0.4 Davis, s., & Leon, r. the big 20: critical principles and  (Page 9/9)

As the quotation above by Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former Prime Minister of India, so aptly states, great leadership today is not the traditional top-down leadership of command, control, and direction. Rather, it is the leadership of humility, moral persuasion, personal example, quiet inspiration, faithful stewardship, distributed empowerment, and collective inquiry. Importantly, great leaders lead through self-knowledge, passion, compassion, creativity, and determination.

Our “ Big 20” ideas steer clear of the task, or technical, characteristics found in many taxonomies of leadership, and they only obliquely touch on the factors commonly associated with transactional leadership. It is not that these are unimportant, but we believe that they are largely subordinate to the attributes of great leadership.

When we look back over the great leaders of years past, prospectively reflect on the great leaders of years to come, and ponder the essence of the Big 20 ideas, we are reminded of Jim Collins’s description of “Level 5 Leadership” (Collins, 2001). The truly great leader possesses a “paradoxical combination of deep personal humility and intense professional will.” This is not a novel concept to be sure, but it is one that bears repeating in an educational environment that continues to celebrate statistical measures of success, competitive depictions of achievement (e.g., we vs. them), and harsh consequences for those who fail to “measure up.” We maintain that leading schools today is not about the ability to influence or persuade followers to do what they may not ordinarily do, nor is it about the inspirational exhortations of the charismatically endowed. It is about the humble ability to join with others in collective, purposeful, and mutually rewarding work to make a difference in the life of every child, in every school, and in every community in America. To do this well takes a fierce resolve, an organizational perspective, cognitive acuity, and affective ability. Great leadership is not engendered through professional obligation, nor is it the consequence of fidelity to some policy-fabricated leadership technology. It is a passion, a quest, and a calling.

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