Leadership Qualities of Lorraine Monroe
Lorraine Monroe, now retired, was the founding President and CEO of the nonprofit organization, Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute. Dr. Monroe’s mission was to design and develop leadership skills in public schools, to which she was successful by transforming Frederick Douglass Academy from being a school prevalent in violence, poor attendance, and low academic achievement to a school with high test scores and where 96 percent of its students went on to college.
It takes many affective personality traits to be a great leader like Dr. Monroe, but the traits I admire most are her locus of control, emotional intelligence, and her integrity. Dr. Monroe’s locus of control allowed her to truly believe in herself and achieve many personal goals such as obtaining a Doctorate Degree and becoming a high school principal. I think that her drive and confidence in her ability to transform FDA must have been very inspiring for her staff members to do their best at achieving the mission, as well. However, inspiring staff and students to change their attitudes could not have been an easy task in an intercity school where academic success ranks low among other socioeconomic priorities. This is where I think Dr. Monroe’s emotional intelligence played a big role in keeping her followers on task and motivated to achieve her vision. Lastly, I think that Dr. Monroe’s integrity was the glue that kept the mission together. Dr. Monroe was attempting to do something that most people never though could be possible, which required the full effort and participation of students, faculty, parents, and community members. She couldn’t risk losing the trust or drive of her followers by being dishonest, engaging in unethical behavior, being absent, or working for her personal gain. The transformation of FDA was successful because Dr. Monroe encouraged her faculty to be creative and try new things, higher standards were set, and students, as well as, teachers were treated like capable
It takes many affective personality traits to be a great leader like Dr. Monroe, but the traits I admire most are her locus of control, emotional intelligence, and her integrity. Dr. Monroe’s locus of control allowed her to truly believe in herself and achieve many personal goals such as obtaining a Doctorate Degree and becoming a high school principal. I think that her drive and confidence in her ability to transform FDA must have been very inspiring for her staff members to do their best at achieving the mission, as well. However, inspiring staff and students to change their attitudes could not have been an easy task in an intercity school where academic success ranks low among other socioeconomic priorities. This is where I think Dr. Monroe’s emotional intelligence played a big role in keeping her followers on task and motivated to achieve her vision. Lastly, I think that Dr. Monroe’s integrity was the glue that kept the mission together. Dr. Monroe was attempting to do something that most people never though could be possible, which required the full effort and participation of students, faculty, parents, and community members. She couldn’t risk losing the trust or drive of her followers by being dishonest, engaging in unethical behavior, being absent, or working for her personal gain. The transformation of FDA was successful because Dr. Monroe encouraged her faculty to be creative and try new things, higher standards were set, and students, as well as, teachers were treated like capable
References: Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute. (n.d.). Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://www.lorrainemonroe.com Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2010). Chapter 2: Leadership Traits and Ethics. Leadership: theory, application, & skill development, (4th ed., pp. 30-59). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.