I think I know what I want in a leader and how I want to be known as a leader - A colleague who has earned mutual respect and values the ideas brought forth. Lambert (pg 4) states, “Collaboration that doesn’t work can be a real setback, because it makes participants more hesitant to offer their time and commitment to working with others in the future.” The reason I use this is quote is it sums up a situation I experienced previously.
As a member of a committee for our school we had a lead and several other teachers. When I would work on something and learn a way to use technology to make our job easier, I would share this with our elementary staff. I often heard how appreciative the staff was and it did make the job easier. However, I was told this was overwhelming some of the staff. I did make inquiries to make sure I was not sending out too much for everyone. I did not hear any complaints as previously mentioned. But I was told by my lead not to send things unless it was approved.
I was insulted and told my lead I would not share anything anymore. She was very worried and said this is not what they meant. They loved my ideas but just wanted the lead to approve them. I decided for myself I would stop due to the lack of collaboration from within our team. Apparently we all did not feel respected nor did we feel our ideas had even been considered as worthy of their time. When this occurs, you become quite apathetic and hesitant to work on a non-productive committee.
However, an opportunity opened up for me to serve on a committee that displays more of the ideals I hold dear in strong leadership – giving and earning mutual respect while valuing the input of team members.
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