Welcome
to another week of 21st Century School Leadership.
As I try
to get creative with this blog that will, hopefully, support school leaders in
their work of advancing education and student achievement, I will be attempting
to write a series of articles over the next few weeks on the topic of ‘Mistakes
School Leaders Make”, and how to correct them to keep your leadership and
school organization working in the right direction…supporting student
achievement.
I call this series Mistakes That Leaders Make.
I am
posting my first chapter in this series called: “It’s not all about you.”
Nothing
paralyzes an organization more than a school leader that is on an ego trip. Learning
communities become polarized when the arrogance, self-centered, and
narcissistic attitude of the leader gets in the way of running the
organization. The cohesiveness of wonderful school communities can be destroyed
when a school leader thinks in this manner.
According
to Robert Church: “I have witnessed leaders in organizations repeatedly put
their own personal interests above the interests of the organization. There are
many challenges with this behavior. The most concerning however, is that the
organization cannot reach its potential unless its leadership puts the
interests of the organization ahead of their own interests.”[1]
The trail of problems that can occur because of this
self-centered leadership style can create ethical and moral consequences as
well. “It is easy for corporate scandals to reach the public within a short
time. Organizations often have policies that facilitate ethical behavior within
the workplace. The challenge for managers is to promote an ethical
organizational behavior and culture such that employees will not put their
individual interests ahead of organizational interests. Personal interest is an
aspect of organizational behavior and managers face the task of encouraging
group interest over personal interest so as to preserve ethical values.”[2]
Shawn Murphy (2010) describes this
phenomenon as a leader that is suffering from delusions. He lists the following
symptoms of this delusion:
1. Erratic and inconsistent
behaviors on important organizational topics that are high-profile or important
at the moment
2. Decisions are made by the
delusional manager to increase his visibility within the organization or with
the Board
3. Wildly different behaviors
surface when with other leaders compared to a one-on-one or in small group
settings
4. Politicking to advance the
supposed leader’s projects but cloaked in language to support the good of the
organization
5. The delusional manager is
incapable of seeing the impact of his or her ideas on the organization, the
employees, and the customer
6. Rhetoric and big promises are
commonly shared with senior executives AND are accepted
7. Other managers avoid saying
anything about the delusional manager
8. When it comes to the delusional
manager’s work area, staff are confused about what’s going on
9. Employee satisfaction in the
delusional manager’s area is low
10. The CEO is unaware of the impact the delusional manager
is having on teams, groups, and individuals
11. Deadlines are missed and quality of work is often poor
12. Staff do not speak up about the delusional manager’s
excuses for missed deadlines, effect on the work environment, or poor work
quality[3]
So, how do leaders correct this posture of
self-centered leadership? Learn to become a people-centered leader or
organization. Learn listen to others. Develop a sound shared-decision making
model that demonstrates that your ability to listen and follow through meets
the needs of the people you work with. Unfortunately, often, the self-centered
leader never fully sees himself/herself as being this way, thus continuing to
be part of an allusion of self-competence. The onus then is placed on the
organizational Board of Directors to make it clear to the CEO or Superintendent
that their leadership style is contrary to the good of the organization.
Sometimes, it may even mean replacing the individual.
The things that should be looked for in a leader for
a school organization is someone that embodies the ideas of principle-centered
leadership, where values and goals are based on organizational needs and
strengths. As Stephen Covey reminds us, the heart of quality organizational
leadership is based on the following: 1) the primary purpose of the
organization; 2) its desired future; and
3) its core beliefs about itself and others.[4]
Schools are about kids, not the leader. Get it
right.
[1]
Church, R. (February 12, 2012). Leaders in your association put the association
interests or personal interests first?. [BLOG] Associations, Volunteerism, and
More. Retrieved September 15, 2012 at http://associationleaders.org/2012/02/21/do-the-leaders-in-your-association-put-the-association-interests-or-personal-interests-first/
[2]
Wicks, D. (Date?) What are the challenges faced by organizational behavior?.
[BLOG] eHow.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012 at http://www.ehow.com/info_11369752_challenges-faced-organizational-behavior.html
[3] Murphy, S. (2010). The delusions of a self-centered leader.
Retrieved from September 18, 2012 at
http://achievedstrategies.com/blog/the-delusions-of-a-self-centered-leader/
[4] Covey, S. (n.d.). Principle centered leadership. Retrieved from http://www.mdecgateway.org/olms/data/resource/5587/wk
2 principle centered leadership.pdf
