21st Century Skills & Traits: Leadership & Learning

I spent some time researching the idea of a ‘21^st Century Leader’. The funny thing about it is, I read a lot of conflicting opinions. Many say that the idea of leadership has changed a lot in the last 100 years, while others suggest that the idea of a leader has not changed much, if at all. I tend to agree with the opinion of the latter – what makes a good leader has not really changed, it is just that we are finally realizing all of the traits that were necessary to make a good leader. Obviously, when I say a leader, I am not talking about a boss - being a boss is about authority, whereas being a leader is more about behaviour.

In my mind, there are several traits that I feel make up a good leader. Below are a few that I consider especially essential to the 21^st Century leader:

1) Creating Mutual Ideologies – the most difficult task any good leader will have is to try to align everybody around a common goal and a common mission statement. This is especially true in schools. While teaching philosophies may differ, if those around a leader commit to the mission at hand (the school as a whole, specific projects, etc), then they become a part of something much greater.

2) Empowering Those Around Them – In order to reform a school, or even education in general, requires a leader to allow for empowerment of those around them – in the form of shared decision making. We often discuss the idea of providing students with ownership over tasks that they are performing in class. That same idea applies outside the classroom and in any leadership setting. If a leader is surrounded by people around them who feel empowered, those people will be more likely to commit to self- improvement, and in doing so will have more success in the classroom. Further, if a leader manages to empower those around them, then these people will feel a sense of collective pride, which is so important for a successful school.

3) Being Good Collaborators – The challenges that education faces these days are too complex to be solved by one person alone. To achieve lasting solutions, and in education, lasting success, a leader must foster the idea of collaboration. If people have an open, honest environment where everyone is free and encouraged to speak their mind, then they will be more likely to co-operate, and co-operation typically provide nothing but good things.

In a similar manner, we often refer to the skills necessary to be a 21^st Century learner. While the tools that students are using have definitely changed over the years, and it is important that we provide them with access to these tools and technologies to prepare them for the world to come, the actual skills that students need have not really changed at all.

To me, there are two main components of being a 21^st Century learner, and these are skills that have been part of human development through most of history. It is not so much the skills that have changed, but the focus on actively preparing students for these skills.

1) Learners need to be good problem solvers: There will be many times where it will be important for a learner to think critically. The ability to think clearly and rationally will be important in whatever a learner chooses to pursue.

2) Learners need to be resilient: Learners need to be able to face, overcome, and be strengthened by the challenges and adversities that they face in life. If we can help learners to be able to deal with changes quickly and effectively, then we are providing them a lifelong, useful skill.

While we certainly spend a lot of time looking at 21^st Century tools, and web 2.0 tools in this course, it is the three traits that I’ve identified required to be a 21^st Century leader, and the two skills that I believe learners need to be provided, that can really help us be successful in educational settings, and allow us to prepare our learners for an ever changing world.