Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

The Principal Coaching Clinic #13

Can you check your ego at the door?

Maybe I am just getting old.  Maybe I am just getting crankier.  Or maybe I am becoming more and more like my idol Shrek every day.  You know that adorable ogre of “many layers.”  Yes, I admit that I can be a curmudgeon.  I am who I am.

This article today is for all of the educational leaders out there that are facing an upcoming commencement ceremony.  And if you have already had your ceremony, file this for next year or better still post in on your cork board. I admonish you today.  CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR!!!!!

I am tired of going to commencement ceremonies and being tortured by endless speeches by the academics.  I have a little secret for you.  Few people are listening and I am sorry to report that few people care.  Stop using this forum to give awards to one another.    Of course, we all like to be recognized, but let us find the right place to do this spotlight.  Perhaps a testimonial for an outgoing colleague or a faculty dinner might be the right place.  A graduation ceremony is not the right place.  This day is not about you.  It is about the students and their accomplishments.

Early in my career, I would work on my speech for weeks.  I would tweak every word and make sure every comma or pause was in the right place.  I would wordsmith this document endlessly.   I would stand in my office alone and practice this speech over and over.  Until one day while giving the speech I looked out at the audience and really took a, moment to process the looks on their faces.  They were respectful but disengaged.  They were a million miles away.  The students were likewise thinking about walking across the stage to get their diploma and head out to the best party.  When I was done, the audience clapped but I now believe they clapped because I was done, not because the message was relevant or important.  I doubt they even heard the message.  At this time, I realized that I was making this about me.  My ego was getting in the way.  Nobody cared or wanted to hear what I had to say on this night. 

I grew and evolved.  The next year when given the microphone, I made the appropriate thank- yous, especially to my teachers and staff, wished the graduates luck and sat down.  I know that everyone appreciated this brevity and style.  There were other times and other forums I could give the students my message.

Before I close for the day, let’s take a look at some of the standard definitions of the words humble and humility.  Most dictionaries use these words to define both words:  unpretentious, modesty, unassuming and possessing a low profile.  My favorite definition is “showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.”

It is time for you to be humble and show a level of humility.  And as tough as this might be for you to hear, this day is not about you, it is about the kids.  Think about it and before you take the stage, “check your ego at the door.”  Store your ego with the inflated balloons that you do not allow into your ceremony.  You can pick it up when the ceremony is over.