Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

The Principal Coaching Clinic #10

Is the grass always greener?

As a former school principal, this time of year always makes me think about terminal activities.  Last week I wrote about one’s shelf life or more succinctly one’s career expiration date. This time I ask a different question because this is the time of the year one may think about leaving districts.

Is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence?  We have heard that simple question before.  So, to that very simple question, I will provide a very simple answer.  No!

I think it is human nature to some degree to always want what the other person has.  We always tend to think that the other guy has it better.  And we usually come to find out that if we get the opportunity to be placed in the exact same set of circumstances and the exact same environment, we quickly learn that what the other guy has isn’t really any better.  Different yes, but not necessarily better.  It is just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.  It takes a perilous adventure for her to realize that there “is no place like home.”

Why do people leave schools?  I would hazard to guess that many times it is for money or a different assignment.  When placed in that situation, we only see the excitement of the new situation.  We see the increased salary or we see perhaps better students.  Students with less problems (or so we thought). We do not see the blind spots lurking in the new district.  And believe me, all students have problems.  They may be different than your current problems, but nonetheless, they are problems.

I have come to think that the real reason people leave a school is because of the school’s culture.  They run to escape a toxic environment.  They run to escape a toxic principal.  The run to escape a toxic colleague.  I have said this before, namely that it is all about relationships and culture.

This is especially troubling in schools.  The teacher looking to escape is hesitant to leave his or her tenure.  They are afraid of losing the job security that comes with teaching.  So instead of leaving, this teacher stays and becomes more disenchanted every day.  I believe this is when they head over to that “dark side” that I have written about in previous posts.

We must continue to encourage teachers to grow and take risks.  I think the word empowerment fits here.  As part of this empowerment process, teachers have to be brought into the decision-making process and have a true say into how the school functions.  They have to be given challenging assignments that are worthwhile.  We must stop wasting their time and talent!  And it is extremely important that along the way we show our gratitude.  When a teacher has a special interest or special talent, we must nurture it, not extinguish it.

Sadly, too may principals tend to be extinguishers.  Instead of igniting people, we snuff them out.  We turn off the lights instead of turning them on.  Principals tend to ignore the human needs of the team.  I know I did.

Sometimes, we cannot see the positive aspects of our present culture.  The positive values, the positive esprit d’corps, or the happiness in our current colleagues.  Yes, there are places where people actually have fun at work. 

I am not stupid and many times you have to leave an organization for compensation and growth.  Leaving might be the only way to achieve both.  However, the moral of this story is to take a moment to think about your current culture before you leave.  At the end of the day, the increased pay or assignment, may just not be worth it.  Think about it.  Sometimes, there really is no place like home.