Former HP Executive Vice President, Vyomesh Joshi, recently picked up on this notion that followership is really the key to successful leadership. A good leader, he says, is one who collaborates, seeks input, allows others to step up with their skills and ideas. Leadership, he says, has four key attributes - trust, stability, compassion and hope. A good leader possesses the questions of each attribute: Can I be trusted? Do I remain calm in the face of adversity? Am I being compassionate by showing empathy to those around me? Do I have an unwavering belief in what we are doing?

 

This is good stuff when it comes to thinking creatively about how we live and work. I believe it has implications for how schools operate as well. Consider the following images I’ve witnessed recently at Tandem Friends School.

 

Last week, we concluded the winter sports season. If you didn’t see any basketball games, boys or girls, Middle School or Upper School, you missed seeing some good lessons in leadership and followership. Our teams had much success this season. The girls varsity team finished third in our conference. The boys won the regular conference season (undefeated) and won the conference tournament championship in a thrilling finish last Saturday afternoon.

 

If you study the game at all, you’ll observe how good teams work together. A group of players come together on the court, each with varying skills and abilities. Some are excellent ball handlers and shooters. Others are particularly skilled at defense. Good teams have one thing in common - they learn to play together. At times, some players are the leaders. They know when to step up and take a shot or they know when to put themselves in position for a defensive block, maybe even taking a hard hit for the team and drawing the foul. At times, players are followers, feeding the ball to other players, assisting in setting up a scoring opportunity, or even shouting encouragement from the bench. High scorers in the game aren’t necessarily the most valuable. In almost all cases, learning to play the role, knowing when to step forward, knowing when to give up the ball, knowing when to take one for the team, will yield the best results.

 

As I watched our teams play and progress throughout the season, I enjoyed watching leadership and followership in action. Their successes were shared experiences. Their failures, which are always part of the game, were no one player’s responsibility. They, too, were a group effort. While players came to the game with varying talents and skills, the really important life lessons to be learned were how they played together, how they built on each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and how they shared the joys and frustrations of the game together.

 

If trust, stability, compassion and hope are truly the signs of good leadership, then our student athletes are well on their way to learning some good lessons on leading. Trust was evident as players relied on each other to be where they are supposed to be on the court in any given play. Stability was evident as seniors stepped forward with leadership on the court, with younger players following in their footsteps. Compassion was evident as players reached down to help lift a fallen teammate, even an opponent, off the court following a hard play. I saw hope in the eyes of the entire team, knowing they had the courage to play their hardest regardless of the outcome.

 

Leadership and followership are good lessons to learn. When given the opportunity, our students demonstrated these attributes. Thanks to our teams for a fun season and for showing us how to lead, follow and collaborate.