times when a decision needs to be made immediately and there is little or no time for consulting the whole;  also, there are times that participatory democracy does not yield a consensus on something that requires action.  A good leader knows how to break up the logjam in a way consistent with all of the other qualities mentioned.)

·        Engages in participatory decision-making, asking staff members working in classrooms, and with individual adult learners, for feedback, ideas, and opinions

·        Welcomes differing opinions and seriously considers these new or different ideas to make better decisions

·        Freely shares administrative information that impacts the program and seeks input from staff before making final decisions

·        Demonstrates the full range of Equipped for the Future skills.  (EFF includes the basic communication, planning, teamwork, lifelong learning, and other basic skills all of us need, including leaders)

·        Works for the common good

·        Actively pursues excellence

*	Is fair and ethical in all aspects of a leadership or supervisory role

·        Respects the just rule of law

·        Respects human rights and commitment to human development

·        Allocates and uses resources transparently

·        Values the protection, regeneration and sustainability of the environment

·        Is committed to leadership development for oneself and others

·        Respects others

·        Engages others in having ownership of the success of the organization, staff and clients/students

·        Apologizes when wrong

·        Admits that s/he might be wrong, can do better, and might need to try a different strategy.

·        Admits when s/he does not know the answer and makes an effort to find the answer 

·        Works to develop the skills of his/her staff members (who are truly considered a "team").

·        Accepts ideas from the field

·        Has a hard enough shell to withstand the sometimes subtle criticism that comes with the leadership role

·        Consistently implements ideas

*	Follows through and, by this, leads by example 
*	Trusts in the work of those hired to implement the projects s/he starts 

·        Actively seeks out connections and collaborations within the community

·        Gets things done, and also invents what can be done- generates possibilities and then joins the team in following through. 

·        Works well with others, including those who might have different backgrounds, perspectives, and styles

·        Deals effectively with resistance to change

·        Is an excellent role model for everyone in the organization

·        Respects the work of the staff

·        Encourages staff to grow and explore new ideas

·        Is committed to students

·        Embraces change that is for the benefit of the organization and people. 

 

-----------------------------









************************************************
Disclaimer - This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and contain privileged or copyright information. You must not present this message to another party without gaining permission from the sender. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy, distribute or use this email or the information contained in it for any purpose other than to notify the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. 

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately, and delete this email from your system. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. 
************************************************










-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/specialtopics/attachments/20090930/6301a298/attachment.html