Valley Insight: Tippecanoe Valley High School Preparing Leaders For The Community
Posted
Kirk Doehrmann-
Too many times we thrust people into leadership roles with no training and are disappointed in their performance when something goes wrong. Whether it is a student voted captain of the football team or the student council president or a teacher becoming a department chair, and certainly as principals, people have certain expectations for the role that they will take on. Training on how to lead others rarely takes place. There can be many conversations about what type of leader you are and what situations warrant your style of leadership, but according to Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, there are five habits that every leader needs to exhibit. These five practices of exemplary leadership are: modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act and encouraging the heart. Leaders may show these behaviors in a variety of different situations and to a different degree depending on the situation, but if these behaviors are not present then that person’s leadership is not as effective. One of the tasks that we have taken on at Tippecanoe Valley High School is preparing leaders for our community. Our vision of shared leadership at the school has included many teachers taking on leadership roles. This year, it is great to see some of our teachers sharing that leadership with students. There are three groups of students that have excelled in leadership so far this school year. Our football team, peer facilitators and student council have really started to discover what true leadership is all about. Our football coaches developed a program this past summer that addressed the characteristics that they would like to see in our young men. Leadership was one of those characteristics. Not only were the players offered opportunities to lead, they were trained in how to lead courageously. The result in our players’ attitudes has led to a great season. Our upperclassmen help lead activities for the younger students and pass on the tradition of great leadership; our underclassmen see them modeling the way of positive leadership. Peer facilitators are students trained to deal with student conflicts. Peers are asked to identify problems and provide feasible solutions. Negative leadership in some student groups was identified as a problem. Peers set off to learn about leadership and how they might help turn those negative leaders into positive role models. Although that project is ongoing, we expect some very positive results. Student council is a great example of a training ground for future leaders. The work that they do around the school is immeasurable. If there is a need that we have for fundraising or a program that will enhance what we do, student council is the first group called upon. With the leadership of some great sponsors, Tippecanoe Valley has grown a student council program that helps create awesome leadership in the community. Why the emphasis on leadership? Every great organization, every great school, every great company, every great community is led by great leaders. Without a great leader, there is no way to sustain a high level of performance. At Tippecanoe Valley High School we believe that developing great leadership is a must to create a thriving community.
