By Nelson Coulter
Over the years I have often
encouraged, even admonished, young folks entering my profession (educational
leadership) to stay “grounded.” I use
that word often, but too rarely clarify what it means.
In his book titled Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off
the Land (2011), Kurt Timmermeister
eloquently chronicles his personal evolution from big city restaurateur to
small-time farmer. His writing
reinforces what Moe (my lovely bride) and I have learned about being stewards
of the land - that our lives are more settled (i.e., “grounded”) when we choose
to live with the natural forces of
sun, wind, rain, seasons, life, and death, rather than to frantically and
futilely oppose them. We have learned
(are learning) to be grounded. But, what
does the word “grounding” mean in the context of my mentoring young school leaders?
I think it means this: just
as the elements and life forms of nature create a tapestry of intertwined and
interdependent existence, so does the “life” of communities, of which its schools
are simply a reflection, exist. The
schools as organizations have “life” in them; they are made up of adults and
students of all sizes and ages and beliefs and dreams. As well, they are made up of a wide range of
gifts, systems, processes, coalitions, and rhythms. When we, as school leaders, try to ignore
that diversity of thinking and gifts, when we try to force homogeneity (whether
by standardized curriculum, standardized testing, standardized clothing, or
standardized behavior) we have, in effect, attempted to create what in nature
is known as a monoculture. In those
efforts we introduce disharmony and dissonance between and among the very folks
for whom we wish the opposite.
The effect of these attempts
to force homogeneity (to create a monoculture) is diminishment and devaluation
of the very individuals and/or groups we presume to be “helping.” Time and again, the authors of leadership
texts remind us to spend more time developing relationships as the primary tool
of leadership (rather than mandating and bureaucratizing).
Thus, I believe being
“grounded” as a leader means to put ones eyes, ears, heart, and hands to the
natural “pulse” of the school as an organization. We must learn to trust that struggling to
contrive and fabricate systems that work against the flow of nature means we create
disharmony, both within the organization and within ourselves. I am
increasingly coming to the conclusion that we must, both in our work and in our
personal lives, move toward that concept of being a good steward of the
relationships, organizations, land, and resources with which we have been
entrusted.
In effect, we must become
better servants. That is the
only way we can ever achieve that state of being “grounded.”
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