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Leadership is a Two-Way Street

I was recently asked to develop my own definition of leadership. Inspired by the integrative definition of leadership developed by Winston and Patterson (2006) and leadership as defined and described by Northouse (2018) I came up with the following:

A leader causes a follower to change in a way that helps the follower achieve something that they desire.

The role of leader and follower can be assigned, or emergent. That is to say that a leadership-follower relationship can arise out of formal positioning, like that of a manager and subordinate. Leadership can also arise organically, or emerge, within any group or relationship that forms in any setting (Northhouse, 2018). An environment that allows the leader-follower relationship to work both ways can be mutually beneficial to those involved. I believe that my supervisor and I lead one another to ensure the success of our campus. While she has the formal role of supervisor (an assigned leader) I emerge as a leader in our group when she allows me to influence her. 

One of the primary leaders in my life right now is the campus director where I currently work. My relationship with this leader began before I even knew about this University. At first, I was the leader of a pre-service training program for an organization where she was to volunteer. As the training facilitator, I led the group including my now supervisor through activities to help them develop skills to become an advocate for children and Foster Care. As a trainer I influenced my now supervisor by supporting them through a training program, encouraging them through time-consuming and emotionally intense discussions. Fast forward a year and this volunteer in training is now my direct supervisor. The tables have turned and now someone that I had led is leading me. Now this leader influences me by helping me develop the skills needed to successfully run a University satellite campus. 

My leader and I communicate on a regular basis. We meet weekly to discuss how the prior week went, and what we plan for the next week. Studies have shown “a relationship between higher job performance and more frequent communication with the supervisor,” and I’ve seen it first hand (Winston & Patterson, 2006, p. 18). We hold each other accountable to our goals and collaborate on projects frequently. 

My leader and I are aware of what we need to get our jobs done. We are honest with each other, especially now during the stress of COVID about what we struggle with. We provide each other with the support that we need to get our jobs done. We often have to have difficult conversations with students. We are there to prep before these conversations and debrief after. We provide emotional support to ensure that we are taking care of ourselves so that we can best show up for our students (Winston & Patterson, 2006).

My leader makes me feel like a partner. We are each responsible for the success of our campus jointly and separately. Decisions are made as a collective and we share in the successes and failures that come from those decisions together. Together we "change the organization to best accomplish" our mission of serving students and holding space for academic success (Winston & Patterson, 2006, p. 27). 






References

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Sage Publishing.

Winston, B. E., & Patterson, K. (2006). An integrative definition of leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(2), pp. 2-66.

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