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captain of a sports team or class prefect,” says
Murray. “Leadership means developing the
sense that you are trustworthy. And do you
have integrity? Do you share credit for work?
Are you empathetic, and a good listener? Are
you collaborative, and can you learn from
failure? These are the qualities that make
others want to follow you. In business, they
might want to know your intellect, but what
is more important is whether or not they feel
they can trust you, whether they can partner
with you. Can you take a risk and fail with-
out folding up your cards and going home?”
In developing the strength of character
that compels such leadership qualities, stu-
dents do sometimes stumble. Yet even this
is part of the learning experience at Univer-
sity School. Murray says students are made
to understand that they are accountable for
their actions and there are consequences for
failing to meet them. In such situations, stu-
dents may feel that their transgression not
only let themselves down, but their school
and their peers too. In such teachable mo-
ments, Murray says the student’s relationship
with the school and the counsel of caring
faculty help create the kind of changes that
equates to transforming lives. As Murray ex-
plains, “When you can offer the right kind
of encouragement and the boy trusts you...
is confident that you believe in him and his
ability to be better, he will rise to the occa-
sion every time.”
