12 characteristics that make you a teacher-leader

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As a principal, it is important for me to remember that the success we experience in our school is thanks to the efforts of teachers and students, along with all the others who contribute to the life of a school. When I use the word success, I use it in the sense that we are growing and learning as a school and changing in ways that allow our students to have more meaningful experiences, ones that will better prepare them for their future.

I'm extremely blessed to work with teachers who desire what's best for students and actively challenge the status quo and look for opportunities to improve themselves, their classrooms, and our school overall. It's important to recognize that teachers are leaders too. They make an impact on the learning experience of their own students, but they also influence the culture and climate of a building.

The actions of teacher-leaders have impact beyond their classroom. They influence the whole school and likely have influence far beyond the school. A teacher-leader has a legacy of helping others and making the teaching profession stronger overall.

I spent some time thinking about the qualities of teacher-leaders. Maybe you will think of others to add to my list.

1. Teacher-leaders are teaching-geeks. They love to discuss pedagogy and how they can improve the learning for their students.

2. Teacher-leaders are lead learners. They seek out opportunities for professional learning from a variety of sources such as edcamps, graduate courses, or through a Twitter PLN. As principal, I consider myself a lead learners, but all of our teachers should be lead learners too.

3. Teacher-leaders seek out critical feedback. They want to know ways they can improve, and they seek out this information. We may not enjoy critical feedback, but it's necessary information for us to improve. Leaders use negative feedback to get better.

4. Teacher-leaders have a voice. In order to influence others, teacher-leaders are socially connected and respected. Their peers see them as walking-the-walk and talking-the-talk. They build relationships and friendships with their colleagues.

5. Teacher-leaders champion the work. They infuse energy into conversations about change and growth. They aren't afraid to take on new challenges or have difficult conversations.

6. Teacher-leaders ask questions. They don't automatically go along with every idea that is presented, whether from administration, central office, or the state department. But they ask questions that will create dialogue and cause thinking. They don't ask questions to tear down, destroy, or self-protect. There is a big difference!

7. Teacher-leaders serve others. They seek ways to help other teachers succeed and often put their own needs second to the needs of their students and their fellow teachers.

8. Teacher-leaders are positive. Even during negative situations, teachers who stay positive will have the greatest positive impact. It's easy to stay positive when things are going well. Leaders stay positive when it's rough.

9. Teacher-leaders stand for what's right. If something is happening in a school that is harmful to students or to learning, they will use their influence to work against the harmful action. They will even stand against administrators or fellow teachers if needed, but they will always do it in a way that is respectful and preserves dignity.

10. Teacher-leaders have purpose. They view their work as meaningful and want to be part of something bigger than themselves. As a result, school communities are made stronger by their commitment to the team.

11. Teacher-leaders take time to reflect. They think carefully about the work they do and the collective work of the school. What worked well and what are opportunities for improvement?

12. Teacher-leaders embrace change. They aren't stuck in any way of thinking but are open to listen and consider new ideas. They will try new things and share with others the results of these new possibilities. They are innovators and have a spirit of adventure.

Does Professional Dress Matter For Teachers?

This topic has been in my list to blog about for quite a while. It’s not an easy issue and not at the top of the priority list, but it is worth discussing for several reasons. First off, how people dress matters. It creates a first impression and a daily impression. Fair or not, we are judged by how we look, including how we dress. Dress can communicate a sense of importance about what we are doing and can influence the importance others perceive about our work. And since educators are too often looked upon as second-class professionals, isn’t it important to combat that image in every way possible?

You should know I don’t spend much time or energy working on teacher dress expectations (and for the most part they dress for success). I’ve written encouraging emails a few times over the years, but for the most part I’ve had other causes I’ve championed far above this one. Maybe that’s why this blog entry was worthwhile to me. While other things may be more important it doesn’t mean that an issue like this isn’t important at all. My blog gives me a platform to explore even the topics that aren’t at the forefront of my “principal agenda.”

I’ve talked with my wife about this issue more than just about anyone. She is also a teacher, but works in early childhood special education. She often reminds me of the contextual difference for elementary teachers who need to get on their students’ level. Certainly, appropriate dress is dependent on the type of work an educator is doing. She is a fashion expert in my eyes. She always looks great! One of her frustrations is the blanket prohibition on jeans. She argues that jeans can look very professional and put together when paired with a blazer and the proper accessories. I soooo love our fashion talks. :)

My perspective...

1. I want my students to know they are important enough for me to dress up to meet with them. What we are doing is important, and therefore I will dress differently for them than when I go to the store or to the movies.

2. I want my students to understand how to be successful involves making a good impression by how one presents himself or herself. That includes what we say, how we stand, eye contact, and also how we dress. We must dress appropriate to our context. In many workplaces there are specific expectations for dress. Nearly 20 years ago I was required to wear a collared shirt to my job in a grocery store. Shouldn’t teachers far exceed this standard?

3. So why don’t all teachers dress for success? I think some teachers believe that as long as I’m a good teacher (maybe even a great teacher), it doesn’t matter what I wear. Maybe they just value their personal preferences over setting a standard of excellence in this area? Some teachers may not really know how to dress for success? It was never modeled in their home as a child perhaps?

