Leading with Love

Early on in my educational journey, I had a school director who gave the print above as a parting gift when she moved on to a new assignment. It says, "Just Love". She shared that at the end of the day, when all the curriculum and projects are stripped away, the most important thing that we can do for our students is to love them. Her message has stuck with me and shaped my thinking about leadership so much so that it is one of my core leadership values.

In The Six Secrets of Change (2008), Michael Fullan lays out a set of actions that a leader can take that will help an organization thrive in the process of change. His first secret is "Love your Employees." In the world of education, the focus is on the students, which are the customers of the school. Far too often in both the private sector and the public sector, the customer is the focus, to the detriment of the employee. It is the expectation that the employee(teachers) will sacrifice to give the customer what they want and need. Fullan claims that one of the secrets of change is that we do not forget about the teachers and we love them as much as we love our students.

So how do we love our teachers?

• Offer generous compensation packages, as much as the budget allows.
• Give them time to plan and collaborate with others.
• Offer meaningful professional development.

These are the things that happen in the private sector and is happening in a number of schools today. The results that top companies see in loving their employees are also seen in some of the public schools who are being intentional in loving their teachers.

• Increase in student achievement.
• Increase in teacher tenure. Teachers are staying in the profession longer.
• Decrease in teacher turnover. New teachers are staying in the profession.

As I consider the role I will play in leading a school, I will take this secret from Fullan and the insights I received from my old director to "just love". "Love my People" sounds good because it reminds me that all the decisions I make are about what is best for my people: students, teachers and the rest of my staff. There are a lot of pieces to juggle but in the end considering all my people will create the change we want to see happen.