As educators, we take a leadership role with many stakeholders, including educators, students, parents, and the community. Everyone feels our presence as a leader in different ways, from the educators who connect with us in the lounge or via classroom observations to children who may offer us a high five in the class corridor but dread coming to our office. Parents and community people who observe us greeting youngsters at the doorway or speaking at an assembly notice our leadership presence as well.

“You may not like it, but you have to respect my position and authority,” a leader recently told a teacher. This type of comment destroys rather than builds bridges and reduces the leader’s good presence. Rather than expecting respect due to your title or position, work on enhancing your leadership presence and inspiring those you want to lead to follow you regardless of your title.

Collaborate with educators, parents, and students to co-create a vision for learning.

We gain authority and presence as leaders via our daily encounters. Working cooperatively to construct a vision for the school and set goals for what learning looks like is one of the finest ways for a leader to generate presence and begin gaining authority in a school community. If no one follows you, you are not a leader, so use phrases like “our” school, “our” vision, and “our” community from the start, and collaborate with stakeholders to establish a shared vision for the future.

Power trips should be avoided.

Baldoni defines earned authority as the difference between having a leadership title and having a leadership presence. Many leaders make the mistake of expecting, even demanding, respect because of their position. In the end, the only real authority you have as a leader is the authority you earn. So, don’t be too proud of your nameplate on the office door It isn’t particularly valuable on its own.

Listen to and converse with others rather than at them.

According to Stephen Covey, one of the core habits of highly effective people is listening and seeking to understand others. Listening to and conversing with stakeholders is a necessary skill for educational leaders. Leaders must be willing to lower their guard, invite open dialogue, and truly listen to other stakeholders who share the same goals for students.

Spend your time and attention on the things that are most important to you.

If you ask a school leader what is most important, the answer will most likely be the kids—their learning and growth. However, many leaders spend more time each day dealing with administrative and “adult matters” than they do with students and their learning. What can be done to foster respect and a positive presence among educators who are on the front lines of classrooms every day? Increase your focus on students and learning by being present where they are. Informal visits to classrooms to engage children as they learn, or daily travels to interact with students in the cafeteria or during recess, go a long way.

Embrace the conviction that your effort is significant.

Undertake you think the work you do as a school leader every day is important? Is it essential? Do you feel that what we do in schools has the capacity to alter a person’s life path? If you don’t believe those things, you may be in the wrong line of work. However, if you do believe those things, you must harness that belief. Share your conviction with your team, your parents, and the rest of the community. Allow them to witness your compassion for children and your confidence in the transformative potential of education. Your presence will grow as a result of your conviction and heart for the mission.

Recognize the value of soliciting input and feedback.

If you believe in creating a shared vision and goals for the future, you understand the importance of soliciting input and feedback from stakeholders. This is related to the desire to understand. When you do not solicit input or feedback from stakeholders, you send the message that you do not understand or care about any concerns or ideas they may have. 

While it may appear counter-intuitive to allow others’ ideas to influence your plans as a leader, Building collective buy-in and encouraging people to follow begins with being receptive to their ideas in order to establish a vision they will follow.

Be willing to admit when you’ve made a mistake.

This is more difficult for some leaders than others. Some people consider admitting a mistake to be a sign of weakness; Pretending that a mistake never happened or blaming others when things go wrong, on the other hand, is the quickest method of undermining your power as a leader. Being a leader is difficult, and at the end of the day, you bear responsibility. The best leaders understand that they can build trust and inspire confidence when they can admit they made a mistake—tried something that didn’t work, have responded emotionally in a situation—are willing to apologize for the error and can define a clear road ahead. It conveys the idea that we are human, but our personalities are strong enough to accept responsibility when we are incorrect, and we care enough about our stakeholders to take responsibility for our decisions.