Michael Fullan: Leading in a Culture of Change

Whatever one’s style, every leader, to be effective, must have and work on
improving his or her moral purpose.
Authentic leaders display character, and character is the defining
characteristic of authentic leadership.
Whether people are driven by egoistic (self-centered) or altruistic (unselfish)
motives, the fact is that all effective leaders are driven by both.

Leadership, if it is to be effective has to;
(1) Have an explicit “making-a-difference” sense of purpose,
(2) Use strategies that mobilize many people to tackle though problems,
(3) Be held accountable by measured and debatable indicators of success, and
(4) Be ultimately assessed by the extent to which it awakens people’s intrinsic
commitment, which is none other than the mobilizing of everyone’s sense of moral
purpose.

We are more likely to learn something from people who disagree with us
than we are from people who agree. Leaders should have good ideas and present
them well (the authoritative element) while at the same time seeking and listening
to doubters (aspects of democratic leadership). They must try to build good
relationships (be affiliative) even with those who may not trust them.
We need to represent resisters for two reasons. First, they sometimes have
ideas that we might have missed, especially in situations of diversity or
complexity or in the tackling of problems for which the answer is unknown.
Second, resisters are crucial when it comes to the politics of implementation. In
democratic organizations, such as university, being alert to differences of opinion
is vital.
Successful organizations don’t go with only like-minded innovators; they
deliberately build in differences.

Five main emotional competency sets:

* Self-awareness (knowing one’s internal state, preferences, resources, and
intuitions)
* Self-regulation (managing one’s internal states, impulses, and resources)
* Motivation (emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals)
* Empathy (awareness of others’ feelings, needs, and concerns)
* Social skills (adeptness at inducing desirable responses from others)