One of the hardest lessons in school leadership took me years to learn.
One of the hardest lessons in school leadership took me years to learn.
Not every harmful employee is a poor performer. I don’t think teachers set out to be bad teachers.
Some are excellent at the technical aspects of the job.
Students like them.
Parents like them.
Their lessons are fine.
Their reports are submitted on time.
Yet they quietly damage the culture every day.
The gossip.
The cynicism.
The eye rolls in meetings.
The undermining comments after decisions are made.
The constant reasons why something won’t work.
Most school leaders eventually learn that culture is rarely destroyed by incompetence.
More often it is eroded by influence.
That’s what makes these decisions so difficult.
You can measure performance.
Culture is much harder to quantify.
A recent review of The Loneliest Seat highlighted Chapter 4 on letting people go and Chapter 6 on budget leadership as two chapters every aspiring Head should read.
That comment made me smile because those are exactly the chapters many leaders wish they could skip.
Unfortunately, they are also the chapters that define leadership. Anyone can lead when the budget is healthy and the team is aligned.
Leadership begins when they aren’t.
Grateful to Grainne O'Reilly, a lifelong educator and passionate leader who has built many amazing international schools, for the thoughtful review. Link to her original post in the comments.
