Years ago, I was blessed to be in a position to hold seminars with groups of educators designed to discuss and build leadership skills both informally and formally, internally – for the individual and externally for the school. As we discussed leadership skills and qualities, we would talk about new tools being put in our toolboxes as leaders. This year in Teach & Serve, I have decided to talk about many of those tools.
PRESENCE
I made a determination early in my career as a school leader and it, as much as almost anything else, has moved me closer to being the type of leader I want to be.
I decided that, whenever someone came to my office door (a door that, no matter my office configuration, I keep in my line of sight – I do not put my desk in a corner that cannot be seen from the hallway), I would stop whatever I was doing and give them my full attention.
It was an easy decision. It is a fairly easy thing to do.
It makes a significant difference in my relationships with people and helps me attend to them and to their needs. it helps me know them.
Being present should not be difficult. Being present in a moment, being present in a classroom, being present in a building. It is truly a matter of scheduling and of mindset. It is not some skill that a leader needs to bring – a priori – to a position. It is a habit that can be formed and it is a tool that goes a very long way to establishing who a leader is going to be.
Presence is relatively easy to establish. It is massively important in the life of a leader.