The Puzzle: Blog

 In case you missed it, catch up on Parts I, II, and III.

Part IV: Get the Doing Right

And finally we get to the work itself, the Doing. There is obviously no prescription for leadership in action, and there are many ways to go about the business of leading a Catholic school effectively. It is my belief that if we have gotten the hiring and messaging right, the doing will take care of itself. Like Robert Frost’s metaphorical block of ice on a hot stove, it should “ride on its own melting.” This is not rocket science, and effective Catholic school leaders don’t need to be told how to manage their time or prioritize their duties. That said, the President should always be mindful of the political realities of his situation and understand that skeptics abound—and new ones arrive with each entering class. In the President/Principal model, the President owns the responsibility of continuously proving the concept and providing ongoing evidence of the efficacy and added value benefits of his/her position. No one else can do it.

Let me offer two pragmatic ideas that may be helpful in guiding the President’s actions:

1. Calendar Management. Remarkably, one of the extraordinary privileges of the model is that the President has virtually complete control over his/her schedule.Excepting embedded board commitments and other celebratory duties, the President is the only person on campus whose schedule is not driven by the relentless quotidian of school life. I don’t mean to oversimplify, but this is true. S/he is not subject to endless class schedules and deadlines, the unexpected and often custodial disruptions of daily habit, or the zealous press of the adolescent experience. This is an extraordinary gift and privilege. How the President chooses to spend time—where, when, and with whom—will define his/her presidency and prove or disprove the concept of the President/Principal model’s efficacy. This involves a delicate balancing act for the President. S/he needs to be present but not intrusive, and by his/her presence give credence and importance to the things that matter, i.e., the quality of the student experience and ensuring the future of the school, all of which stands, in a Catholic school especially, on a bedrock of enduring mission. To fulfill the promise of the model, the President needs to honor the importance of the student experience while reserving sufficient time for the longer-term institution-building and visioning activities that are essential to his/her duties. Time is a non-renewable and precious resource. The freedom to choose how to spend it is both a burden and a blessing of the model.

2. The Janus Pose. In ancient Roman mythology, Janus is the famous double-facing god of beginnings and transitions, looking forward and backward at the same time. This may be instructive of how the President might position his/her priorities. While the President is commonly regarded as the outward-facing leader in the model and the Principal the inward facing counterpart, I would suggest that the President consider the following pose:

Be outwardly facing but inwardly grounded.

In other words, the President needs to be grounded in the things that matter while delivering his/her message to various constituencies. Fundraising is a good example of how this might be accomplished. One of the President’s most important duties is securing all resources necessary to sustain the mission and ensure the future of the school. To create a robust and sustainable fundraising platform, the President will need to begin the long-term process of creating a culture of philanthropy at the school in which giving becomes everyone’s responsibility and permeates all constituent groups. As part of his/her “inwardly grounded” practice, the President should make it clear that fundraising is most effective when the strategy is constructed from the inside out, not the top down, beginning with the classroom and the overall quality of the student experience. High-performing teaching and learning, in an environment of best practice and high expectations, is the compelling value proposition advanced to donors. This is a big idea that will attract big gifts, and it is grounded in the vital work that teachers, coaches, and counselors do. By linking the classroom with fundraising, this strategy will also conveniently and powerfully align the duties of the President and the Principal while potentially illuminating the synergies inherent in the model. There is no better way to get the doing right.

* * * * *

For schools that are feeling trapped in transition or questioning whether to revert or stay the course, I hope you will find in this analysis some reasons for optimism.

Catholic schools are vital to the communities they serve, and the President/Principal model provides the greatest opportunity for success while opening recruitment channels to entrepreneurial leaders from other mission-driven sectors who wish to bring their passion and talents to the important work of leading Catholic schools. There is time yet to get it right.

Thomas Edison knew a thing or two about false starts and repeated disappointments. It is said he tried nearly one thousand times before finally getting the light bulb to work. Drawing on his experience as an inventor with immense grit and persistence, Edison is said to have remarked, “One of life’s great tragedies involve people who didn’t know how close they were to success … when they gave up.”

Stay the course. You may be closer than you think to getting it right.

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