The Art of Leadership

THIS PAST SUMMER AT THE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE, FOR WHATEVER REASON, I WAS ASKED TO SPEAK AT THE ART OF LEADERSHIP DINNER.  TO BE HONEST, IT WAS QUITE AN HONOUR AND ANNE-MARIE ASKED IF I WOULD OFFER THE SAME THOUGHTS TONIGHT. IN VICTORIA I GAVE A BIT OF A HISTORY AS TO HOW THESE THOUGHTS HAVE EVOLVED OVER MY TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS HEADING CAIS SCHOOLS, BUT TONIGHT ALLOW ME TO SUMMARIZE WHAT I PERCEIVE TO BE THE KEY INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO EVOLVE INTO A SIGNIFICANT AND SUBSTANTIAL HEAD OF SCHOOL. OF COURSE I DO BELIEVE THAT ANY SCHOOL CAN BECOME TRULY GREAT UNDER EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP. SO HERE YOU GO.

FOR THE FIRST KEY, I TAKE YOU TO WEST AFRICA AND THE YORUBA CULTURE. THROUGHOUT THE 16TH THROUGH 19TH CENTURY THIS WAS A TERRIBLY PERSECUTED CULTURE AS SO MANY WERE STOLEN FROM THEIR HOMES DURING THE SLAVE TRADE…BUT THEY ARE A STRONG, RESILIENT, VERY MUSICAL, AND SPIRITUAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE A WONDERFUL WORD…ITUTU.  ITUTU MEANS THAT YOU HAVE THE 

ABILITY TO BE CONNECTED TO YOUR OWN INNER DIVINITY AND THE ACTUAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION IS COOL. AND THAT IS THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT KEY…BE COOL. YOU NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO YOUR OWN INNER DIVINITY…YOU NEED TO KNOW YOURSELF, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, LIKE YOURSELF, RESPECT YOURSELF AND THEN ASK YOURSELF ONE OF MY FAVOURITE QUESTIONS…ARE YOU CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO BE HUMBLE? THIS IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT ITS VERY CORE…OR AS OSCAR WILDE SAYS; BE THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS TAKEN. BUT THERE IS MORE…LIKE THE YORUBA CULTURE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF. 

I AM A TEACHER AND A PROUD TEACHER. I KNOW THERE IS A NEED TO KEEP CURRENT, BUT MY PROBLEM AND MY OW SELF-AWARENESS TELLS ME I AM JUST NOT SMART ENOUGH TO KEEP UP…SO I STICK WITH THE BASICS THAT OVER TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF HEADMASTERING SEEM TO WORK. FOR EXAMPLE WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH BOYS I KNOW AND HAVE LEARNED… 

GREATEST STRESS:
PURPOSE AND WORTHY IN THEIR PARENTS EYES 

GREATEST CONTRIBUTOR TO HAPPINESS:

RELATIONSHIP WTH MOM

WHAT THEY REQUIRE IN A TEACHER:

RELATIONSHIPS AND PASSION.

YOU CAN AND SHOULD BE UP TO DATE, USE THE LATEST IN PEDAGOGICAL TECHNIQUES, BE INNOVATIVE OR CREATIVE…BUT YOU CAN’T LOSE SITE OF THESE BASICS OR YOU WILL LOSE EFFECTIVENESS.

THE SECOND KEY IS TO DEVELOP AN OBSESSION WITH PERFECTION. CEARLY A HUGE CHALLENGE, BUT ALL IT REALLY MEANS IS THAT YOU MASTER THE ART OF TURING NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES. THIS REQUIRES QUITE A MINDSET.  REMEMEBER THE CHINESE HAVE TWO SYMBOLS FOR THE WORD CRISIS - DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY.  IT IS A BIT LIKE DISCIPLINE…WE WANT ALL OUR STUDENTS TO DEVELOP GOOD JUDGEMENT BUT GOOD JUDGEMENT ONLY COMES FROM EXPERIENCES THAT RESULT FROM BAD JUDGEMENT. SO BAD JUDGEMENT PRESENTS A WONDERFUL, UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELP GOOD JUDGEMENT. 

OVER MY CAREER I HAVE DEALT WITH CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS, THREE TEACHER ARRESTS OVER SEXUAL INAPPROPRIATENESS, JUST ABOUT EVERY STUDENT ISSUE IMAGINEABLE AND SOME YOU CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE, FLOODS, FIRES, PARENT REVOLTS, TEACHER MELTDOWNS, VIOLENCE, NEIGHBOURHOOD BATTLES THAT TURNED INTO URBAN WARFARE, MAJOR INJURIES, LANGUAGE LAWS, AND JUST LIKE YOU MORE AND MORE AND MORE…BUT IN TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS AS HEAD OF SCHOOL, I HAVE YET TO ENCOUNTER A NEGATIVE THAT CANNOT BE TURNED INTO A POSITIVE. IT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF MINDSET. 

