Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea
The Principal Coaching Clinic #7
In your school or business, where is the “dark side?”
When I ask you this question, I am not talking about a physical space. However, I know that these spaces do exist and they can be deadly. In my experience, in my school, these physical spaces turned out to be the faculty dining room, faculty lounge, my secretary’s desk or a specific office that became consumed with the “dark side.” It is important that you know these spaces do exist. Ultimately, you have to have a plan to contain them, if not eradicate them.
However, with today’s blog, I am asking you to take a look at that private emotional space that can consume people. I have seen this space destroy wonderful teachers. It can take over a person’s life. I have seen this dark power snuff out incredible potential. I call this place in my school the “dark side.” And yes, we can all learn great leadership lessons from the Star Wars series.
Let’s start with this simple hypothesis. At some point in one’s career, one will be challenged to go there. One will be asked to join this dark circle. This is a dark space where negativity rules. Are you strong enough to fight through this temptation? Do you possess the personal skill set to fight this off? And probably a more important question, do you really want to combat this negative force?
For me the dark side is a world of malcontents. These people are basically miserable. They are generally unhappy people. They don’t like you. They don’t like the students. They don’t like coming to school / work. Their only purpose in arriving daily, besides collecting a paycheck, is to be a disruptive influence. And rarely are these people disruptive to your face. Their work is clandestine, yet extremely powerful. They can destroy the culture and climate of the school and they will destroy you. They will revel in that accomplishment. In the end, left unchecked they will destroy the school.
So, how do teachers and principals end up on the dark side? Some have argued that it is simply the accrual of tenure. I do not agree with that. This reason is too simplistic. People do not wake up on the day they get tenure and end up on the dark side.
I believe that the journey to the dark side is in some way a confluence of events that happens in a person’s life. It is usually a slow process. It will culminate when that perfect storm occurs simultaneously in one’s personal and professional life. Because when you are down, the dark side provides support. The dark side is always very welcoming to new members. Those that exist in the light or “the force” must always remember the treacherous ways the “dark side” operates. If those in the force took a bit more time to nurture people, listen to them, stand with them, and support them, the force could perhaps be disempowered.
People want to matter. People need to feel that they are part of something. They need to be wanted. I can just about guarantee that the dark side will provide these qualities to those that seek them. The dark side will welcome them into their inner circle and they will immediately matter. They will join forces against a common enemy; you and your school.
I also think most people want to be heard and to be treated with respect, dignity and fairness. When the leader /principal forgets that, your staff will seek to find these qualities elsewhere and the “dark side” will provide them.
You see, the “dark side” continually wants to grow, whereas I think sometimes the force takes their people for granted and sometimes they are so cavalier about it that they pave the way for their staff to join the dark side. Sometimes “the force” wants to keep a very closed circle and not let others in. That operational mentality will destroy a culture.
Sometimes, people choose the dark side because of the power that they perceive exists there. These ambitious power seekers will be hard to keep in the force but still you must try.
One important note to remember is that people that go to the dark side can come back to the force. You can’t forget them.
In the Empire Strikes Back, Luke asks Yoda if the dark side is stronger. Yoda responds by telling him “no, no, no, quicker, easier and more seductive.”
Is there a moral to this story? For me it is that as a leader, you can never forget that the dark side exists both physically and in people’s hearts and you better work very hard keeping as many people as possible with “the force.” It does not just happen. You as the leader needs to make it happen. At the end of the day it is always about the relationships that you establish. Your relationships will go a long way to determine the culture and climate in your school. A culture and climate that embraces “the force.” Never forget that!
Please take a moment and tell me how you were challenged to go to the dark side? What events precipitated this? Did you go? Did you ever return to the force? How were you lured to the dark side? How did you fight it?
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