25.02.2021
Leader: lone wolf or wolf with a pack?
On 3 February 2021, a meeting of school principals, cooperating with EFC Foundation on the ‘Horizons’ Scholarship Program, was held. The main topic of the meeting was the loneliness of a leader – we debated on whether or not being a leader means working alone; and if not – where can they find allies and build their own support networks.
The meeting was attended by: Zdzisław Hofman – tutor, member of the Program Council of the School Tutoring Institute, co-creator and long-time President of the KLANZA Association, teacher, and biologist; Sławomir Prusakowski – psychologist, coach and academic teacher at the SWPS University in Wrocław; principals of schools cooperating with the EFC Foundation; representing the Foundation, Aleksandra Saczuk – President and meeting moderator; and Małgorzata Chmielecka – member of the Board, Director of the ‘Horizons’ Scholarship Program.
The debate on the loneliness of a leader (or lack thereof) was universal: it was not limited to the problem of the pandemic. We spoke of good practices and tools, gave each other useful hints, and talked about how to organize work at school in order to facilitate teamwork, how to delegate tasks and rid ourselves of perfectionism, but also – how leaders can take care of themselves in order to efficiently support others.
A detailed memo of the meeting, containing specific hints and instructions, can be found in the attached file: Samotnosc_lidera.
The meeting ended with the following conclusion: the greatest form of support for leaders is getting in touch with persons facing similar situations and challenges, understanding each other’s doubts. To us – the EFC Foundation team – it is an incentive to organize more meetings for schools participating in the ‘Horizons’ Scholarship Program, as it is the perfect space to talk and exchange good practices between school leaders. We consider it our obligation.