THE THIRD KEY IS TO BUILD ON THE EXPERTISE OF OTHERS. THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS TO THIS AND I STRONGLY BELIEVE THE MOST COMPETITIVE SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO FOCUS STRATEGICALLY ON THESE TWO ELEMENTS. THE FIRST IS THE CONCEPT OF BECOMING A RELATIONAL SCHOOL AND THE SECOND IS TO FOCUS ON FACULTY CULTURE. I BELIEVE YOU ARE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE IF BECOMING A RELATIONAL SCHOOL AND DEVELOPING A PROGRESSIVE FACULTY CULTURE ARE NOT AT THE VERY TOP OF YOUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES. YOU CAN LOOK AT REPORTS FROM THE OECD, MCKINSEY, UNITED NATIONS, PISA…AND THEY ALL COME UP WITH ESSENTIALLY THE SAME CONCLUSION. THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATION CANNOT EXCEED THE QUALITY OF THE TEACHER. THEREFORE AT ANY SCHOOL TEACHERS HAVE TO BE NUMBER ONE…NOT THE STUDENTS. IT IS NOT ABOUT HAVING THE BEST TEACHERS…I CANNOT MEASURE THAT.  BUT I CAN MEASURE OUR FACULTY CULTURE AND THE DEVOTION WE DIRECT TOWARDS BUILDING THIS CULTURE. IN MY OPINION WE MUST REALIZE THAT IF SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL, THE ONLY THING TO TAKE THEM OVER THE TOP IS FACULTY. AND THAT IS BUILDING ON THE EXPERTISE OF OTHERS.

THE FOURTH KEY IS TO DEAL WITH FAILURE. WE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE JUDGED BY HOW WE DEAL WITH OUR SET BACKS OR MISTAKES…NOT THE MISTAKE ITSELF.  FAILURE MAKES YOU STRONGER – PERIOD.  AND BELIEVE ME, I HAVE HAD A LOT OF EXPERENCE. SOMETHING I HAVE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST WEAPONS/PROTECTION AGAINST FAILURE IS NAIVITY.  I REMEMBER BACK IN 1989 WHEN I WAS THE FOUNDING HEAD OF KINGSWAY COLLEGE SCHOOL. I HAD CONVINCED BARBARA PICCINI, CURRENTLY THE HEAD OF THE JUNIOR SCHOOL AT TRINITY COLLEGE SCHOOL, TO BE THE ACADEMIC BRAINS, AND THE TWO OF US HAD FOUR MONTHS TO OPEN A SCHOOL. THE ADVANTAGE WE HAD, AND THE REASON IT ALL WORKED IS THAT WE WERE SO YOUNG, SO NAÏVE, SO IGNORANT THAT WE HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THE STRESS WE WERE FACING THEREFORE WE NEVER FELT STRESS. TO THIS DAY, I REMAIN TRULY GRATEFUL FOR MY IGNORANCE.

THE FIFTH KEY IS TO FOCUS ON THE LITTLE THINGS. REMEMBERING A NAME, A GENTLE PAT ON THE BACK OR A SUBSTANTIAL HUG, A SMILE, A NOTE, A BIRTHDAY CARD, FRESH FLOWERS, OR ANY GESTURE…THE TRUTH IS THAT LITTLE THINGS ARE REALLY BIG THINGS.                                                                                     (IF TIME -INSEAD STORY OF VALUE OF A NAME BY A SWISS BANKER)

THE FINAL KEY IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE ROOT TO SUCCESS IS THROUGH LEGITIMATE HAPPINESS AND HAPPINESS IS A FUNCTION OF YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND YOUR ABILITY TO EMBRACE KINDNESS.  85% OF OUR STRESS IS PERSONAL SO IT PAYS TO GET YOUR LIFE IN ORDER.  FAMILY IS EVERYTHING, AND SO ARE YOUR FRENDS. AND AS MARK TWAIN STATES; KINDNESS IS THE LANGUAGE BY WHICH THE DEAF CAN HEAR AND THE BLIND CAN SEE. KIND PEOPLE ARE HAPPY PEOPLE AND HAPPY PEOPLE MAKE GREAT HEADS OF SCHOOL.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT…BE COOL, DEVELOP AN OBSESSION FOR PERFECTION BY TURNING NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES, BUILD ON THE EXPERTISE OF OTHERS THROUGH BECOMING A RELATIONAL SCHOOL THAT FOCUSES ON FACULTY CULTURE, DEAL WITH FAILURE, DON’T FORGET THE LITTLE THINGS, AND DISCOVER THE PATH TO HAPPINESS THROUGH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND KINDNESS.  SOME HOW IT ALL WORKS!