With fourteen years of experience, I am a very confident librarian. I understand my role; I have a vision and am prepared for any challenge with which I am met. Perhaps that is why I've decided to enter leadership - I need a new challenge. There is something about change which excites me, and requires that I strive to achieve beyond what I know to grow past who I am today. It is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night, and makes me yearn to learn more each day.
How does one become a leader?
Schooling is obviously important. It offers the foundation upon which to base your learning; however the most valuable experience that I have had while studying to become an administrator is working with a mentor.
How do you find a mentor?
In some cases, the mentor finds you. I've worked with not one, but many individuals who have shaped my understanding of what it means to be a leader. My first true mentor found me. He saw in me the ability to be a leader, and took his time cultivating that talent - letting me gain experience while he molded my understanding of what it meant to lead others. He allowed me to find success in a safe setting while sculpting and building my confidence. Then, he left to follow his own dreams… The year I spent in flux after he left taught me two important things:
1. The only given in a mentor/mentee relationship is that it must end for the mentee to reach full potential
2. You must develop an understanding of your own needs to cultivate a group of mentors to shape and influence your growth into a leader
It was in losing my first mentor to his own need for growth that I understood what I needed to do in order to develop my own path into leadership. There are three distinct mentors you must find and relationships you must cultivate in order to continue your growth into leadership:
1. The inspiration - this mentor has a vision that reaches beyond that which anyone with whom you work is doing. You can find these thought leaders through professional organizations such as ASCD, in the current published literature working for institutions of higher education or, as I have, through social networking using resources such as Twitter to follow the most current conversations in your interest area. This mentor will excite your mind and inspire you. It will be this mentor who gets you through the long nights when you have too much work to do, but must persist. This mentor is your inspiration... and can sometimes be embodied in the ideals of several individuals culled together to create your vision of leadership.
2. The perspiration - this mentor is someone who knows how to take care of business. You can often find this person by looking within your own institutions. This individual takes care of business each day, and makes the building (in the case of a principal) run smoothly. Most likely this individual is experienced and can offer sage advice on how to get the job done well. Think of this person as a master, teaching you the craft of being in leadership. S/he is the one who knows how things run, and will help you master the task of being effective, efficient and well respected.
3. The actualization - this last mentor is highly elusive, but a prize when found. This individual takes both the inspiration and perspiration and makes them work within a school setting. In this case, you must look to practitioners who mirror the ideals of the inspirational mentor and have the experience at integration like the master mentor who represents perspiration. When you find this individual you will know because the connection between you will feel symbiotic - not so much in the need to survive, but more so in the way you exchange thoughts and ideas. It will be as though this person is an extension of your thoughts; however s/he possesses the experiences which you are lacking, and is able to bring those two things together as a leader. It is through this leader that you will be able to envision yourself in leadership, and grow into the leader you are destined to become.
To become a leader, you must understand where you need to grow. By finding individuals to fill the mentor roles described above, you can develop into the type of leader you wish to become. Oh Captain, My Captain - Thank you for helping me develop into the leader I was meant to be.
