Mission: Impossible 7

Yesterday, my wife and I went to see the latest Mission: Impossible movie (it's great - go see it) and I have been wondering today, about Ethan Hunt's management style.

He seems to have mellowed with age. Zero anger, more thoughtful quiet acceptance in this one. In a few scenes he even avoids providing exposition and listens to his team articulate what to do next and he nods agreement. Loved that.

He is very people oriented in this film - he trusts his team! When Benji sends him up a mountain to ultimately catch a train (great excuse for a terrific Tom Cruise stunt), Ethan asks Benji what he should do next and basically Benji has a mini meltdown and says he's stressed!

Ethan kind of shrugs and rather than berate his co-worker, get angry, or complain about his stress levels, purposefully heads up to the top of the cliff to do his stunt. Loved that too.

His transformational leadership style is very inspiring.

Success comes from the inside out. In order to change what is on the outside, you must first change what is on the inside (Idowu Koyenikan)

Transformational leadership has been on my mind of late.

When I was engaged to provide Professional Development in Qatar and the UAE a few years back, I used a lot of material relating to Transformational Leadership.

I don't hear much about it now that I am an active practitioner again, working for OneSchool Global.

I think I know why.

First though, a brief reminder on what transformational leadership requires courtesy of Kristen Lisanti.

• An awareness of the shifts underway in your world
• A purposeful vision for what could be
• A commitment to bring your vision into being
• The creativity to leverage the shifts at play
• The willingness to start with yourself

I suspect the reason I'm not overtly called upon to be a transformational leader in my organisation is that those first three bullet points are not really mine to control.

The vision comes to us from a global perspective. It is - to create a global education ecosystem that develops life-ready students who learn how to learn and achieve.

I believe in the vision and I am happy to promulgate it, but, unlike Principal's in a public school - I didn't create it. 

As a Campus Principal, I am aware of shifts underway in my campus, and, to a lesser degree, the shifts in NZ. But I am not that aware of global currents and trends to any great degree.

However, I am very willing to start with me. I am certainly aware of my shortcomings and very willing to learn better ways of doing things.

So, it's more about transforming myself, than it is about transforming my campus. I think.