Head's Blog | Serve to lead | Embley School, a private school in Hampshire

It is with a degree of apprehension that I begin this musing. It is always the case when I am considering what ‘leading’ means and what it involves. I am very conscious that there are, among this readership, those with years of study in the service of the subject of leadership from institutions established to inform and enlighten on just that. But I don’t think they hold a monopoly on thought and certainly not on experience. Over the past few weeks, a number of sixth formers have put themselves forward to become Head of School for the next academic year. They were interviewed and made presentations, and their insight is shocking but in a good way.If I set aside the presentation material we all listened to in assembly for now, the interviews I shared with them were humbling to a degree that I think would both chasten and surprise most readers. There was a uniqueness to each one befitting the fact that they are not homogenous ‘yes’ person. It’s not the Embley way. We expect individuality, curiosity and composure but also enquiry and the capacity to get the job done. No place for unthinking automatons here. Each one had a vision, a purpose. They were and are, young people with an agenda to make the community better. The humility with which they entertained the questioning and their responses pointed to an understanding of leadership which I think is at the heart of Embley.
 
Each one was wedded to a purpose larger than themselves. They sought to take on a stewardship within the community from which the community would gain and for which they would act in service. What struck me was how clearly they held to two massive pillars of leadership: a selflessness anchored to a wider vision, a bigger picture. The picture they served was never self-serving, far from it. It will cost them and they are happy to pay. 
 
Marcus Aurelius has never known such popularity as he is having today; his Meditations are bent to the purpose of those who see the world stoically and those who look to his musings for guidance on how to lead. Get up early, have purpose and accept that you are not the master of your own destiny, you may author your response to circumstance but you don't change fate. It seems to me those who have come through the Embley ranks have much of this wisdom not only through the study of the classics, but through the interaction with opportunities here and the guidance of our community and the culture we author together.
 
It may all seem very homespun, even obvious to some, and no doubt there are those who disagree - hopefully agreeably - but leading, at its heart, seems to be about serving those who serve, and in doing so to make the world a better place. It is acting with reason and justice based on the intrinsic value of every individual. There are times when the going is good and this is easy, but when challenge arrives it is the depth of character and faith in the purpose that prevails when resolve is tested. Ultimately, we serve to lead.