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

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30Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conference• be able to take risks and accept to share power or hand over responsibilityto others (e.g. learners, colleagues, etc.);• remember the mission of a leader (e.g. school teacher) and work towardsachieving specific aims;• be creative, be balanced, reflective, ‘cool’ and ‘connected’.To conclude this section, leadership can be defined 3 in this sense as the act ofmoving, involving, and fulfilling the motives of followers- particularly in anenvironment of constraints, contention, conflict or changes; this results in thefollowers making decision and acting to meet a mutually shared vision. Further,a leader cannot effectively lead unless he/she knows his/her values, first 4 . Beingaware of one’s values gives insights into those of others and paves the way formutual understanding and cooperation. Prerequisite for ‘leadership’; therefore, isthis mutual respect, trust between those who are ‘leading’ and those who are‘following’. This leads us to talk about the characteristics of a good leader.The characteristics of a good leaderResearch conducted on successful leaders, not only in the field of education, butalso in other socio-economic sectors, has tried to outline some of the most salientcharacteristics of good leaders with a view that if these characteristics aredelimited, they could be highlighted and focused on in education and training.Actually, good leaders are• energetic, sensible, and keen on what they do,• able to communicate to a variety of audiences with no apprehension,• aware of followers’ and clients/customers’ concerns, culture and values 5 ,• able to initiate change and get things started,• manage changes and deal with unpredictable events and impromptuhappenings,• influence people to follow their guidelines and advice to get tasksperformed,3 Success Performance Solutions. Managers vs. Leaders, in http://www.supersolutions.com/ManagersVsLeaders.asp4 One cannot chart a course until s/he knows where s/he is.5 Can the value system of values be subject to change? Even values can besubject to change! Major shifts in values are traditionally viewed as difficult toachieve. Perhaps it is appropriate to say that changes in personal values can beproduced through the manipulation of the environment. However, when thevalues of an individual leader differ significantly from followers, this might causehim failure or ‘derailment’.
31Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conference• possess resources, values and skills which are valued/ cherished by thegroup,• use their leading power to gather all the logical and affective elements inthe group (i.e. specific interests, needs, fears, etc.) to get them motivated,• exercise great self-control and self-regulation, etc.The terms ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ collocate with other terms such as ‘manager’,‘management’, ‘power’, ‘empowerment’, etc. A few of these will be dealt with inthe coming section.Leaders vs. managersWhenever we talk about ‘leadership’, many of us confuse it with ‘management’.The difference between these two terms is so subtle that some even use bothterms interchangeably. However, though the two concepts seem to beinterrelated, they are different because they perform different functions. They donot; therefore, mean the same thing. Let’s explore together the differencebetween leaders and managers:Leaders• Innovate and tolerate ambiguity• focus on effectiveness (do theright thing)• ask what and why (i.e. motives)• focus on people• formulate the questions and naildown the problems• inspire trust and empower• look for differences betweenthe current and previousproblems• do rely only on facts anddirections• originate/ initiate• revolutionizeManagers• manage/administer the existingelements of complexity• ask how and when• focus on efficiency (do thingsright)• focus on systems and patterns• figure out answers and solutions• control and coerce• use analogy and look forsimilarity• depend on facts and people• duplicate and imitate• maintain, reform or refine‘Management’, therefore, underlines the short term objectives, ensuring thatresources are available and progress is made within very limited time frames ofdays, weeks and months. ‘Leadership’, on the other hand, acts with uncertainty
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