Good morning UTS – new and returning students, teachers, and staff – and welcome to the start of the school year!
Unlike Laura, I’m really terrible at writing jokes, so instead I’ll begin with a confession. This summer, there was significant period of time during which I totally forgot that I was captain; that I had to be standing here right now in front of all of you. Don’t get me wrong, the school is in good hands…Laura’s hands, of course. Ok, just kidding. What I really mean to say is that I found myself questioning the role that Laura and I are currently trying to fulfill through our service to you, the school community, which led me to the essential question: “What does leadership look like?”

To some, the qualities of a great leader are embodied by this cool guy right here...

Others might be followers of the Queen B...

or Marie Curie...

or Bob Marley.

To an alarmingly increasing portion of the population, a leader looks something like…

But what does this have to do with UTS? Well, if we look past the roots of the traditional North American school system, which were to meet the needs of the economy during the industrial revolution, we find that a modern educational institution should be a place where people can come to challenge and deconstruct conventions. There are, indeed, many of these at UTS: the tradition of excellence, for example, or the culture of competition, or the mandate to produce socially responsible global citizens. Leadership is among these buzzwords that, in my opinion, demand questioning.

Now, what if I told you that leadership also looks like this...

or this.There’s a concept that I find quite compelling called the myth of leadership. It argues that formally designating someone as leader or some position as leadership creates unhealthy community relationships because the result is always a rank-based system in which power is defined as “power-over,” in which hierarchy is the means of transmission of authority from the top down. The inevitable truth is that we cannot avoid this structure. It is embedded in our society, in our schools, in our own tier system and in the position of captain itself. What we can do, however, is find ways to prioritize the collective that’s seen in these pictures, to lead equitably and as best as we can. The two most influential resources granted to “leaders” are information, and decision-making power. As such, the most effective ways to achieve this kind of collective leadership are to be open with information, transparent in decision-making, and committed to group involvement. This, I believe, is our duty to you as captains.
More importantly, however, is that you don’t have to occupy a formal position of leadership to be a leader. Not at all. To the incoming F1s, leadership might be reaching out to classmates who are having trouble adjusting, stepping forward to ask a difficult question, finding others with whom to share your passions, or giving feedback to your grade representatives. And, of course, being a supportive member of the community is in itself a form of collective leadership.

or this...

To conclude, my mom recently showed me a tweet that said: don’t draw lines, cross them. Yes, the quotation was accompanied by a stock image that made it look like one of those “justgirlythings” memes, but beyond that I think the message is a really good, and one that has a lot to do with leadership. Whether it’s challenging the parameters that society has placed on us, or pushing your own personal boundaries, or thinking outside of the box, I wish you all the best of luck this year with crossing your own lines, with leading yourself and those around you in new and exciting directions. Thank you!