Quality Leadership Is About Integrity, Involvement & Inspiration by Dr. Lyn Countryman , Department of Teaching The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity Dwight D. Eisenhower The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and to be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. Ralph Nichols Leadership is not about choosing sides. It’s about bringing the various sides together. Jesse Jackson If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams These four quotes highlight the best of administrative style. The bedrock of administrative philosophy is integrity. Without integrity one cannot have trust. Without trust it is impossible to get people to work with you, listen to you, or work together. Aligned with integrity is transparency. It is only through listening to others, inviting others to propose solutions and incorporating these ideas into the final decision, that the decision becomes transparent. Transparent decisions are more easily accepted by all, even if they don’t agree with the decision. Listening is a key to this transparency and a key to understanding others perspectives. The 5th habit of Highly Effective Persons is to Seek first to understand and then be understood. This is an essential hallmark of quality administrative style. Also understand that to lead one must bring the various sides together to come up with the best solutions. It is essential to surround oneself with people that don’t necessarily think as you do, for it is this neural diversity that creates the richest innovation and the most significant solutions. Synergize defines this process and is the 6th habit of Highly Effective Persons. When we synergize we come up with novel solutions to perplexing problems. Ultimately, working to lead by inspiring others to dream more, to learn more and do more, enhances a school community. The goal of a leader is to help others achieve greater than they can imagine. Henry Kissinger said, “The task of a leader is to get his people where where they are to where they have not been.” You can sum up exceptional leaders' style with three words: integrity, involvement, and inspiration. Integrity breeds trust. Involvement of others in decision making, by listening and considering their input and inspiring them to greater heights.