Lessons in Leadership
Earlier this week I had the good fortune to attend a Greek festival at my children’s school that was the culmination of weeks of study about ancient Greece. In honor of the celebration children were asked to make and wear traditional ancient Greek clothing (e.g., a toga) to school. This event reminded me of a similar childhood experience when I was in junior high school. I had been elected class vice-president, but soon after assumed the presidency when the position was vacated by my school mate whose family moved to another state.
Ms. Kinder was a social studies teacher and the student council faculty leader at my school. I worked closely with her for the duration of my tenure as president. In hindsight Ms. Kinder was a fabulous teacher, but to most 12 year olds she was unduly strict. I now understand that what we interpreted as strict was her attempt to instill in each of us a sense of responsibility and accountability. Here is how that played out for me as class vice president.
One of the programming efforts I led was called B.U.G. for “bring up grades.” The goal of the program was to encourage students to raise their performance in each class by one letter grade by the next reporting period. The other class officers and I had invested considerable effort into the B.U. G. campaign. We designed posters, a bug-themed mascot (a yellow and black inch worm), and other visual reminders to encourage strong study habits.
As Halloween of that year approached Ms. Kinder and I had agreed that I would dress up as the B.U.G. mascot and wear the costume to school. I remember vividly getting ready for school on Halloween morning and seeing the costume I had laid out to wear the night before. I also remember being in “deep” contemplation about how ridiculous I would look if I actually wore the costume. As a soon-to-be teenager, appearance mattered and I did not want to jeopardize my reputation by looking silly. So, with that, I opted to wear my favorite pair of purple corduroy pants and a red sweater (yes, some might argue that the combination of clothes I selected was a costume in itself).
I arrived at school not thinking at all about the decision I had just made about my attire until I ran into Ms. Kinder in the hallway. She looked at me with a confused look on her face before asking me where the B.U.G. costume was. I told her quite matter-of-factly that it was at home. I will never forget the look of sheer disappointment that came across her face—and I had caused it. She then proceeded to chastise me in a way that I had not experienced before. She said that I was not honoring my commitment and not fulfilling my responsibilities as a class officer —a leader—to promote and support the “bring up grades” campaign. I remember her asking me how I expected other students to take the B.U.G. campaign seriously if I, the class president, had not. Her rant seemed interminable. Yet it taught me a lesson I will never forget: Leadership is about commitment and follow-through.
At that moment I was not committed to the “bringing up grades” effort I had initiated, nor had I followed through on my agreement to wear the B.U.G costume. I had broken Ms. Kinder’s trust in me and I had let superficial concerns cloud my judgment. I was not behaving like a leader. She asked me to go home, put on the costume, and come back to school. I did so. I was not happy about this and I did feel ridiculous, but it was the right thing to do.
Fast forward 28 years and I still refer back to that lesson in leadership to guide my behavior in my personal and professional life. Although I still make mistakes I make fewer of them now than I would have thanks to Ms. Kinder’s lesson. Perhaps it is no coincidence that my life’s work is teaching leadership, and trying to instill the core values and principles of honesty, integrity, commitment, follow-through, and trust. I look around at many of our current corporate and political leaders and wonder what influences motivate their current behavior. The last several years have been marked by crises, including ethical breaches, scandals, and financial mismanagement, and I wonder what childhood or educational lessons contributed to the decisions that produced such calamity. Or perhaps valuable childhood lessons were forgotten.
I also wonder whether I am doing enough to instill leadership virtues in the current and future generation of leaders. Am I Ms. Kinder? Do I hold my students or the executives with whom I work accountable? Do I communicate my disappointment when I see them not living up to a set of ethical standards or integrity? Do I call them out when they make judgments that may save face in the short term but ultimately undermine their espoused objectives? Do any of us?