Zach Clark and I often spend time on the phone or on the road with Christian school leaders. We see or hear about three common challenges that school leaders face. Here are three challenges commonly faced by administrators.
1. The squeaky wheel
This is the feeling of constantly protecting the school from the people who are pushing their own agendas. This could be a group of teachers, parents, or parents. One leader we know says that at their school they are trying to completely eliminate the "thems, theys, and everybodies." These folks believe they represent and speak for the majority, but you know they are really a minority. You just wish you could prove it.
2. The reactive mode of leadership
This is something most leaders in any field have to guard against. In Christian schools it manifests itself in a feeling that you are constantly responding to needs, phone calls, emails, requests, squeaky wheels (see above) and most anything that gives you a feeling of missing out on moving the school forward strategically. This is what causes some to feel like they just aren't having the impact that they deep down believe they should.
3. Truly developing a Christian worldview among students
We've noticed far more unity of philosophy than there used to be, even a decade ago. Schools wholeheartedly agree they should be about the business of developing young men and women who can think, live, speak, write, and lead with a Christian world-view.
We should graduates students who are "different to make a difference," as they say at Briarwood. Unfortunately, our philosophy is often better than our practice. We are starting to see more and more leaders who are really seeking to determine the level of impact the Christian school is having on the development of the Christian mind, and how it can be improved.
Reponse:
Do you experience any of these? How do they manifest themselves at your school? What is your leadership response?
1. The squeaky wheel
This is the feeling of constantly protecting the school from the people who are pushing their own agendas. This could be a group of teachers, parents, or parents. One leader we know says that at their school they are trying to completely eliminate the "thems, theys, and everybodies." These folks believe they represent and speak for the majority, but you know they are really a minority. You just wish you could prove it.
2. The reactive mode of leadership
This is something most leaders in any field have to guard against. In Christian schools it manifests itself in a feeling that you are constantly responding to needs, phone calls, emails, requests, squeaky wheels (see above) and most anything that gives you a feeling of missing out on moving the school forward strategically. This is what causes some to feel like they just aren't having the impact that they deep down believe they should.
3. Truly developing a Christian worldview among students
We've noticed far more unity of philosophy than there used to be, even a decade ago. Schools wholeheartedly agree they should be about the business of developing young men and women who can think, live, speak, write, and lead with a Christian world-view.
We should graduates students who are "different to make a difference," as they say at Briarwood. Unfortunately, our philosophy is often better than our practice. We are starting to see more and more leaders who are really seeking to determine the level of impact the Christian school is having on the development of the Christian mind, and how it can be improved.
Reponse:
Do you experience any of these? How do they manifest themselves at your school? What is your leadership response?
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