Sara Hand

Did you ever here someone brag about how they are so good as a teacher that their whole class failed?

To be a teacher is to be a leader. To be a leader is to be a person of influence. To be a person of influence means that teaching will be in there somewhere. Sometimes more formalized instruction, often instructing through example.

As a leader, if my team is failing there are some things I have to consider:

Have I conveyed the vision or mission clearly?

Is this congruent with the team member’s personal beliefs?

If not, is the vision changing or the team member?

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Do I have a well defined system, process or plan for accomplishing this?

Have expectations been clearly communicated?

How are questions or challenges relayed between team members and leadership?

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Are our goals clear?

Do we know when we are finished?

Is it possible to win?

As a leader, as a teacher, as a person of influence; I believe that if my team or my class doesn’t win, the buck stops here. It is my responsibility to empower and serve my team to and for the accomplishment of the vision through the goals that mark the way.

• The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.

                                                                                         Alvin Toffler

When I was in college I had to read a book called Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. I was already a time travel, worm-hole, Star Trek future enthusiast; so looking at this “future” from a different perspective made great sense to me. Although it wasn’t until I was older that I began to diligently work on understanding the process of change itself…the concept of learning how to learn, unlearn and relearn was embedded into my consciousness and has radically impacted many decisions I have made.

 So the world is changing, the economy is changing…what’s new? Change is inevitable! The only consistent factor in life is that of change. For centuries elders have pronounced doom and gloom over the forthcoming generations and yet, here we are centuries later. Individuals, governments, organizations have tried to stop it and have failed. Therefore, you can either bemoan the obvious or get on with life and accept the facts. In today’s marketplace you change or die!

 Notice I said “YOU”. That’s right! As much as your boss needs to change, your staff needs to get it together or how much better life would be if your spouse just got on board; you actually have absolutely NO Control over anyone. Sure you can try. You may be able to coerce, bribe or manipulate actions, however that “change” is temporary, and “it” stops as soon as you stop. So let go of trying to make everything line up so that it will “work” and take responsibility for yourself and your choices.