PURPOSE: Use Your Wisdom To Build A Team
Each November when I was a head of school, I joined a wonderful group of other heads of school which gathers in Princeton, NJ for three days to consider issues relating to our schools and our leadership. It is perhaps not mere coincidence that the topic once again this year related to leadership in times of stress or change.
A few years ago, our group heard from Victoria Mars, former Chair of Mars, Inc. about sustainable leadership in the chocolate business. John Kroger, president of Reed College, then spoke about student activism and students' ethical obligation to stand up for something.
Our session ended with a panel led by three New York school heads (from Hewitt, Trinity, and Friends Seminary) discussing seismic change from the head’s perspective. They put a great deal of emphasis on our need to seek and stay connected to purpose—even beyond individual mission and values where possible—helping families and students see the greater good and greater purpose beyond the daily pressures of grades, assignments, and next steps in their educational journey.
John Allman, head of Trinity, cited Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Congregations of Britain and the Commonwealth, in a letter he wrote to Trinity families that was featured in The New York Times in September. From John's letter: “Sacks argues that community is created and sustained when we are joined, in covenant, to build a home together: Identity, Community – these abstractions become real in the doing. We are what we make, and when we make something together, we become something together… Community is what we build together—and the more different types of people there are, the more complex and beautiful will be the structure we create. The important thing is that we build together… The community is made by contributions, not claims; active citizenship, not rights; what we give, not what we demand… What matters is that we build something none of us could make alone. And this bringing of distinctive gifts from different individuals to build something larger and better than we could build alone, this commitment to a shared destiny and an acceptance of responsibility to and for one another—the beautiful consequence of this collaboration for a common good is that it brings with it a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, and a sense of worthy identity.” In his letter, John then asks: “And what might we build together?”
As I revise this piece, for SmarterWisdom Consulting and my new leadership practice, I realize more and more that young contemporary leaders learning and growing in their roles not only seek purpose in their own lives, but understand how creating and sustaining purpose and clarity of values ensures that their teams stay happy and fulfilled. A core element of effective talent management today is building something together knowingly, caring to make more of our worlds, wanting to use our voices and confidence to improve, nurture and restore both spirit and energy and see our work as value-added.
[Originally written for CSW Pocket Change, 11/16/2017]