The Paradox of Leadership

I recently wrote a piece for Eklund Consulting (www.EklundConsulting.com) and thought I would share it forward on my blog. Eklund Consulting is a leading provider of workplace satisfaction and organizational change management programs focused on the sustainability and enjoyment of a career as an educator as well as the organizational effectiveness of schools. They have built their practice by focusing exclusively on schools and what it takes to make them great places to work. If you haven't read the book How Was Your Day at School, I would highly recommend it.

During my work with Nathan Eklund, I truly have started to do some soul searching regarding my leadership practices and how it affects teacher job satisfaction. Below are some of my rambling thoughts...

The Paradox of Leadership
When I began working with Nathan Eklund earlier this year, he dropped a ton of bricks on me when he told me, "Great leadership is unnatural." How could this be? I had had teachers, professors, and mentors telling me for years that I was a natural leader. Did this mean that the leadership that I was providing for my school was faulty? Could all of the people in my life who had pushed me to explore my leadership potential be wrong?

The interesting thing about these supposed paradoxical statements is that both are true. You can possess all of the natural leadership qualities, but still not effectively lead an organization. David Cottrell write in his book Monday Morning Leadership that "transitioning from manager to leader requires that you make different decisions." How is different defined? What does a different decision look like?

Like most new principals, I have a vision for my school. My internal drive and desire for excellence is the fuel that keeps me going. This means that I am typically working late hours and always on the go, go, go. This is no different that a lot of administrators who are trying to lead an organization. To use an analogy, I am like a speed boat that goes from 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds. Unfortunately, my constant need to achieve, excel, and push creates an emotional wake for the people that I work with on a daily basis. I forget sometimes that as a leader of a large organization, I need to look back to see if the wake I am creating is crashing down on the folks that I am supposed to be leading.

I am discovering now I need to make different decisions as a leader. I need to slow down and really put an emphasis on teacher job satisfaction and building a climate where folks enjoy coming to work. This is unnatural for me because, as a self-professed "data-driven guy" who is always looking to improve student achievement, who has time to focus on the working environment when there are so many other important things to be done.

The truth of the matter is that there is nothing more important than teacher job satisfaction and the work environment, because without it, you cannot move an organization forward. Decisions I make need to be made with the teacher in mind because at the end of the day, if a teacher is happy and is excited about coming to work because the workplace is that awesome, kids are going to pick up on it and will be excited as well. School leaders who don't heed this advice will find themselves out in front of the pack, but if they look behind them, no one will be there.

Great leadership truly is unnatural...until it becomes natural.