27J Schools

6 Leadership Skills for 27J Schools

1. The ability to demonstrate Personal Clarity involves coming to a deep personal understanding for who you are as a person.

• Understanding the strengths, thinking and behavioral dispositions that she/he possess
• Understanding the potential errors, weakness, and “shadow” that comes with these strengths
• Accepting the vulnerability of who she/he is and unafraid of the consequences of her/his leadership

       Personal Clarity also involves articulating vision, purpose, goals, and mission.  The leader will set direction, create meaningful work, and nurture such clarity in others as a team.

• The ability to create a vision out in the distant future that inspires purpose in others and makes the work meaningful.  Storytelling, purpose, the why, and rationale are all necessary components
• The ability to plan - clarify a goal or objective and develop a strategy to accomplish the desired results
• The ability to identify and create a set of key behaviors to build a desired skill
• The ability to express ideas clearly in writing, to write appropriately for different audiences
• The ability to reach logical conclusions and make high quality decisions based on available information

2. The ability to Share and Own Responsibility. The leader will engage all stakeholders in meaningful work and ensure that each has an essential role in the success of the organization.  While the leader ultimately owns the responsibility for the organization, empowering others as leaders, thinkers, doers, and problem solvers is the only way to accomplish the mission. 

• The ability to effectively assign projects and tasks to the appropriate people, giving them clear authority to accomplish them and responsibility for their timely and acceptable completion
• The ability to create and maintain a high-performing team
• The ability to engage others as thinkers, self-initiators, self-regulators
• The ability to inspire others to join in the efforts toward your goal

3. The ability to Facilitate and Coach Growth. The leader can facilitate group thinking and learning towards the defined goals.  The leader coaches and supports individuals with clear targets and defined expectations for learning, growing, and change. 

• The ability to get a group to suggest multiple solutions to a problem or opportunity and select the best idea for implementation
• The ability to help create understanding in groups
• The ability to give clear, specific feedback
• The ability to help individuals accurately see themselves and their practice against the desired target

4. The ability of Action Orientation. We learn best by doing, and leaders ensure action.   They engage stakeholders, hold them accountable for performance, and ensure safety for risk taking and continual improvement.  An effective leader ensures that the process and systems facilitate focus and execution.  Plan – Do – Study – Act is a structure to ensure continuous improvement.

• The ability to create structures and systems that promote action and accountability.  Included in this are the PDSA structure and the use of data to continually improve toward the intended goal
• Ability to use time and resources effectively to accomplish short and long-term goals
• The ability to carry out programs and plans to successful completion
• The ability of focus/discipline – working through goals toward the vision, assimilating problems and threats into the vision, and learning to say no to the effervescence that may distract or take away from the immediate goals and trajectory toward the vision

5. The ability of Perspective. The leader will skillfully listen and understand a variety of points of view.  The leader understands that they move the world through the behavior of others.  Listening, empathizing, and empowering this perspective helps to clarify the work and drive action.

• The ability to manage change, anticipating problems, meeting articulated needs
• The ability to examine how outcomes compare with previously defined standards, goals, or priorities
• Ability to identify the important elements of a problem situation and seek out relevant information to determine possible causes and solutions
• The ability to see others, their strengths, needs and challenges, and adjust his/her leadership in the service of others

6. The ability of Emotional Intelligence. The leader pays attention to the emotions of self and others.  He or she is aware of and can self-regulate his or her behavior so that the goal is not compromised.  The leader can manage relationships, empathize with others, and inspire motivation in others to help guide thinking and behavior.

• The ability to recognize, self-regulate, and influence the emotional state of him/herself and others
• Resolving and diverting conflicts; dealing tactfully with persons from different backgrounds
• Ability to influence and guide people to accomplish a task or goal
• The ability to tune into our own needs and the needs of others, and serve both, without compromising either
• Those that can master EQ demonstrate high levels of care and compassion, and engender personal and organizational trust