The Lamar University Electronic Journal of Student Research

Fall 2007

Organization Leadership 101: The Importance of

Identifying and Implementing Character Trait
Assessments that Move Educational Leaders To
Levels of Excellence

Jacqueline McNeir Renfro

PhD Student in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View, Texas
SLC Coordinator
Dallas Independent School District
Dallas, Texas

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
College of Education and Professional Studies
Central Washington University
_______________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Educational leaders are not always equipped with those character traits needed to
achieve optimal organizational success. Therefore, leaders must be willing to
periodically evaluate their performance to determine how these traits will be
modified to meet the needs of the organization. Evaluation is apart of an educator’s
life and rightly so; with our children futures at stake, failure is not an option.
_______________________________________________________________________

Introduction

People derive inspiration for their leadership decisions from many varied entities.
Insight or perspective may be gained by listening to other individuals, or even enlisting
the aid of various media outlets, including but not limited to radio, television and the
movies. While still, some may choose that which is in written form, where their opinions
and perspectives are developed and/or cultivated between the author and themselves.
With such a plethora of information available to the mass population of educational
leaders for the purpose of guiding, leading, developing, growing and nurturing, not only
themselves but for the people by which they lead, why then are educational institutions
being put into overload with an abundance of incompetent organizational leaders
responsible for our most precious resources, our children?

Purpose of the Article

The purpose of this article is to present to educational leaders the importance of

self help and evaluation as it pertains to effective organizational leadership. First and
foremost, educational leaders should understand that being a leader is more than just a
title. It is noted that, “a leader takes people where they would never go on their own”
(Finzel, 1994, p. 16). A leader who fails to recognize or acknowledge the leadership
character traits he possesses which are not positively influencing the organization, is in
essence, choosing to create an environment destined for eventual failure. Leadership is
about making choices. When a leader makes decisions he is doing this for not only
himself but for the organization as a whole.

Leaders

Leaders should possess character traits that influence organizational constituents

to believe that they (the instructional leader) are making choices in the best interest of the
organization. This being said, a leader must be willing to acknowledge and recognize
when his leadership abilities are both effectively and ineffectively driving the
organization by which he leads. Hence, the issue at hand; do leaders know when their
leadership style is beneficial or detrimental to their organization?
Some leaders may truly “believe” that they are performing at a level conducive
for their organization to achieve optimal success. This could be in part to their own rose
colored perspectives on the state of the organization, or possibly their belief that ignoring
problem(s) will eventually make them go away. Although this touches on the belief that
if they do not “hear” or “see” such problems then ultimately they do not exist, this too
can present a major issue for the entire organization. “Despite signals that problems exist;
it is often the case that no substantive intervention is attempted by the organization”
(Kohn and O'Connell, 2005, p. 39). The authors further state that, “attention is paid when
it is too late, and the talent is already drained out of the organization” (Kohn and
O'Connell, 2005, p. 39). At no time should the first course of organizational intervention
be conducted when the organizational members have already thrown in the towel.
Regardless of the personal ramifications one may face as a result of poor
organizational management, a leader must be willing to confront his own fears and
weaknesses and adopt a plan for turning his organization around, starting with himself.
Author, John Maxwell writes that the first person you lead is you. According to
Maxwell, “… no matter how gifted a leader is, his gifts will never reach their maximum
potential without the application of self-discipline” (Maxwell, 1999, p.128). He further
states that self-discipline should encompass the following: 1) develop and follow your
priorities, 2) make a disciplined lifestyle your goal, 3) challenge your excuses, 4) remove
rewards until the job in done, and 5) stay focused on the results. “If you know you have
talent, and you’ve seen a lot of motion-but little concrete results-you may lack self-
discipline” (Maxwell, 1999, p. 130).
To assist in ensuring efficient and effective implementation of programs and
policies within an organization, educational institutions may create a checks and balances
systems. This system helps to prevent the extreme swing of the pendulum in either
direction of that which is being implemented. However, if the leader happens to be the
guard of the swing and his leadership ability is that which is being challenged, than a
leader’s personal bias could void such practice.
An effective leader must be willing to periodically step back and seriously
evaluate the health of his campus by evaluating not only the organizational members but
his own performance. Taking into consideration that such a stance may identify him as
the cause for the dysfunction and discrepancies of the organization. Thus brings about
the possible explanation as to why some educational institutions are not performing to a
level of excellence by which they otherwise might be capable of achieving. The
organizational leader has opted not to be “exposed”.
With the vast amount of information available for educational leaders to assist
with their own personal growth and development, if fear of scrutiny is a driving force
preventing a leader from seeking the assistance he is in need of, then the organizational
leader should make a conscious choice to implement his own form of evaluation. Without
the scrutiny of an audience, self evaluation allows the leader, in the privacy of his abode
to gain a more accurate and realistic view of how his leadership skills are affecting the
organization. However, a leader’s lack of self discipline in performing this vital step
could be one professional choice that not only undermines one’s organization but one’s
career as well.
 Principles of Leaders

To jump start this effort, educational leaders may want to review the Leadership
Cultivation Program as written by author Myles Monroe. Monroe provides readers with a
list of, “principles and precepts that must be present and developed if the leader is to
deploy and maximize his full potential” (Monroe, 1993, p. 179). The following list of
principles is as follows:

Possess a deep guiding purpose

Have a clear vision

Love to serve others

Establish specific goals

Cultivate one’s spiritual reserves

Know that one is teachable

Constantly refine one’s skill

Tolerant

Honest and sincere with integrity

Communicates vision

Is an avid reader

Maximizes time

Enthusiastic toward life

Believe in the worth and value of others

Keep self in the best possible condition possible

Embraces responsibilities cheerfully

Daring

Decisive
 Results oriented

Committed to excellence

Learns form mistakes

Measure self against self

Once familiar with the principles and percepts, the leader is to “check” himself
against each. Monroe states that it is, “your endeavor to incorporate each principle into
your life and leadership” (Monroe, 1993, 179).
By doing so, an individual begins to engrain the principles into his everyday
practices and ultimately performs each as routine. Through the incorporation of biblical
references and themes, a leader may feel inspired to more readily address and modify
their leadership skills. Monroe regularly references great historical leaders and states
that, “even the bible reveals God’s demand for quality leaders during times of human
crisis” (Monroe , 1993, p.11).

