Four reasons why The Leader in Me leadership model works so well when so many other reform initiatives don't:
- It embodies a different paradigm.
- It works from the inside out.
- It uses a common language—The 7 Habits.
- The implementation is ubiquitous.
A Different Paradigm
Instead of seeing children through the lens of a normal distribution curve—some kids are smart and some less smart—The Leader in Me paradigm sees that every child is capable, every child is a leader. This paradigm changes everything.
From the Inside Out
Leader in Me Schools
must first get their own teachers on the same page and improve the
climate among their staff before they can make it come alive with the
students. They can't expect changes in their students until they have
changed themselves. As the great educator Roland S. Barth puts it, "The
nature of the relationships among the adults who inhabit a school has
more to do with its quality and character, and with the accomplishments
of its pupils, than any other factor." This model is just as much about
the adults as it is the children. It's inside out—first teachers, then
students, and then parents.
A Common Language—The 7 Habits
When
everyone—teachers, students, and parents—begin using the same language,
you get a compound-interest effect that is truly amazing. The 7 Habits
create that common language. For example, what a difference it makes
when everyone knows what it means to "put first things first" or to
"seek first to understand" or to "be proactive." Leader in Me Schools
often find their students using the language among themselves and with
their parents: "I need to put first things first and do my homework
before I play"; "I should have thought win-win"; or "Dad, you're being
reactive."
Implementation Is Ubiquitous
The Leader in Me is not
an event and it's not a curriculum; it's ubiquitous leadership
development—meaning everywhere and all the time. Instead of "teaching
leadership every Tuesday at 1 p.m.," educators use an integrated
approach and make leadership training part of everything they do. So the
model impacts everything—the traditions, events, organization, culture,
instructional methodologies, and curriculum of the school. But as
teachers will tell you, "It's not doing one more thing; it's doing what
you're already doing in a better way."
Source: www.theleaderinme.org/how-is-it-different/