What Matters MOST for School Leaders

Overload! Too much of everything. Haste and more haste. Moving at internet speed.

In today's school environment where time is a premium and communication is almost instananeous, the pace of managing a school keeps moving ever faster. There is a never ending demand on the school head's time from all quarters...parents, students, teachers and officials of all levels. So, the head listens, asks questions, discusses, ponders, meets, decides, negotiates, directs, opines, lectures, and the list goes on.

There is this common feeling among school leaders that so many things are happening at the same time that it is getting increasingly difficult to keep track of them. We feel like a runner on a threadmill; as he picks up speed the thread moves faster and the runner has to move even faster to keep up with it. Something has to give sooner or later ! Another analogy is like free-wheeling on a bike downhill...without brakes ! No prize to know what happens at the bottom of the hill !

With the demands on the the school head's time, it is easy for him or her to get diverted from the important things in the school.

So, it was a fortunate thing I come across a book that puts things into perspectives for people like me. Its title is "What Matters Most for school leaders: 25 Reminders of what is really Important" written by Robert D. Ramsey and published in 2005 by Corwin Press. Here are some of these reminders:

* What you do is special

* Primero los ninos: children first

* There are no throwaway kids

* Strong schools make a strong nation

* Schools are sacred places of hope

* Teaching is the greatest profession

* Passion is the engine that drives school leadership

* What matters most costs the least

* Schools are only as strong as the community allows

* When it's your own kid, it's different

* The golden rule still works: you get what you give

* Someone has to be the grown-up, i.e. mature

* Good leaders learn to "K.I.S.S." (Keep It Short & Sweet) and enjoy the happiness of subtraction: less is better; eliminate clutter

* You can't have too much integrity

* Common sense is better than a college degree

* The best leader is a servant leader

* If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong

* Things are never as bad as you think they are: and you're braver, stronger, and smarter than you imagine

* You work to live, not live to work

* It's worth it !

Yes, it is worth it; making a difference in today's cynical world. It's not how much a school leader makes that counts. It's in the lives we touch that matters.

My favourite story here is:

First CEO: "I make a six-figure salary."

Second CEO: "I make a six-figure salary plus stock options and bonuses."

Principal: "I make a difference."

There are times when it is neccessary to step back to take another look at the picture. If any school leader were to feel overwhelmed by the 1001 things in the school, maybe it is wise to ponder on this mantra of choice:

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference."