Leadership Towards the 21st Century Education

Our world is now entering into the age of globalization. Schools and other educational institutions are expected to provide globally competent individuals who could survive in the ever-changing landscape of the industry. Hence, a new and modified breed of leadership that would meet the demands of our society is needed to suit our present educational needs.

The following are the leadership features which I strongly believe would successfully drive our educational institutions in the 21st century.

1. Excellence-Driven Leadership. At this age, competition is getting higher and higher. We might not want to accept it but the reality is we have to strive and survive to keep ourselves alive. Mediocre leaders are outdated in the educational arena. We need leaders who believe the value of excellence in all aspects of the educational setting. We need leaders who believe that excellence is not beyond their reach. In short, we need visionary and competent leaders. Imagine a school in a competitive society driven by a mediocre leader.

An excellence-driven leader will never be outdated because he knows how to adjust if not adapt the society where he is living. An excellent leader never stops learning for a reason but continues to explore for personal and professional world. An excellent-driven leader does not retire from the world but the world retires at him.

2. Values-Driven Leadership. We cannot lead people by just our mouths but we lead them best by example. An excellent 21st century leader has strong interpersonal and intrapersonal values- he is clean inside and out. A leader cannot expect those people in school to practice the values he is promoting if he himself does not practice those values. A values-driven leader who is suited to the type of education in the 21st century believes and practices integrity, honesty, equality, respect, responsibility and all other values which our learners need to have.

3. People-Driven Leadership. Leading people does not mean letting them follow you but making them feel important to you as a leader. A style of leadership which would surely survive in this era is the “I-know-it-all” kind of leadership. As educational leader, one must be very sensitive to the needs of its constituents and not just make decision according to what he believe is right and what he thinks is good and to what he feels better.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP

History itself has proven that leadership is inseparable to mankind. Since the inception of society before the dawn of civilization, leadership has been a very important aspect.

Needless to say, we are living in a very unique society where individuality is the only thing common among every people. People tend to have different attitudes, traits and characteristics due to the upbringing of the community where they live. Diversity is found in every level and every corner of the world that even the smallest of the smallest society enjoy it. Different we might be, we cannot deny the fact that this world is meant to be a world of happiness where everyone enjoys while in harmony with each other. Whether we are in Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Africa, or Australia; we are one and we should work as one. In order to do this, we need leaders who possess strong leadership attitude to guide and inspire every people in the society.

Leadership is needed in every corner of the world. Leaders are important in every organization. A world without leaders is like a ship without lighthouse. It would work yet it would be undirected and possibilities of naval accidents would be very high. In a society, a leader is of equal important to the lighthouse of navigating ships. Without a leader, fight against each one’s principles and philosophies would be more rampant and misunderstanding would be more prevalent. A sound leader is needed to create a sound society and the good thing is we can all be leaders. We can all be leaders of ourselves by possessing strong leadership attitude. We can all be leaders by leading our inner self and leading others by example. We can all be leaders by taking initiative every time needed, by being proactive to every situation, by taking part in the solution and not the problem, and by taking responsibility in our actions. Everybody is meant to be leaders. Leadership is very necessary. Even the jungle animals have their lion king and the colony of ants has their king and queen; how about, we, people?