At the assembly, Maritzburg College announced the acting leaders for 2025-2026 from amongst its 5th formers. College’s headmaster, Mr Alan Redfern delivered an address to the boys highlighting the importance of Servant Leadership.
Today marks a milestone in the journey of our 5th Form boys through College.
We gather to acknowledge a group of young men who have reached a significant stage in their leadership development—boys whom we, as a community, believe are ready to take on a very specific leadership role. At the same time, seated in this hall are other extraordinary young men who are currently in a different phase of their leadership journey.
I want to share with you my vision of what leadership means, and what it means to be a leader at Maritzburg College.
Leadership at College cannot simply be about wearing a badge or standing in front of others. It is about embracing a calling to serve. True leadership begins with service—placing the needs of others before your own, and putting the welfare of the school, your peers, and the traditions we uphold at the centre of all that you do. This is what we mean when we talk about servant leadership.
To be a leader, one does not necessarily need to wear a badge. You must live by a value system, display empathy, and put others before yourself. Leadership does not begin with the announcement of prefects on a Monday morning—it begins the day you walk onto this campus. If we, as the staff, are fulfilling our mandate to educate well-rounded, holistic young men, then we must be developing every one of you into young leaders. At some point in your life, you will be called upon to lead. Therefore, your development as a leader must begin as early as possible.
This development starts with the basics: mastering your ability to lead yourself, understanding who you are, and knowing where you want to go. At College, this begins in 2nd Form—taking pride in your appearance, presenting your work well, being punctual, managing your time effectively, and becoming a proud College boy who represents what our school stands for.
However, leadership is not about self—it is about understanding others and earning their belief in you. Good leaders require strong communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. They must be skilled in people management and conflict resolution. They need inner strength and a strong sense of self-belief. A good leader must be collaborative and innovative, humble yet confident, understanding and accepting of differences, tolerant, and empathetic. You must be a critical thinker and willing to learn.
As you can see, this is a long list of skills—and certainly not a definitive one—but most importantly, these are skills that can be actively taught and learned.
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
— John F. Kennedy
Leadership development is not defined by a single moment in time, but rather nurtured and learned over a period, along a continuum. You can never stop learning to lead. At the start of my address, I mentioned that today we acknowledge a group of young men who have reached a particular stage in their leadership journey.
To the young men who will be appointed today as Acting Prefects, I wish you all the best. With this honour comes accountability and increased responsibility. Your words will carry more weight, your actions will be more closely observed, and your decisions will have a greater impact. Accountability will not be optional—it will be constant. You will be called upon to set the tone, to model the behaviours we want to see in every College boy, and to be guided at all times by our school’s value system: Courage, Honour, Self-discipline, Commitment, Compassion, Integrity, Respect.
Leadership will demand much of you—adapting, persevering, and standing steady in the face of change and challenge, always for the good of your school.
“A good leader takes a little more than their share of the blame, a little less than their share of the credit.”
— B.C. Forbes
Be ready—it can be lonely at the top.
There are also dangers in leadership—traps that have ensnared many before you. I want to warn you against what I call the Three Poisonous P’s of Leadership: Privilege, Power, and Prestige.
- Privilege: when a leadership position becomes a reason to think you are better than others, rather than an opportunity to serve them.
- Power: when you use your position to control or intimidate, rather than to guide and inspire.
- Prestige: when your focus shifts from what you can contribute to how important you appear.
These poisons corrode trust, destroy respect, and undo the good work of even the most talented leaders. The antidote is simple: return to service, return to humility, return to the values of College.
To those boys whose names are announced today, you are being entrusted with something precious—the spirit and reputation of this great school. Guard it well, lead with courage and integrity, and never forget that you are here for the benefit of others.
And to those whose names are not called, remember: leadership is not a title; it is a daily choice, and it is open to every single one of you. Together, we are what makes College the great school that it is.
Pro Aris et Focis
Alan Redfern
Headmaster