Guidepost #1: What Is Leadership And Why It Matters

What is Leadership?

“Woman Places Sticky Notes on Wall” Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

What does it mean to be a leader? How has leadership changed over time? And, what does leadership have to do with changemaking? Like empathy, understanding leadership is nuanced and complex, and can be taught! Though we often think about “natural” born leaders, leadership is “like a muscle that needs to be developed” (Homayun, 2016, para. 6).

Hougaard and Carter (2022) highlight the need for leaders to do “hard things in a human way” (p.1). Put differently, leaders need to be courageous. Brené Brown adds to our understanding by suggesting that, “a leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential.” Moreover, in an interview with Allison Koch (2024), Simon Sinek states that, “great leaders, the best leaders I’ve ever met, they will have courage [and] integrity . . . to do the right thing in the face of overwhelming pressure to do the opposite. All of these things take courage . . . . and it’s the quality of our relationships that give us courage.” Check out the videos below from Simon Sinek and Brené Brown to learn a little bit more about their perspectives on leadership.

Taking to heart the advice from Brown and Sinek, how can you be the safety net that gives your learners the courage to lead? How can you cultivate deeply meaningful relationships with your learners that allow them to take risks in an effort to become courageous leaders?

We can pull some insight and inspiration from Ashoka (2024) who reminds us that “changemakers are leaders who embrace new forms of social influence and interaction. They view decision-making as an inclusive, collaborative process where everyone has something to offer. . . . This type of shift requires actively listening to others and seeking to identify and build on the individual strengths within the group. [And] better understanding your own strengths” (New Leadership section, para. 1). Taking this one step further, Ashoka (2022) suggests that what is needed today is a culture of shared leadership where power dynamics and hierarchies become dismantled, everyone has something to contribute in the decision-making process, where leaders “work alongside others, supporting more people to step up and create the big picture” (para. 22). This call to action embodies Sinek’s (2014) belief that, “leadership is a choice, not a rank. It’s choosing to look out for the person on your left and to look out for the person on your right.”

What Did Our Research Reveal About Shared Leadership?

Different voices from our focus groups, including employers, educators, and post-secondary learners, revealed the various ways that they believe shared leadership can shift a leader’s role to ensure that every player is an initiator and sees the big picture. We have captured some of our research participants’ ideas below.

“Shared leadership is a leadership style that broadly distributes leadership responsibility, such that people within a team and organization lead each other.”

“Leadership is not loud, is not dominant. It is turn taking, is supportive, and sharing.”

“Shared leadership to me is involving every member of a team in the decision making to ensure that the desired goals are achieved.”

“It shares responsibility so that everyone is available to contribute and lead change without becoming overwhelmed.”

Why Does Leadership Matter to Your Learners?

Leadership is a crucial skill for learners to develop because it encompasses empowerment, helps them understand the significance of shared leadership, encourages a growth mindset, and promotes mentorship. Effective leaders empower others to reach their potential by being empathetic, fostering collaboration, driving growth, embracing failure, and guiding future leaders. Researchers have found that teaching leadership skills to young youth also,

• Helps to build their confidence, develop problem-solving skills, and encourages creativity and initiative (YUVA, 2024).
• Enhances and strengthens positive peer relationships (Active Kids Minds, 2023), as well as collaboration and teamwork (Jeffrey, 2023).
• Encourages empathy and social emotional learning, as well as resilience when experiencing failure (Jeffrey, 2023).

Furthermore, teaching leadership skills might have a uniquely positive impact on girls and non-binary young people who struggle with unique gendered inequities and stereotypes. Research demonstrates the ages of 9-13 being particularly critical to experiencing a decline in mental wellbeing and confidence (Boyce et al., 2008). In Grade 6, for example, 36% of girls say they feel self-confident, but by Grade 10, this falls to only 14% (Canadian Women’s Foundation, n.d.).