Side note: I fear there are many decisions that are made more for personal preference than for what is best for learning. Some of these have far greater consequences than teacher dress. However, we should seek to challenge all areas that are not promoting learning or improved opportunities for students.

4. I’ve observed that some of the teachers who “dress down” as much as they possibly can are also ones to complain about student dress or hold students to extremely strict “non-academic” standards. For example, when we were discussing if students should wear hats or not inside our building, some of the teachers who are most casual in their own attire were most outspoken that students should NOT be allowed to wear hats.

5. It’s not hard to see all of the assaults on the teaching profession in the media. There have been cover articles of major magazines titled, “Why we must fire bad teachers” and “Rotten Apples” that basically blast the profession. I’ve seen the profession referred to as glorified babysitting on Twitter. We have to remember that our actions can either invite criticisms of our profession or combat them. One way we can stand up for teaching is by treating our work in a professional way. We need educators representing our profession positively in every possible way, not just the ones that are natural or convenient for you.

So how should schools deal with these issues? Should we require teachers to wear suits and ties and strict business attire? I would say absolutely not. I don’t want teachers to dress professionally because they are mandated to do so. I want them to do it because they believe it will help them and help their students and make the profession more respectable.

Besides, I don’t want to have my focus as a leader on a strict dress code that will consume my time to monitor and enforce. We need some basic expectations for dress, but we need adults to choose to exceed the basic expectations. Isn’t that what we want from our students? Don’t just slide by with the least expected. Make every decision to do what is best for students, learning, and the profession.

Question: What are your thoughts on professional dress for teachers? Does it matter to you? Leave a comment or share on and .

What servant leadership means to me

The traditional idea of leadership was power. Leaders were expected to control and coerce. To make sure that followers were productive and efficient. To enforce policies and procedures. Principals and teachers were praised for 'running a tight ship' or 'keeping their ducks in a row.' A quiet classroom and stern educators were considered signs of leadership. Even today, when people I encounter discover I'm a high school principal, it's often followed by comments related to compliance, discipline, or control.


But I have very different ideas about what it truly means to be a leader. I don't believe a person needs positional authority to lead. It can come from anyone who has a desire to serve and the capacity to do two things: challenge and inspire. Leaders use their influence to empower others, to help them be the best version of themselves. As a result, leaders create more leaders.

To me this is servant leadership. The servant-leader may not have positional authority. In fact, he or she may be uncommonly lacking positional authority. But through an attitude of service gains influence that helps others "dream more, learn more, do more, and become more." Leaders challenge and inspire.

A few years ago I was driving to school and finishing off an apple that was my breakfast. As I finished, I rolled down the window to toss the apple core out the window. When I let it go, I could feel my doctoral ring fly off my finger. My gut sank, and I swear I even heard the ping as it struck the pavement. I instantly pulled my truck to the side of the road to begin searching, but in the morning darkness there was no use.

Several times I returned to the spot to comb the side of the highway for the lost ring. A few friends offered to help. I even used a metal detector to assist the search. But the ring was gone, presumably forever.

Months later I received a phone call on a Sunday afternoon. A man's voice asked if my name was David Geurin. "Yes," I replied wondering what this was about.

"Did you happen to lose a class ring?" he continued. I was stunned by the question. Surely this couldn't be what it seemed.

Sure enough, the ring had been found.

The man on the phone explained he hadn't found the ring. A friend of his found it. His name was Lane.

Lane walks all over town, usually while sipping a large fountain drink as he scans the ground looking for loose change. Lane is mentally handicapped and unable to live on his own. He lives in a group home but spends most of his time walking and looking for treasure. And boy did he find something interesting when he picked up the gold ring!

He carried it in his pocket for a while, not realizing there was a name inscribed on the inside, thinking there was no way to find who it belonged to. When he showed it to a friend, he noticed my name and asked if Lane would like to see it returned to its owner. They found my number listed in the phone book.

Lane was so proud that he had returned the ring. He truly was a hero in this story. He could've bought sodas for years if he had selfishly used the ring for his gain. But his actions were noble and through his selflessness and his big heart he did something only a leader can do. He challenged me and inspired me. He caused me to "dream more, learn more, do more, and become more."

Lane's actions helped me learn about gratitude, empathy, and unselfishness. I was humbled by his spirit of wanting to help me, a stranger who he didn't even know. I immediately recognized that I was the follower and he was the leader, in this chain of events

Robert Greenleaf coined the term servant-leader in 1970. His ideas in many ways repeated ones from ancient texts, and yet in modern leadership practice, the idea of being a servant was far from what leaders were expected to be. The following are a few quotes from Greenleaf:

"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.
Robert Greenleaf recognized that organizations as well as individuals could be servant-leaders. Indeed, he had great faith that servant-leader organizations could change the world. In his second major essay, The Institution as Servant, Greenleaf articulated what is often called the “credo.” There he said:

“This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions – often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.”