Advancing Effective Leadership in Alignment
By Garth Wynne, Executive Principal, Christ’s College, Christchurch
Leadership, fundamentally, is about alignment. When we are aligned, we achieve our goals. The most effective leadership, in an increasingly disruptive environment, reflects on the core needs of leadership. That is, an alignment of people within an entity – in our case, a school – to our purpose and mission.
Together, we can achieve our goals. We do so in a changing and moving context, but if we are true to our core goals, beliefs, and mission, then we will be effective.
In independent schools, we are often fortunate that we have a clear idea of who we are, why we exist and where we wish to go. I have been fortunate that the schools I have led have been faith-inspired Anglican schools.
At Christ’s College, our core gospel virtues are honesty, learning, spirituality, respect, compassion, stewardship, and justice. From a biblical sense, they set different expectations than those created by non-religious entities.
With those virtues guiding us, and how the various groups within our community behave, we can go about achieving our mission. Our mission is ‘Each boy at his best’. So, every decision is based on achieving that outcome, with a knowing that boys at their best will be quite different throughout their five-year journey at secondary school.
Our Director of Advancement is part of our Executive team and oversees Admissions, Alumni, Philanthropy, Marketing, and Communications to engage the wider community.
Our Advancement team is core to enhancing connections within our entire community, with a strong focus on the giving of time, treasure, and talent. This starts by talking to our boys about the importance of philanthropy and how they can play their part. In our Christ’s College Diploma, all boys must fulfil a service element. An ongoing commitment to service is also nurtured through our House system.
We always take on the learnings of the past, so that we can continue to enhance more opportunities in the future. When considering time, treasure, and talent, we come back to alignment. People will not give to an organisation unaligned to its purpose. Within Advancement, we must lead by example and demonstrate that alignment. It comes back to that core leadership mantra.
From a personal perspective, learning to lead is a lifelong experience and learning leadership is a lifelong activity. As the dynamic of the community that we serve changes, so too must the behaviour of its leaders. You cannot lead from last century and deliver the vital community alignment of today. We need leadership that connects strongly with all elements of our community and adapts to the changing environment while reflecting contemporary attitudes and behaviours.
In 2025, we will celebrate our 175th anniversary. While we hold onto the values of our past, we maintain our innovative and contemporary approach to deliver ‘Each boy at his best’.
In closing, below is a summary of thoughts on Leadership:
- Leadership is about alignment
- Stay aligned with your purpose
- Decisions should always support your values
- Reflect on learnings of the past
- Consider Advancement in terms of time, treasure, and talent
- Be dynamic to adapt to changing environments
- Learning to lead is a lifelong journey
 |
 |
 |
