Complimentary Story
March 2024WILD – Wise Intentional Leadership Development — a few years ago, introduced a high school class on leadership development that is currently used by six Wisconsin school districts. The class is offered for ½ elective credit for graduation.
The class teaches how to develop character qualities that a person needs to be a leader. Biblical principles and truths are the foundation of the curriculum. Students indicate that the class changes their lives. Below are two essays provided by students for their final grade. If you are interested in finding out more about the class along with a new one WILD is offering to school districts on team development, please email:
intdirector@wildleadership.org to request a discussion on the material.
Integrity: The Most Important
Leadership Quality
By Guinn
I think integrity is most important to being a leader because integrity is reflected by the choices we make, and leaders make a lot of choices. It is good to be trustworthy and honest; integrity is like a broad lifestyle that incorporates being trustworthy, honest and other traits of a leader.
Integrity is a lifelong process. We, as leaders, spend our whole lives developing integrity. An example of having integrity is doing the right thing, even if it is hard and when no one is looking. This means that you are not just doing the right thing to get positive feedback; this means that you do the right thing because you believe it is what you should do.
Doing the right thing because people are looking is being a hypocrite. To be a hypocrite means to “wear a mask” or put on a show. A hypocrite is someone who acts like they have integrity in front of others, but when no one is around and the “mask” is down, they do not act like a person of integrity.
Integrity is knowing that your walk talks more than your talk talks. This means that your actions (walk) is what integrity is, not the things you say. Integrity is doing the little things, like telling the full truth. Integrity is doing what you know you should do, what you know is right. Integrity is also doing what you say and being held accountable. Lastly, integrity is committing to building character. Character is who you are on the inside.
I want to continue to develop my integrity. I want to be a leader of integrity even when no one is looking because being a leader is not about getting the credit; it is about doing what we can to better ourselves and those who trust us to.
Humility, Honesty and Respect:
Traits of a Successful Leader
By Annabella
To me, humility is so important because it gives you more of a chance to focus on the people instead of yourself. You begin to have more of a softened heart and you have more empathy than one who does not have humility. When you are humble, you do not care about yourself as much; focusing on others is a big thing. No one is going to want to follow you if all you do is talk about yourself.
Humility builds better relationships. Relationships allow more people to follow you. If you are kind and have all the qualities of being humble, people are going to want to come to you and talk to you because they know you are understanding.
Being above reproach means you take the blame for things you do wrong and do not come up with excuses when you do something wrong; you are honest about it. Being above reproach is important in leadership because it is honesty, and honesty is one of those qualities that if you want to be a leader you need to have it. This all ties into developing your character because you need to know when to own up to things, be able to take criticism but still be able to have an opinion.
Have respect. One of the best ways to build respect is through your character. Have a good attitude, build people up, do not tear them down. If you tear a building down, it won’t be able to do its job; just like a person, if you tear a person down enough, they are going to feel like they can’t do their job, or anything, for that matter. You will build respect if you show respect, show that you care and that you are listening. That will build your character and how you lead.
There was a quote in our packet that I loved; it said, “Live the life before you lead others.” This quote relates to character because you need to build experiences to build a strong character. Surround yourself with people of good character; that will help you build your own character. Character is going to help you to be a better leader.
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