By Carla Silver

Whether you are starting a new leadership position at a school this fall or returning to one you have held for years, the first weeks of the year provide an opportunity to explore the dynamics of the teams and groups with which you work and the role you play in these groups. The word “role” in this case, is not synonymous with “job title” or “position.” Role refers not to the specific tasks you are charged with accomplishing or the details of your job description as outlined in the faculty handbook, but rather how you approach your work as perceived by your colleagues and team members as well as how you manage authority and set boundaries.  What is the role you currently play and what is the role you want to play?  If there is a disparity, how can you move closer to your ideal?
Take a moment to picture the team with which you work most closely and how that team works together. Now think for a minute about what you represent to that team and how you, and the authority you have as a team leader or member, impacts the work you do together.  What strengths do you bring to that group?  Are there times when you might actually detract from the work you do together, despite your best intentions?

Consider the following two cases.

1. Emily is the Assistant Head of School of a medium sized K-8.  She is enthusiastic and passionate. Her faculty and staff appreciate how Emily provides them with an abundance of support.  When they have an idea, she goes out of her way to be sure they can implement it, even if it means going to the arts and crafts store after school to pick up supplies or staying late into the evening to work on parts of the projects that teachers don’t have time to do.  Her favorite expression is, “No problem!” Her attention to detail and her follow-through is immaculate. Recently she has been asked by her Head of School to implement an evaluation process of the faculty which includes classroom observations and meeting individually with each teacher to set goals.  She hasn’t had the time to be as supportive of her teachers and they are showing their frustrations. One teacher actually said to her, “I just don’t know if I can do this project without your help.  You don’t seem to have any time these days.”

2. John is the Dean of Students of a 6-12 school.  He is affable, charismatic and liked by his colleagues and students.  At faculty meetings and committee meetings he is known to show up 5-10 minutes late, but always with a completely reasonable excuse — meeting with a student, parent or teacher.  Once in the meeting, however, he is actively engaged and offers suggestions and ideas, many of which are implemented.  Lately he has noticed that several of his colleagues seem to be acting a bit distant towards him. At the last faculty meeting he even overheard someone mumble, “It was a terrific idea, but I said exactly the same thing five minutes before and nobody seemed to care until John said it.”

Both Emily and John are generous, well-meaning school leaders who have all of the best intentions to serve their school and colleagues, but both have blind spots that keep them from seeing the way their actions might detract from the success of their teams and how their roles impact their colleagues.  Neither Emily or John do anything that overtly puts their jobs at risk or that would be called “bad leadership,” but they are simply not tuned into their teams’  needs nor do they sense what would make the groups function at the optimal level.

Emily, in her role as caretaker, lacks boundaries with her teachers and in turn has left them feeling incapacitated to implement their projects. As a superstar administrator, she has high expectations for her teachers and has gone well beyond her job description to help them reach those expectations. Unfortunately, she has been so over-involved  that her teachers feel that they can’t  be successful without her help. They have come to depend on her in a way that is impractical and unsustainable.

John’s case is more subtle and perhaps more complex.  He has enjoyed the privilege of his authority, both formal and informal, and his charisma and personable nature. Like Emily, he is a hard worker, but he also lacks boundaries with students, teachers and parents, allowing them to encroach on time that belongs to his colleagues.  When he shows up late for meetings, he sends an implicit message that his peers are not as important as his other constituents.  Whether John knows it or not, the authority he carries in making all-school decisions may leave other colleagues feeling like they don’t have a voice. They might see him as hijacking the meetings rather than contributing positively to them. To use a sports analogy, he is a bit of a ball hog, always wanting to score the goal rather than setting up others with a great assist. Is he listening to his colleagues as they offer suggestions?  Can he find ways to help other voices be heard?

These two cases are among countless examples of well-meaning and talented school leaders struggling to tune into the needs of their teams and reflect on the way their actions, behaviors, and boundaries can impact these groups.  Fortunately, there is always the opportunity to be reflective and to ask the right questions about how your role in groups plays out in both positive and potentially damaging ways. Here are a few suggested questions you might ask yourself to start the reflection process.

• Take time to establish goals for the team dynamics you want to achieve.  Ask yourself, “What does success look like with this group?”
• Consider the boundaries you set with groups, including boundaries of time and effort.  Do you start and end meetings on time? Do you hold team members to these time boundaries?
• What work are you doing on behalf of the group? Do you allow your colleagues to share the effort?  Do you set reasonable expectations for projects that will lead your team to be successful?  
• What is the role that your colleagues and team members truly need you to play that will best empower them and that will lead the team to the greatest success? 

This is more than just doing your job well, this is about creating the conditions so that everyone can reach his or her fullest potential.