Leadership and Values in Language Education - Al Akhawayn ...

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28Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual ConferenceTowards fostering leadershipin the Moroccan EFL classroomAhmed ChaibiCentral inspector coordinator, Ministry of National EducationLeadership is one of the most burning issues in education, business, politics andmany other socio-economic and cultural contexts nowadays. Scores of resourcesand books on leadership have overwhelmed the market for the last few years.‘Google’ also takes student researchers through the net to explore hundreds ofsites, PowerPoint presentations and articles addressing this issue from variousperspectives. It is our intention in this paper to1. attempt to define what leadership is;2. see into the words and concepts that collocate with ‘leader’ and‘leadership’;3. see why it is possible to implement and practice leadership in theclassroom; and finally4. suggest ways for empowering learners in the EFL classroom.What is leadership?The concept of ‘leadership’ is still looked upon nowadays as a controversialissue. Moreover, defining fuzzy, multi-faceted, or at times abstract orunobservable terms such as ‘leader’, ‘leadership’, ‘manager’, and ‘management’is a risky endeavour to take. As a consequence, my definition is going to be verytentative. The first step to take before trying to demystify ‘leadership’ and someof the words that collocate with it, is to review with the reader the variouscharacteristics of leadership in terms of practices, routines and competencies.Leadership can be characterized in somewhat simple terms as follows:• It takes place when more than one person is involved; that is, it requiresteamwork.• It is the process of getting things done through people. It involves a lot ofsynergy and cooperation.• It is the power to influence members of the group so as to reach certainshared objectives.• It entails motivation and commitment. Therefore, a leader needs toconduct group activities in such a way that all the members of the groupwill commit themselves willingly to the collective effort.
29Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conference• Exercising leadership entails inspiring, convincing and guiding, ratherthan threatening, blackmailing, prescribing or imposing mandates.Moreover, leadership 1 cannot take place unless there are leaders and followers. Inplain terms, leadership is a multidirectional influence among leaders andfollowers. All of them (leaders and followers) aim at undertaking different tasksto make significant changes happen. This view uncovers the crucial role ofleaders and followers’ interdependence, involvement and cooperation in makingleadership take place. We need to mention here that a person might not be able toexercise leadership in the same way, with all the groups, and in all contexts.Leadership “derailment” is also a noticeable phenomenon and sometimeshappens to distinguished or prominent leaders. Many leaders have ended updismissed or have lost their self-image for various reasons though they have thecompetence necessary to lead and excel 2 .Leadership competenceExercising leadership is too demanding on the part of the leader as it requires anarray of competencies/ abilities vital for the achievement of the desired outcomes;i.e. the essence of leadership. Leadership competence necessitates the activationof a multifarious set of abilities, expertise, knowledge, savoir-faire and savoirvivrethat leaders should own and adequately use to make the act of leadershippossible.Leadership competence encompasses the ability to• communicate clearly, simply and passionately;• motivate oneself and others and work towards achieving their goals;bearing in mind their lifestyles, work styles, values and culture;• be able to deal with unexpected and /or problematic situations;• be convincing and unafraid of speaking one’s mind;• establish a culture of trust and a culture of partnership;• be willing to listen to and understand others’ concerns while expressinghis or her opinion;1 ‘Leadership’ and ‘leader’ are not synonymous terms. Being a ‘leader’ or‘follower’ uncovers certain personality traits and practices, while ‘leadership’ isthe process which includes them both.2 This is due to problems with interpersonal relationships, problems with selectingthe group, problems in transitioning from the technical/tactical level to thestrategic level, etc.
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