2 Who becomes a leader?

As we have seen, many leaders – such as Martin Luther King and Lady Jane Campbell – find themselves embarking on a leadership journey as a response to personal experiences of discrimination or injustice. Others begin their journey through more traditional means of career progression, moving from the front line to management and leadership positions over time. Everyone’s journey is unique and will reflect the sort of person they are and the life experiences they have had.

Figure 4: Greta Thunberg on her school strike for climate.

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A young girl, Greta Thunberg, stands in front of a building. She is holding a large sign with the hand-painted words ‘skolstrejk för klimatet’ (‘School strike for climate’ in Swedish).

Figure 4: Greta Thunberg on her school strike for climate.

For others, their leadership journey begins in very different ways. When Greta Thunberg started her climate strike protest in August 2018 in response to the lack of action from political leaders on the global climate crisis, she wasn’t in a position of authority. She had no management responsibilities and no desire for leadership. Yet within a year, she had become the unlikely leader of a global movement. Greta cared passionately about climate change, and that passion led her on a leadership journey which was to take her right across the world and into the consciences of millions of people. She illustrates why caring is such a fundamental element of leadership and a driver for getting things done. Her concern for the planet and her care for her peers and future generations underpins her actions.

In her book, No one is too small to make a difference, Thunberg (2019) demonstrates powerful personal awareness. She is clear about her limitations in terms of authoritative position, but equally clear about where her potential power and influence does lie. Having been elevated to her unanticipated position of leadership, she uses her growing public platform to lead by example: crossing the Atlantic in a sailboat, for instance, and following a vegan diet. In this way she takes small steps towards her vision and encourages others to follow.

Activity 2 explores another example of a leadership journey emerging in unexpected ways.

Activity 2 Unlikely leaders?

Watch Video 1, which introduces José Galindez, an asylum-seeker in the UK who set up free classes to teach English in his local community:

As you watch, reflect on how people describe José and his current leadership journey:

• What skills does he bring with him?
• What challenges does he face?
• Who helps him along the way?

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1 Introducing José

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Transcript: Video 1 Introducing José

JULIE MCKIRDY (LIBRARY SUPERVISOR, THIMBLEMAILL LIBRARY)

So José told me his story, and I loved José the minute I met him. He felt like he was my younger brother straight away.

DAVE WILLIAMS (PASTOR, BEARWOOD CHAPEL)

I think the things you realise immediately is that this is someone who’s very open. He’s very passionate.

GERARDO ARRIAGA GARCIA (VOLUNTEER ESOL TEACHER)

He’s a guy of doing things. It’s not about … He’s not a guy of just ideas and talking about the ideas. He likes getting things done.

KEVIN SADLER (SENIOR PASTOR, RAGLAN ROAD CHRISTIAN CHURCH)

There’s just something about the man that was honest, real. I guess, when you’ve been stripped of everything, you can only be real.

TEXT ON SCREEN: The Language of Collective Leadership

José and his family came to the UK to claim asylum.

Until a decision is made by the Home Office, they are not allwoed to take paid employment or claim benefits.

Their court date keeps being adjourned.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ (ASYLUM SEEKER AND ESOL CLASS FOUNDER)

The past three years, I’ve been here. It has been great. It’s a good place, even though it’s considered one of the roughest places to live. For me, it’s a safe place. I feel safe. I feel I can go here, I can go anywhere.

TEXT ON SCREEN: José set up English classes in a diverse community in the West Midlands.

He receives no funding and voluntarily runs the classes with support from the local community.

They are free and open to anyone.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ

We open at 11 o’clock but I have to come and be early to set up. We are in the hub. This is the place where we actually teach the people that want to learn the language. We are in the middle of the park. This is Victoria Park. And now I have to set up one, two, three tables. We’ve got to put the chairs around.

Being an asylum seeker, it is very hard. It is complicated. It’s hard because you leave everything behind, because you need to be in a safer place. People think the worst of it – the asylum seeker, refugee, this foreigner, all these people coming. But they don’t see the problem. And the main problem is we came here looking or seeking protection.

The ESOL classes came about because we started a Bible study. And then, by November, December 2014, we have 30, 40 people in this house. I said, goodness me, where are these people coming from? Not many of them really speak the language. So I started teaching this family and their sons, teach them the language. And I was taking them to the hospital when they needed to go to the hospital. I was the translator for them in the school and the GP. So that’s how the English classes started to grow.

Then, by that time, Pastor Kevin Sadler, he took me to one of the church leader meetings in Smethwick. This is my book. This is my Bible.

KEVIN SADLER

I sensed he was a leader. And people are drawn to him because he’s not the kind of hands-off leader; he’s a hands-on leader. He’s a leader that just sees a need and will help and find others if he can’t do it himself to help them. He reproduces in others who he is. And what I’ve noticed about José is that he gets people to do things. If I go meet him and we have a coffee, I usually end up with a couple of jobs.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ

He introduced me to one of the councillors, Mr Santok Singh. I told the councillor, I said, well, we have a lot of people in our house, in our dining room. We have 10, 15, 20 people and we’re teaching them English, and we need a place. And that very moment, he picked up his phone and he called Mrs Julie McKirdy.

