The Elephants in the Room

As a leader, do you name the elephants in the room and ensure they are dealt with?

Every school/organization has its own 'elephants in the room'.  There are always issues that hover beneath the surface that impede improvement efforts.  In a school, these may be issues related to why certain groups of students are not being successful, whether we truly believe that all students can learn given sufficient time and the right supports, whether consequences are punishments or are designed to restore relationships, why certain staff members appear to be privileged, and....the list goes on. 

The job of the leader is to summon up the courage to name these 'elephants' and then to provide a forum for these to be worked through.  Sound easy?  It may be if it's done superficially or if it's done from the stance of 'the boss'.  It's not so easy if you - as leader - truly want to address the issue at hand.  It's tough because it demands courage.  It demands comfort with uncertainty about how discussions will unfold.  And in particular, it demands skills in being able to facilitate a discussion so that all voices are heard and differing perspectives can be surfaced in a respectful manner.  This is the toughest part of all.  In fact, it is often seen as so difficult, leaders will sometimes let the 'elephants' remain in the room and not address them at all because the challenge of dealing with them is just too great.  However, as a leader, can you ethically let this happen?  You have been entrusted with the leading of a school/organization with confidence in your knowledge and skills to lead.  Dealing with challenging issues like the 'elephants' demands a lot of you but avoidance of issues sustains the status quo when improvement is possible if the challenges are faced. 

What can you - as a leader - do about this?  Dealing with difficult and complex issues requires confidence on your part as well as the skills of facilitation.  The confidence needs to be summoned up from inner strength.  The facilitation skills can be learned. 

If you don't face these 'elephants', true and important change can't happen.  The critical conversations won't take place.  Most significantly, those who rely on you - students, parents, staff - are being let down because they aren't being provided with the leadership that's needed.  It won't be easy the first time.  You might even fail.  However, choosing not to act should not be an option because it's a guarantee that nothing will change.

As a leader, are you thinking strategically?

As a leader, are you thinking strategically?


Leaders need to think.  We need to think all the time.  It’s one of the reasons we need to be engaged in continuous learning.  But for what purpose do we need to do all of this thinking? 

Leaders need to think strategically.  If you are leading a school/organization, you have a significant level of responsibility to ensure that you are leading for continuous improvement.  People are placed in roles as leaders not to maintain the status quo but to bring about improvement.  But improvement doesn’t happen simply because we want it to.  It happens because we have thought strategically about all of the factors that influence a school/organization.  One by one, we analyze these factors in terms of how they contribute or distract from the important work that needs to be done.  Furthermore, we analyze how these factors relate to each other.  Factor X is important.  Factor Y is important.  But what is the relationship between these two factors.  Are they mutually supportive or mutually exclusive? 

As a leader, you need to think strategically so that your thinking serves the best interest of your school/organization.  But how do you know if your thinking is strategic or not?  Think of it this way.  Strategic thinking leads to decisions that bring about improvement.  Ask yourself, Will my decision make a positive difference to our work?  Will my decision make a change in what we are hoping to accomplish?  Will my decision maintain the status  quo – and is that a good thing?  

Truly skilled leaders engage others in discussions that benefit from strategic thinking.  Engaging others in strategic thinking is an indication of your strength as a leader.  You call on the best thinking available to help guide decisions.  There is always wisdom in the building if you allow it to surface in a safe conversation.

Improving or Declining?

Are you leading an improving or declining school/organization?

As a leader, you are responsible for setting the direction of your school/organization and then mobilizing efforts to bring about improvement.  Many years ago, Larry Lezotte offered a very thought provoking comment about this.  He said, “There is no status quo…you are an

improving school or a declining school."

Lezotte tells us that our schools/organizations are either improving or declining and that there is no middle ground because the middle ground is the status quo - and status quo means declining.  Could you, at this point in time, identify whether you are leading an improving or declining school/organization? 

If you're declining, what is your plan to turn things around?  If you're improving, to what do you attribute your improvement?  Can you - and your staff - articulate specifically what is it that brings about this continuous improvement?  And very significantly, how are you sharing your improvement strategies with others so they too can improve? 

This is urgent work!  If you're improving, you need to share your learning with others.  If you're declining, you need to identify quickly what you're going to do about it.  As a leader, this means it starts with you.  Do you have the skills to bring about continuous improvement?  If not, you have some serious thinking to do about your valued added to your school/organization.  Harsh words?  Perhaps.  But consider the alternative.  The future of young people is in your hands.  They don't have time to wait for the adults to figure things out.  This is urgent work.  No child should lose a high-quality education because the adults are not yet well enough equipped to provide them with what they need.

Comfort the Distressed and Distress the Comfortable

As a leader, how do you bring about change in the best interest of your school/organization by both 'comforting' and 'distressing' your staff?

Last year, an educator I greatly respect used the phrase, "Comfort the distressed and distress the comfortable."  I liked it very much at the time and as I've reflected on it, I have come to realize how very important it is for leaders to do this very thing.  We need to distress the comfortable.  If we don't we're likely supporting the status quo and there aren't many places where the status quo is truly accomplishing what we need to accomplish. 

Equally, as leaders, we need to comfort the distressed.  One of our key roles is to support and nurture learning and growth - not only for ourselves - for those we lead.  Learning happens when we are out of our comfort zones and that can be a distressing place for people to be.  However, if we never go there, we really can't learn and become more effective in our practice.  As a leader, you need to take people out of their comfort zone and simultaneously comforting them as they move away from what is familiar.  

How do you balance comforting and distressing?  That's part of the art of leadership.  If that idea could be captured in a blog post, it probably wouldn't be a skill much worth cultivating.  Leading is artistry when it is done well because we can 'distress' people and 'comfort' them at the same time.....and it all works out well.  In fact, when done well, people seek out this apparently paradoxical state because they see how it helps them learn and grow....and people like to grow professionally.