A Great Leader Builds Great Leaders

I challenged him on the message he was giving his students. It seemed to surprise him. He paused. It looked like he was annoyed with me. But then I saw, he was thinking about how he was going to answer me. There was a risk in his answer.

He was talking to a new donor, a donor he’d just met. He knew nothing about me. He knew nothing about my position on race or education of the less fortunate. I could feel the tension of his awkward pause.

He broke through this awkward moment between us by reiterating his message to his students and then expanding on it. Finally, he shared why he believes his message is the right message.

With a new donor at risk, he demonstrated his leadership. He knows what he stands for, and he was bold to share it. I walked away not sure I agreed with him, but I was sure he was sure and had good reasons for it. His courage of conviction impacted me. He got me thinking more deeply about my challenge. He influenced me. He was changing my thinking.

As I walked to my car outside KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School, I said to myself, “That man is a leader.”

And that’s when I decided, I wanted to know more. There is a lot to be learned from him and the life he’s lived. I want to learn how he became a leader. I wanted to know what makes this man tick, what he believes and why.

And that’s what I did.

It took me over six weeks to break through his busy schedule, but we finally talked. He trusted me enough to schedule the interview, and we just completed it. Here is what I learned about what makes this man a great leader.

Boldness

Mr. Washington knows where he came from and is clear on the man he has become. When challenged, he does not equivocate to please or gain acceptance. This is a man who has clearly defined values and lives them every day. What he says and what he does are in complete alignment. I experienced this when I first met him, and he didn’t disappoint the more I probed.

Love

Mr. Washington loves his scholars because he was loved growing up. His mother and grandmother were the biggest influences in his life, but so was his community.

He told me a story about how a neighborhood drug dealer asked to see his report card each time he received it. I always thought drug dealers tried to recruit young men in the neighborhood. Here was a drug dealer loving young Arthur enough to see the promise of this kid’s life and hold him accountable. And this was just one example of how he was loved by his neighborhood.

As principal, he insists on doing the daily morning announcements at his high school. At the end of the announcements, he always concludes with “I love you.” He told me that one day he was a bit distracted with what he needed to do after the announcements and didn’t conclude with his usual, “I love you.”

That morning he had students lined up outside his office door. They wanted to know why he didn’t tell them that he loved them. This is a respected leader.

When I asked him why he tells his students this every morning, he said, “When I grew up, I didn’t hear the words, I love you. It wasn’t something that was said in my home or my community. But later in life, I realized I was loved. I decided to share this love with others and to be sure to tell them, ‘I love you.’”

High Expectations

Mr. Washington said, “I would come home from school with a test showing I achieved a 93. My mom would say, ‘Why didn’t you get a 95?’ You might think this comment from my mom would disappoint me, but that wasn’t the case. She knew me and believed I was even more capable.”

These lessons from his mom carried over into his leadership. He sees the potential in his students. In his interactions with them, he is always encouraging them to be all that they can be. He is always telling them to reach higher.

Curious

“When I was young, I was always asking questions. I wanted to know why things were the way they were. How things worked. How we could make them better.”

This curiosity was the seed for Mr. Washington to become a continuous learner. He told me he is always in search of new ideas. New ways of doing things. Ideas that will make him a better leader, a better administrator, and a better husband and father. He continues to be curious.

As we talked about this, he said, “I will never stop learning. I love to learn.”

Responsible

When he left the neighborhood to attend Howard University, he knew two things.

1. I want my mother to continue to be proud of me.

2. I want my friends and neighbors to be proud of me.

Mr. Washington tells his students that they are standing on the shoulders of the generations who came before them. The sacrifices these people made from slavery, to freedom, to education, and ending in great achievements. This is the legacy his scholars are expected to honor.

After interviewing Wash, I believe he lives his life transparently. He has a responsibility to achieve even more than the people who went before him. He believes he owes this to them. His life is not about him. It is much bigger than that. He is responsible.

His life is about previous generations and this current generation, his students. He wants to teach them what he learned. And every day he wants to show them how to live, how to hope, how to achieve, and how to serve, just like he did. He wants them to be responsible.

Mr. Washington is a great leader because he is building great leaders.

I will be publishing my interview with Mr. Arthur Washington this Friday. Look for it. Give it a listen. There is so much to be learned from this man.