Shelley Rossitto

Last night I received tenure. All of the Monticello administrators attended to support the three candidates being granted tenure. Beth made a comment that floored me. She gave me credit for the success of the district. She was complimentary and so very appreciative of the efforts I have set forth. Today Deb, a principal, told me leadership has made what we have accomplished possible.

This is an opportunity to further expand my thoughts about teaming and its contribution to leadership.

Teaming, empowering those around you, depending on the content and management experts to guide you, and to listen are more attributes to strong leadership. I am going to get out of the first person and discuss attributes again.

A leader can work hard to embrace the district and have them embrace you. When there is confidence built up the teams can begin to grow and work so well together that progress is due to the collective expertise of everyone rather than the knowledge of one. I have seen great people with progressive ideas forget that personality and “charisma” sometimes help to enlist people that will either follow your vision or contribute to it. Key phrase – contribute to it. We can’t profess to have all of the answers and working in isolation can prevent a leader from enhancing their current program and deters people from coming on board. Everyone wants to be heard and wants to be part of the solution. There is power in closely facilitated numbers.

When this occurs success is self-generating, it provides a more holistic approach to introducing or identifying problems and designing a solution with collective input.