Who do you think of when you hear the word “leader”? Or maybe it isn’t who, but what you think of when you hear the word?
When I hear the word “leader,” I generally think about the latter because I do not believe leadership is fixed; leadership is not something that can be mastered. In my view, leadership is always evolving depending on the context that the person titled “the leader” finds themselves in. On some days you can be a very hands-off leader, managing people and situations from afar. On others, you need to get your hands dirty and be more hands-on. Every day you could wear a different ‘hat’, whether that be the ‘hands-off’ or ‘hands-on’ hat, and sometimes you wear more than one and stack them on top of your head!
Since starting at Melton this year I feel like I have worn many hats every day. Some of the hats that I have worn in the last month, I did not even know existed! But again, that is the nature of leadership – it is always changing, and you need to be willing to change with it. However, amidst the changing nature of leadership, there are some constants. For example, one of the constant characteristics of leadership is ‘service’: a leader serves the people they lead. Another is ‘humility’: a leader is humble amidst the people they lead. These two are woven into the fabric of the hats that we wear so that no matter the context, whether you are hands-on or hands-off, you are leading in service and with humility.
Since I last wrote to you, I have had the privilege of awarding the positions of Primary, Secondary, Class and House Captains to different students at Melton. In my address to students, I explained that leadership is very much like what I have described here. Leadership isn’t about being in charge. Leadership is about service and humility, both of which Jesus reminded us of in Luke 22 when saying that the leaders amongst us should also be those who serve us. But this also doesn’t mean that leadership is about picking up after others or putting other people’s rubbish in the bin or doing the homework of others. Service is about working towards the best interests of the community. It is about ensuring that the community experiences safety, dignity and belonging. It is about making time to plan and implement ways to make our community better. It is about role modelling how we can help one another. It is about being hungry for Christ. It is about being kind, respectful, prepared and loving, and it is about doing all things with humility.
With this said, the leadership team at Melton were proud to announce the appointment of Rashi Shah as our Primary Captain, and Rachel Duncanson and Isaac Faure as our Secondary Captains for Semester One of 2022. We believe that these three students are servant-hearted and humble in character and will serve our school well. On behalf of the Melton community, I would like to congratulate them on their successful appointments!
A few last thoughts…
Please be mindful of the upcoming school photo day on the 7th of March and Swimming Carnival on the 11th of March. Also, we urge everyone in the community to continue being vigilant with wearing their hats during Term 1.