Because I Said So

Recently I ran into a situation where a couple of adult leaders verbally shut down a student who was trying to lead on behalf of a colleague he felt was being taken advantage of by the teachers.  When the student leader made a decision that the adults did not like, they ganged up on him and gave him a strong tongue lashing.  "We're in charge around here," they shouted in so many words, intimidating the young leader to tears.  During the convening intervention provided by the parent and school administrator, the conclusion was that the student, although not choosing the best manner for leading, was nevertheless correct in exhibiting his perceived defense of the weaker colleague.  The suggested solution for the next time something like this occured, was to come up to the teachers after the event and ask for them to explain their actions and then share his concerns.  While previous generations are more in tune with the "I'm the boss around here" and "Because I said so" mindset, younger leaders are not necessarily trying to be rebellious or disrespectful because they have opinions and analyze our decisions.  Secure adults need to actually seek ideas from young leaders and applaud critical thinking.  This demonstrates humilty. What we need to do as older leaders is to separate the "what" from the "how."  Young leaders need to learn "how" and "when" to raise issues appropriately. But this is a part of our job as older leaders, to do this in a way that is not dishonoring, by punishing or intimidating.  This old school, authoritarian approach is not working as it used to.  On the otherhand, did it ever really work?