By Jackie Fletcher, Staff Writer

The old adage is true that two heads really are better than one. With the world quickly and constantly changing, it is becoming more difficult for any single individual to possess all of the skills needed to lead an organization today; for this reason, educational institutions should adopt the “shared leadership” approach.

At Trinity Hall, this approach is already being implemented. Sharing leadership encourages student engagement and promotes solidarity because it provides more opportunities to lead. Shared leadership also provides a broader variety of views, less burden on one individual, a balance of power, minimized mistakes and maximized creativity.  Students can choose the leadership roles for which they are best suited and most passionate, resulting in greater success.

“At Trinity Hall, one of our core values is leadership. One of the beliefs in an all-girls school is that leadership should be a focus and should provide opportunity and experience,” said Head of School Mary Sciarrillo. “Leadership can be learned, but if you’ve never experienced leadership, how would you learn it? Shared leadership provides that opportunity equally for every student. The goal of Trinity Hall is that every student is capable of leadership, every student is worthy of leadership, and every student should be given the opportunity to learn how to be a better leader. You can’t accomplish leadership by letting one person lead all of the clubs, denying other people.”

“When people are engaged, great things happen,” Sciarrillo continued. “When only some students get involved, others become disengaged. It is in the best interest of every student to be given the opportunity of shared ownership. It provides students the opportunity to use their voices and to become better leaders.”

Freshman Gina Rienzo echoed those beliefs. “Shared leadership allows for many opinions and voices rather than just one.”

Kailin BurnsCohen, another freshman, also supports the shared leadership model because “it allows for more team building and allows the incorporation of many ideas from different people.”

Isabelle Grimes, freshman, said that she values shared leadership because she can express her ideas to different leaders so that her opinions are heard. Freshman Madeline Earle likewise feels that it gives everyone a voice and allows for the expression of multiple views, which is beneficial to the growth and prosperity of the school.

“Shared leadership gives everyone the opportunity to make a difference and succeed in their own way,” freshman Anna Barnett said.

This wise and advantageous policy not only provides more students with the opportunity to develop important leadership skills, but it also teaches us how to share responsibilities and how to effectively work when we are not the person in charge. All of these skills are essential for today’s women to be successful, so implementing shared leadership further proves that Trinity Hall is truly dedicated to developing successful young women.