What makes a good leader? What does it mean to lead by example? Do good leaders allow others to lead, too? Those were some of the questions our Spark heroes grappled with at circle times this week, where the theme was—you guessed it—leadership.
Some of the qualities we strive to develop in Village School heroes are independence, accountability, and integrity, all qualities of good leaders. So we coach our learners to step up, take responsibility for themselves, be kind and keep others safe, and to work as a team.
We explored three main areas of leadership starting with the basics—good vs. bad leadership. What sorts of things do good leaders do? What shouldn’t they do? The heroes had a lot of good ideas—they suggested that the best leaders help others make good choices, use kind words, and keep everyone safe. Conversely, they said that bad leaders encourage others to make unkind or unsafe choices.
But what if you’re shy and don’t feel comfortable addressing a group? We talked about how some leaders lead by example. They quietly demonstrate the right thing to do and provide an example that others may follow. As one hero put it succinctly, “Instead of telling people what to do, you show them what to do.”
We also discussed the importance of leaders who help others contribute ideas and lead alongside them. (As opposed to telling everyone what to do and expecting complete compliance.)
Each of these discussions addressed something we had seen in the studio that week, either indoors or on the playground. It was pretty remarkable to see behaviors shift as heroes thought about their actions and those of others. They were excited to be positive leaders, and felt empowered to speak up when they witnessed someone making poor choices or leading others astray. We all agreed that leaders are rarely perfect, that everyone makes mistakes. But we decided that it’s important to be self-aware enough to learn from your own mistakes and hold up a mirror for others so they can learn, too.
This series of launches doubtless provided more than learners could absorb in just one week. But we guides (and some heroes) reinforced the concepts by referring back to our discussions again and again. The launches also laid the groundwork for future group discussions slated for the coming months. Finally, they planted seeds that we hope will help them grow into effective leaders as adults.
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