“And it’s like….”: LEAD NOW BLOG
I grip the overhead handrail as we race into the final underground station of my journey and this ubiquitous phrase washes over me. I have no idea what my fellow traveller is talking about, but ‘it’s like this’ and ‘like that’ and has been for the past 10 minutes and I can’t wait for the doors to open so I can escape.
Mostly my thoughts had been elsewhere during my train ride - in another world. I’d recently returned from 2 weeks in Rwanda with the organisation I work for. Emerging Leaders is a small NGO that, in my opinion, punches above its weight, bringing leadership training into vulnerable communities, primarily in Africa. The Leadership Training it provides, sets people back on their feet and on the road to hope, inspired with the motivation, mind-sets and skills to grasp the pen of their own life story. And over the years I have constantly observed how it grows personal courage and awakens people to their amazing potential.
Our trip started in Kigali and our team assembled a few hours north of the capital – 3 trainers and 2 translators. We had come at the invitation of the district mayor to train 92 head teachers and teachers from primary and secondary schools over 5 full days. ‘And it was like!!....’ I’m locked in my thoughts of Rwanda as we pull away from Oxford Circus, not aware of the shoppers clutching newly purchased goodies. What was it like? How could I possibly describe our training week? I thought about how I would have survived as a teacher on - a monthly salary of between £40-£90 - struggling with a serious lack of textbooks, - sparse school equipment and the every day tools of the trade, and - a classrooms bursting at the seams (a class of 60 children isn’t un-usual in Rwanda), and - endless day-to-day challenges (such as clean water, sanitation & electricity). But we hadn’t come to solve these crucial issues. We had come to address the challenge of how to create stronger leadership within schools – equipping teachers to become more effective leaders and showing them how to pass these vital leadership principles on to their children.
Only good, strong, effective leadership brings about sustainable and lasting change During the week we watched the teachers beginning to notice the mind-sets, behaviours and consequent actions that had been holding them back from leading themselves effectively in their classrooms. Issues like chronic time keeping, lack of lesson planning, and inadequate methods to monitor and evaluate their pupils progressWhen the ‘ah-ha’ moments came it was so exciting to see the teachers realising that they could change their behaviour once their thoughts had shifted. The moment they said, “I want to write a different story for my life as a teacher ….so from now on I’m not going to take time off and drift in and out of school, whenever I fancy it…it’s not ok, especially for my pupils, who I expect to be on time each day”, then everything could change and a more effective, efficient and more focused teachers could emerging.
Leaders ‘See and Take Responsibility’ Everyone is a leader at some level. If you don’t learn to LEAD yourself first, you can’t LEAD anything or anyone effectively, for the benefit and flourishing of yourself, your community or the wider world. So, what was it like? ...To be honest, it’s utterly, heart-rockingly wonderful to watch someone re-setting the compass of his or her life over the training days. Experiencing them spotting the mind-sets that have kept them ‘small’, the behaviours that had limited their dreams and realising that they have, so often, given away their pen for others to write their life-narrative instead. Taking back your pen is the best thing ever.
Let me end with this message from one of the Head Teachers on our WhatsApp group. It read…
‘Can you believe that from the 2nd August Time Keeping has become my culture. Can you believe that from 2nd August, I have saved more than 200,000 Rwf (£180). Can you believe that from the 2nd August, my school has now started a Leadership Club with 82 students and has already saved 120,000 (£120) for running it.’
This is what happens when leaders emerge… and LEAD.