JULIE MCKIRDY

José told me his story, about all the people he met on his journey. And they asked if they could bring their ESOL class to the library. And the rest is really history.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ

We provide it free. We don’t charge. And we don’t get paid. None of the teachers get paid. People who are qualified, and people who say, well, I’m going to devote two hours on Monday and Tuesday here to help – so that’s, that’s amazing.

BOB ADAMS (VOLUNTEER ESOL TEACHER)

Well, my background is that I was a teacher. I’ve taught in primary and secondary. I come here basically because he asked me.

DAVE WILLIAMS

What motivates people to get involved in a project where there isn’t, on the surface, anything in it for them? I think a very key thing is that there’s a compelling vision. I think that’s the first thing. There’s a compelling vision of this is what we’re trying to do. José is able to help people see why something is important and vital. They see his enthusiasm for it.

GERARDO ARRIAGA GARCIA

Most of the people who go to the classes are not because they enjoy it. It’s not because they want to have fun. It’s not just because they want to learn a new language. This is people who need the classes. This is people who are in this country and who need English to communicate.

ALICE LOWE (VOLUNTEER ESOL TEACHER)

I’ll very often have people I’ve never seen before, for the very reason they only arrived in the country last week. So we have to adapt any material we do have and use experience and what we have to help the people who are there.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ

There are difficulties – the lack of resources, because we don’t get funding from no one. So we are very flexible – not only myself, but we, the teachers.

GERARDO ARRIAGA GARCIA

The moment you feel that you are free to teach the way you think you should be teaching, that moment you felt it’s your class, so you take ownership and pride of what you’re doing. It doesn’t look like he would be the leader, even though he works as it, because it’s not hierarchical. It’s more like horizontal. The way he does things is giving you things, just because he believes that he can give you something.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ

It’s a whole different approach. I think it’s the best way to do things, in a way that you work together with everybody, because I see their effort, I see their passion, and I see all those things they give themselves to what we do.

GERARDO ARRIAGA GARCIA

When you have something that is as collective as this, then you actually realise how much you can actually do.

DAVE WILLIAMS

You’ve seeing things happen. You’ve seeing people’s lives changed. From that, I think it follows on that, because this is inclusive, it isn’t passive. Rather than somebody saying, I’ve been taught some English or I’ve been given some advice, it means they’ve been drawn into a community. And they can start to, very quickly, find their role and their responsibility and what they can give back and what they can give on.

JOSÉ GALINDEZ

What I see or what I have seen is the integration of people who would not talk to each other in the streets. They get to know each other here. They get to start having a conversation. Where are you from? These kind of things. So it doesn’t only benefit from the language, but it benefits them to know each other. So you have people from Sudan, from Pakistan, from India, from Romania. And you have different people, and they become friends.

My plans were not to set up a church or English classes. I had more things to worry about. I had this case. Until we get a decision from Home Office, I don’t see any future, because you don’t see any future. You don’t plan. So that really drains mentally, emotionally, because this case depends, everything – our lives depend on this case.

It’s my faith that keeps me going, and the things that we do. And I think, all that is happening the church – the ESOL classes and all that stuff – it gives me something to look into, something to say, no, I have to do it, because if I don’t do it, who else is going to do it? And that gives you the strength to keep going.

TEXT ON SCREEN: José and his family are still waiting on a decision on their asylum application from the Home Office.

Demand for the English language classes continues to grow.

End transcript: Video 1 Introducing José

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Video 1 Introducing José

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Discussion

José is described as ‘open’, ‘passionate’ and ‘real’, a person who people are ‘drawn to’. He voluntarily runs English language classes for the local community. He receives no funding and is not allowed to take paid employment or claim benefits while waiting for his asylum claim.

Having left everything behind himself, he is now working towards other people’s futures, even though he can’t see his own future path, as his asylum application is still on hold.

Undoubtedly, his faith will play a role in his leadership journey, but drawing on passion he sees in others is also key. The importance of his flexible and non-hierarchical approach is mentioned by others who work with him, which has the effect of drawing people into the community so they can find their passion, their role and their responsibility too. The fact that José isn’t an official leader perhaps made it easier for him and others to be pulled along by his enthusiasm. Running classes and supporting others isn’t actually his official responsibility – it sort of grew around him – and he uses his leadership to delegate roles to those who have the skills, resources or power he himself lacks.

You don’t know José’s leadership journey prior to this point. You met him when he had no formal job, no means of support, very little personal security and was fleeing persecution. Yet, even in these unlikely circumstances, he found himself with an opportunity to learn and develop as a leader, helped along by others around him who saw his potential, shared his vision and wanted to help him reach his goal. This shows that there is a lot more to leadership than the position an individual holds.