On Credit and Responsibility

I see students every school day. Walking through the halls, visiting classrooms, seeing them congregate outside of schools. Occasionally a student asks me what do you do? Its a challenging question. Often before I answer, they respond, "are you the principal's boss?" To which I say no. Principals don't need bosses, they often need partners and coaches. I respond that I work with the principal and we try to solve challenges together. When I was an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, words every first grader wants to speak, I would respond to the question by saying "I am responsible for the learning program." There was the kicker, the response wasn't I created this program or started that program, but rather I am responsible for this thing.

At our earliest stages in education, we often want to cite the client for credit and limit the credit of other participating factors. We speak of the child who has grown so much in third grade and sometimes we praise the classroom teacher who worked with that child. Rarely do we acknowledge the PE teacher who setup situations for the child to feel socially successful. The instructional coach who spent hours working with that teacher encouraging instructional activities that would engage the child and supported that teacher as they tried something new. The assistant principal who worked diligently to ensure that the classes were balanced so that your child had enough time and attention during the instructional period or worked with another family to ensure home supports were available during their time of crisis. At times, we acknowledge the principal, but not for the hundreds of hours she spent coaching staff members through quiet conversations, working committees to ensure the right learning opportunities were available and that his teams supported these for implementation.

See the trick is the more we go up the ladder, the less we understand the role of the leader. Moreover, the better the leader, the less they take credit for the wins and the more they take responsibility for the failures. Good teachers often cite that they have magnificent hard working students who make a difference. The frequently diminish the value of their instructional preparation and tireless work while maximizing the value of their students resilence and work. Good principals do the same, citing the hard work of their teachers, students, and teams. The same is true with assistant superintendents and superintendents. As we go up the ladder, in healthy organizations the leadership takes less and less credit, disbursing it amongst the many stakeholders in the system. Furthermore, the leaders take responsibility when things falter. They take the daggers and arrows so that those underneath them can learn and grow. They help their constituents learn from their mistakes and move forward. This cultivates a safe risk-taking atmosphere in which people are willing to try to expand their horizons.

As a community stakeholder, this makes judging leadership tricky. In healthy organizations, we rarely hear what the leader brings but we see the price tag. We ask questions, why does this building need an assistant principal, an instructional coach, assistant superintendent, or superintendent? If the organization is healthy, we don't physically see the value they provide. However, if it is unhealthy, we are sure to notice that something is missing. That's the challenge, those additional personnel take responsibility for the failures as they are coaching and building the necessary supports for success, but they don't take the credit once it is achieved.

I'm not sure what the former superintendent of my child's elementary school district did on a day to day basis. However, I can observe the changes under his leadership from that of his predecessor's. I can see the risks teachers and principals took and the growth outcomes that have occurred. I never heard him take credit for any of it, but praise everyone from the teacher's assistant through the Board of Education. An interesting juxtaposition, one as leaders and community members we will continue to explore as we learn to value credit and responsibility.