The Twenty-One Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

John Maxwell, also incorporates biblical references in, The 21 Indispensable

Qualities of a Leader; however, the references are more subtle while the book is fused
with may quotes, and antidotes from varying leaders from the past and present. A leader
wanting a slow paced, gradual transformation is encouraged to reference this book.
Maxwell is very up front and states the purpose of the book on the very first page. A
leader, therefore, has no reason to not understand the intent of its contents. Maxwell
writes that if a leader wants to achieve his full potential he must ask himself the
following:

…do you know whether you have what it takes to become a great leader,
the kind who attracts people and makes things happen? I mean, if you
took the time to really look at yourself deep down, would you find the
qualities needed to live out your boldest dreams, the one’s so big that
you’ve never shared them with anybody? (Maxwell, 1999, p. ix)

Once addressed, the leader can then proceed to understanding how to,
“…recognize, develop, and refine the personal characteristics needed to be a truly
effective leader, the kind people want to follow” (Maxwell, 1999, p. ix). Table 1 provides
the 21 indispensable qualities as addressed by Maxwell.
Table 1
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader - John C.
Maxwell

1. Character
2. Charisma
3. Commitment
4. Communication
5. Competence
6. Courage
7. Discernment
8. Focus
9. Generosity
10. Initiative
11. Listening
12. Passion
13. Positive Attitude
14. Problem Solving
15. Relationships
16. Responsibility
17. Security
18. Self-Discipline
19. Servanthood
20. Teachability
21. Vision

Live in the Two Assessment

For the leader in need of more immediate feedback, online test are available as
are assessments where the leader simply has to put pen to paper. One such assessment is
the Live in the Two. The purpose of this assessment is to provide assessment takers with
insight as to where more character focus should be emphasized. Assessment takers
answer a series of questions based on the individual’s level of agreement and calculate
the individual’s character traits in five distinct categories. The categories address:

Discipline: the ability to set goals, manage one’s time, measure results,
and maintain overall balance in life.

Passion: ...more than hard work. Holding on to one’s dream

Risk: ...one’s wiliness to step out of the “comfort zone.”

 Optimism: ...internal and external sources of positive affirmation.

Interpersonal Skills: Relationships are pivotal to overall success, and that

not only includes personal relationships, but also the ability to deal with
people.

Once complete, the assessment allows individual’s an opportunity to check

their character perspective against what their responses actually reveal. However, the
assessment does state that once feedback is provided, unfortunately, only about 2% of
assessment takers actually utilize the results to move toward self improvement.
Leaders interested in obtaining information as to how their leadership style
is perceived by organizational members, can find that simply asking constituents can
often prove very beneficial. As stated by Marshall Goldsmith, “the effective leader of the
future will consistently ask to receive feedback and to solicit new ideas” (Goldsmith,
1996, p. 229). Although, asking for feedback was once considered unheard of by top
executives, today many North American leaders are making it a norm. In addition,
Goldsmith notes that, “aside from the obvious benefit of gaining new ideas and insights,
asking by top leaders has a secondary benefit that may be even more important. The
leader who asks is providing a role model” (Goldsmith, 1996, p. 231). Asking shows
one’s desire to learn while providing a humility that can motivate and inspire one’s
organization.
It is vital for a leader to understand that assessments are tools of the trade.
Evaluations are necessary and beneficial for the organization that is being served. If the
leader is one who is not certain as to how his leadership style is effecting the organization
as it relates to the campus vision, organizational morale, community relations, or his
follow through on addressing concerns of the organization as a whole, he needs to look
no further than the children. If students are not moving progressively forward,
academically, socially and civically, their needs are being neglected and change,
sometimes radical, must occur.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, reference has been made to several forms of assessments where

individuals can evaluate their character traits and make conscious efforts to model these
principles by incorporating them into their daily practices. However, these assessments
can become idle references if they are not utilized properly. After all, simply taking an
assessment does not guarantee that any of the practices will be implemented in their
most useable form; especially if the leader does not make a conscious effort to relate the
qualities to his/her own leadership style.

References

Conant, V (2007). Who will live in the top 2% of America? Is it you? Retrieved July 15,
2007, from the Live In Two.com Website: http://www.liveinthetwo.com
Finzel, Hans (1994). The top ten mistakes leaders make. Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot
Victor Publishing.
Hesselbein, F., Goldsmith, M., & Beckhard, R (1996). The leader of the future New
visions, strategies, and practices for the next era. San Francisco, CA: Jossey -
Bass.
Kohn, S., & O'Connell, V. (2005). 6 habits of highly effective bosses. Franklin Lakes, NJ:
Career Press.
Maxwell, John C. (1999). The 21 indispensable qualities of a leader. Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson, Incorporated.
Munroe, Myles (1993). Becoming a leader: Everyone can do it. Colorado Springs, CO:
Pneuma Life Publishing.