Good and Bad Leadership Experiences in the Classroom

Introduction

In school I have had good and bad experiences in dealing with leaders. Two good experiences I had with professors at my university were in classes where the professors recognized that I was an international student. I appreciated their recognition because it is something that is obvious but not always acknowledged. One bad experience I had with a professor was a situation where the professor did not care to get to know the students and seemed to be there simply because it was a job, not because she loved doing it. My favorite teachers have been those who show a genuine interest in students. To me, they possess leadership qualities like Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence. They also demonstrate servant leadership skills, which I appreciate because it suggests they truly care about helping students achieve their goals.

When teachers act as though they are superior and all-knowing, treating students as unintelligent simply because they lack degrees, I feel the teacher is compensating for some internal absence and is not being a good leader. Bad leaders bring negative energy to an environment and can pull down morale (Schyns & Schilling, 2013) — and that is exactly what happened in my experience with a professor who did not show that she cared about students.

The Two Good Professors

The two good professors who stand out in my university experience appealed to me because, from the first day of class, they showed interest in getting to know their students. I am also interested in getting to know my professors, so I appreciated that we did not simply dive into course material and ignore the fact that we were strangers. Since we were investing time together, it made sense to take a little while to learn about one another. I used to be shy and embarrassed about sharing information about myself because I was uncertain about my future — but that was some time ago. I have since made up my mind about who I want to be, and I am more confident now.

Sometimes in class a student is uncomfortable speaking, much like I once was. What I liked about these two professors was that they never tried to make such a student feel strange or embarrassed. Instead, they showed sensitivity and expressed genuine interest in whatever little the student had to say. One professor would ask thoughtful questions or use gentle humor to help the student open up — the student would laugh and feel more comfortable. On another occasion, when humor did not work, the same professor shifted to a more serious tone, showing the student that he respected the student's ideas. This worked: the student sat up and began to feel good about being taken seriously. Both professors demonstrated this ability to be effective and adaptive communicators.

When it came to me specifically, they noticed I was an international student and showed interest in where I am from, asking genuine questions. What I also appreciated was that they did not show any greater interest in one student over another. It could not be said that this teacher favored one type of student. The professors were genuinely kind to everyone as they got to know us, and I did not feel out of place — I felt connected. I believe everyone felt at ease after that first session dedicated to getting acquainted. We realized we were all there together to accomplish the same goal. We all want good grades and success, and after that first day, in both classes, we understood that we could help each other and speak very freely, asking questions and offering solutions.

I later learned that these two professors were friends, which helped me understand why their styles were so similar: they both seemed committed to servant leadership and wanted to express this philosophy in their own lives. I appreciated this deeply and wished all my teachers truly embraced it — not just displayed it superficially. Sometimes a teacher can go through the motions without really believing in the approach or being interested in it. This is a problem because it makes students feel like they are simply part of a formula the teacher feels obligated to follow. I do not like feeling that contact and communication are purely formulaic. I want to believe there is genuine interest and regard in any interaction I have with someone.