For this quarter’s slew of blogging assignments I decided to read Good To Great by Jim Collins. The first chapter of this book focuses on what makes someone a prime candidate to lead the next “great” organization. I say organization because enforces the idea that the ideas written within transcend relevance beyond purely business means. The “Level 5” leader that the first chapter describes would be an effective leader no matter the setting. This kind of leader is described as someone who leads with the fluid paradox of being overcome with professional will but being grounded in personal humility. A “Level 5” leader is someone who creates the superb results necessary to transform a company from good to great, but is never boastful and shuns public admiration and credit. A key component of being one of these leaders is that you always have to place the company before yourself, that means taking fault for the failures and outsourcing credit for the successes. It also means having enough dignity and pride to make sure that your successor to the leadership position is better and more capable than you ever were, it is not your namesake that matters, but rather the institution’s as a whole. This chapter resonated with me as I pursue this solo project for quarter 3, because I see myself as having the opportunity to be a “Level 5” leader. My goal for the project is to create an annual Art Festival to celebrate the art, culture, and faculty of the Visual Arts department of the high school. The problem I see with the community as it currently stands is that there is all this great art being produced and there is very little publicity and school attention on it. My goal is to create a publicized event open to the school where this appreciation can manifest. My colleagues in this scenario are the faculty of the Art department, but I as a student who has one block a day devoted solely to this project, will have a good amount of available time to focus on this than they will. In the end I want to create an event that celebrates the Art department, so I will follow Collins’ teachings and do my best work, staying behind the scenes. The last thing I want to do is give the teachers the impression that I am doing this for my own glory, and the fact that I am a newcomer gives that a realistic chance. I will work to make the festival the best it can be, and maintain and ensure my humility to the faculty of the department.
You identify the major challenge here in your final sentences. You are not the leader of this organization (the art department), so you need to be super careful--as you have discovered--of trying to drive the organization. You can lead your project, but you need to fully understand your own position in the organization. Trying to drive this organization in any way will be perceived as a threat since, well, you're not really authorized to drive it. Focus on getting your project off the ground without worrying too much about the long term direction of the entire department. Make your project great, and then wait and see what the impact will be.
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