Get comfortable with your leadership role

Increase you team’s success!

Have you ever been on a grade level, or department or a committee in which the team leader was unavailable, unqualified, or just plain uncomfortable with the idea of leading? Leadership is essential to a team’s success or failure of any endeavour. Leaders should be many things; they should know the value of each person on their team and be able to utilise that person’s strengths, be able to communicate effectively, and most of all, be comfortable in their position.

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Our comfort when managing directly affects our group’s ability to function. We manage in many directions: upwards with principals, downwards with students, and sideways with colleagues. In addition, we need to know which management style to use, while taking into account the direction we are going and the traits of each person or group of people. Our style needs to fit the culture of the school and community.

If as a whole, our school/community is hierarchical- oriented, we will be expected to comply with the level above us and to expect compliance from the level below us. If school/community is an egalitarian-oriented culture, we can expect to have fewer differences in how we interact with people above and below our position.

A huge indicator of comfort is the way that the person- in-charge breathes. It seems like a simple thing, and it is, but it’s a simple thing with a lot of power behind it. When she breathes low, it is a sign that she is comfortable with the management. It is wise for someone to pick a culture and a position inside that organisation that matches her style of comfort. If she breathes high or shallow, it is an indicator that she is not comfortable with her position and can put her subordinates in a state of unease.

In general, people want to work for someone who is comfortable with buffering pressure from above, holding peers accountable, and supporting their handling of inappropriate subordinates. If you are comfortable in your position, you will not only see personal benefits as you gain respect and confidence from your co-workers, but the team will reap the benefits of effectiveness, efficiency and high functionality, which will lead to greater success for everyone.

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Michael Grinder


Michael Grinder is the United States national director of NLP in Education. After teaching for
17 years on three education levels, he holds the record of having visited over 6,000 classrooms. Michael has pioneered the practice of using non-verbals to manage classrooms and create a safe learning environment based on influence instead of power.