다음은 필자가 차세대 리더십컨퍼런스에서 영어권 젊은세대에게 영어로 연설한 내용입니다. 지면 제한상 핵심만 요약했습니다.

Some of my favorite books on leadership include Dr. Lee Bolman and Dr. Terry Deal’s books: Corporate Cultures, Reframing Organizations and Leading with Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit. I have been fortunate to have Dr. Terry Deal as one of our special guest speakers at U.S.C. during my doctoral program in educational leadership two decades ago. In addition, I have been personally intrigued by Dr. Deal’s insights and perspectives on leadership after reading his books.

“Leading means walking the tightrope between rigidity and spinelessness.”
“Leaders are like surfers.”

(Reframing Organizations, Bolman & Deal)

The above two quotes talk about how important discernment is to leadership; the leader must know when it’s best to stick to strict structural policies and when adapting to different individual needs is more appropriate. In order to serve as this type of leader, one must blend the four frame models of understanding formal structure, individual needs, power and conflict, and culture and symbols.

In order to blend these, leaders must realize that : “Leading is giving. Leadership is an ethic, a gift of oneself.” (Leading with Soul, Bolman & Deal). Leaders must focus on the people they are serving and are dedicated to the service they are providing to these people. This type of “servant leadership” is more challenging because responding to employees and clients requires making yourself vulnerable to their divergent ideas and requests. By creating such an open, responsive corporate structure, leaders make their job easier because their members or subordinates are more supportive.

According to Dr. Michael Fullan, “You can’t impose significance. People have to create it together”. Real leaders promote a feeling of group ownership because their spiritual commitment to their service inspires their followers to give their best to the cause.
Followers won’t jump on board if they think the leader is just mouthing words of care.

Leaders understand that “Your heart is your spiritual center. Heart is courage and compassion. Without it life is empty and lonely. You are always busy but never fulfilled.” (Leading With Soul, Bolman & Deal) Your sense of fulfillment from your work is just as contagious as your sense of urgency to work for the cause.

Thus, a true leader is one whose personal sense of success and fulfillment is always palpable. That’s because this spiritual philosophy of loving what you do transcends the professional and extends into one’s personal life. Thus, I’ve learned that such a philosophy must be applied to one’s entire life. That is why the lessons I have learned from Dr. Terry Deal are personally therapeutic as well as professionally enhancing.

These are my reflections from my readings and lessons learned on leadership as I retired as school principal for 23 years in an urban public school in Los Angeles. These books made me to think to strive to be a leader as reader and as a continuous learner.

drsuzieoh@gmail.com

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