This blog will support a distance education credit course for two master's students. Others interested in the topics may join us from time to time. A basic blog is quick to set up; customized images, etc. take more time. This simple template will work for us. The birds in the background remind me of geese flying in formation, an image that has been called upon to help describe leadership principles, particularly shared leadership, because when the leaders tire they drop back and someone new move forward. Apparently, the flying is less difficult when you are not the first. Soon I will post more specific instructions for how to use this blog to support the course. In the meantime, April and Terry, you will need to set up a Google account to respond to my invitation. (Take care to write potential passwords down until you find one that works - if you set up an account but forget the password, there will be problems. I recommend using your first name only.) When you've joined the blog, you will be able to make posts yourself, to initiate topics for discussion. When you want to respond to topics initiated by someone else, you can do so by commenting on a post. You could start with this one. What are other animal images that help you to understand something about leadership?
I found this representation of leadership very interesting as today in our staff meeting we were shown a powerpoint presentation on how Canada Geese demonstrate leadership qualities and how we as educators can take this and understand the importance of leadership. The animal that comes to mind for me when demonstrating leadership is the Orca (Killer whale). The Orca was given the name Killer Whale because of the effient way that it kills its prey. Killer whales travel in pods their whole live and work together always for the support of their family. They feed together, play together and defend eachother. This is why they are such a successful species. This is reflective of human leadership qualities because if we work together to share the load and everyone is working on the same page with lots of communication, outcomes are often successful.
ReplyDeleteI also found the representation of leadership with geese very inspiring. I watched last week the practice formation flights of the geese on Tabor Lake. This goes on for days until they get the formation correct. The days are filled with excitement, noise and a sense of urgency with the creation of the V formation. There is a definite distribution of leadership with these amazing birds. Educators need to understand the importance of shared or distributed leadership as the leading position can be exhausting and support is needed. I sat on my deck this summer late at night with the moon shining beautifully on the lake and listened to the forlorn howl of the wolves. Wolves demonstrate leadership qualities as they are a very social animal. They travel together, eat together, hunt together and play together. Wolves are accepted and respected and cared for by the pack. Leaders, specifically educational leaders, also need to be cared for, trusted and respected in order to lead successfully. The lead wolf leads the pack however it is not afraid to share his role. Wolves have a sense of urgency. They are hardworking focussed workers intend on feeding themselves. They hunt to live not live to hunt. Leaders need to look at the bigger picture of building the capacity of the group and sharing the leadership.
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