On Leadership

Rob Scott (running for President of OSSTF District Twelve)

Website: Rob 4 President
Since my teen years, I have been told I am a leader. In my teen years, the word ring often
preceded the word leader but I guess thats still leadership of some variety. And honestly,
as I teen I didnt even know what people meant when they talked about leadership.
In the years since, I have led workshops for CEOs and Executives of several corporations
regarding Leadership and Communication (these were opportunities that presented
themselves as a result of my work in improvisational comedy). And I did a year-long co-op
placement in the Communications Department at the Human Resources Professionals
Association of Ontario (an organization responsible to a membership of 20 000). It turns out
HR folks spend a lot of time talking about leadership.
As the members of District Twelve prepare to vote, I think I should provide insight into my
Leadership and Communication philosophies. I try to incorporate these skills into my
classroom daily and this is how I would lead our union and frankly, I measure our current
leadership against these criteria.
Leaders cannot be insecure and should not flaunt their authority. Everybody in my
classroom knows I am the teacher, by mere virtue of my age. I shouldnt need to remind
them of it. In a more typical workplace, everybody knows who hires and fires and who signs
the cheques. Being the boss is intimidation enough in most circumstances. So lead, but
dont lead with your title. You dont need to have all the answers and it is okay to admit you
dont know, or even (gasp!!) that you were wrong. Dont belittle by rolling your eyes, dont
express yourself by yelling, and dont plan your response while you are supposed to be
listening. You are the leader, be humbly confident in that.
Leaders should lead by walking around. Dont sit behind your desk all day, and dont
hide in some distant office, get out and meet and connect with the people you are leading.
As President of District Twelve I will be in schools regularly, you will know what I look like and
you will have the opportunity to directly voice your thoughts about education and the union.
I will expect the same of the rest of the executive staff.
Prepare those you lead for leadership and give credit to them always. Succession
planning is a necessity not a luxury. Identifying the next group of passionate capable
leaders is a vital task for every leader. Especially in a union where at any moment a leader
could leave to run for political office with the provincial Liberals. We need to plan for the
future of the collective. And by all means, give those you lead credit for everything. In D12,
before we can give credit to members, members will actually have to be able to participate,
that is to have their voice heard and to lead initiatives within our organization. I will
facilitate this.
Everybody is boring until you scratch their passion; so engage with them often. I
cannot stress enough how true this is. That student or colleague you think has no
personality becomes bigger than life when you bring up a topic they are passionate about.
Be it Improvisational Comedy, Curling, or Slalom Waterskiing (three of the things I love)
strangers become people when they talk about something they care about. As a leader in
the union, I would ask the membership what it is passionate about and allow that to
influence the direction of our union. If a group of teachers wants to do great work
establishing a book repurposing program that will benefit teens in their community, by all
means the union should find a way to assist. If a group of members wants to establish a
work group to look at mental health issues among students and teachers, the union should
be there to support their initiative. As much as possible our union should be facilitating the

pro-educational and pro-social passions of our membership. And no member of leadership

should ever tell members who are passionately volunteering on a committee that their
opinion does not matter because they are not elected and the executive is.
Every time a member communicates with leadership, he or she is expressing
passion for the union. Whenever a member of District Twelve approaches the President,
or Vice-President, or any other member of the Executive to offer her or his opinion, she or he
is expressing an interest in and a passion for the union. Communication works on two
levels, there is the reality of the message being expressed and an understanding of motives
underlying the communication. So if a member sets aside the time to seek out a leader in
the union to take the risk of sharing her or his beliefs, worries, opinions, thoughts or
whatever, about any aspect of the union or its direction, then the message is actually less
important than the motive. The member put forward her or his idea, something she or he
likely cares about and believes in, and feels some sort of personal investment in. This act
involves personal risk on the members part and must be validated and respected as such.
It is not the time to scoff, rolls eyes or shake heads; rather it is the time to thank, to
understand and to respect. If in the leaders opinion the idea is unworkable, impractical, or
not preferable then the leader owes it to the member to respect the idea, understand the
idea, explain the reasons for the future course of action, and to encourage future
communication. Communication is delicate, leaders must understand that.
Dissent is a hallmark of an effective organization and effective leadership. When I
would lead communication workshops I emphasized that if a leader walks into a meeting and
there is no dissent or conflicting opinions, then the organization is completely dysfunctional.
And if dissent or conflicting opinion is ignored, dismissed, discouraged or completely
quashed, then the leadership is dysfunctional. Dissent is entirely healthy and is often the
only way to get to the better solution. A lack of dissent entrenches the status quo and
promotes organizational inertia. Conflict is problematic and indicative of a broken culture.
Sadly, the leadership of D12 approaches dissent with conflict and it is the reason that the
predominant culture in our district is one of apathy and disengagement.
District Twelve is at a crossroads. Nearly an entire generation of teachers is disengaged with
the union. Communication is ineffective and member-focused leadership is absent.
This year every executive position will be contested. This year there are alternatives. This
year leadership could be changed. This article reflects my style of leadership. Vote for Rob
Scott.
Rob Scott
May 21, 2016
Rob Scott is a candidate in the upcoming District 12 Executive Election, running
for President. If you would like receive more information, ask any questions, or
offer your feedback regarding this article send a quick hello to
valueadded4osstf@gmail.com, you can follow @robbiescotty.