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We had a superintendent who used to say to the Board that if you are micromanaging me,
you are, in fact, evaluating yourselves. This super meant that as the Board's only employee, she
is tasked with specific jobs. How those jobs get done is up to the super. In our school system,
the super relies on the other senior staff members (finance, operations, HR, instructional services,
communications, technology) to accomplish the goals of the district. However, suppose the
Board micromanages and tells the super how to accomplish the tasks and say the results are less
than desired. In that case, all the super can say is that she did what they were told, and because
the Board micromanaged the decisions, they are, in fact, the ones to blame.
I would address inconsistency in communication between board directives by talking
one-on-one, face to face with the Board member(s) concerned. Personal communication solves
many problems. Then I would carefully review the minutes taken from the board meeting in
question to be certain of what was said and make sure my interpretation of what was said
matches the expectation of the Board. An effective administrator establishes healthy, productive
working relationships with others involved in school governance in order to maintain a
harmonious school climate (Coley, 2006).
Openness only comes through trust. Once trust is established, then I can begin to
encourage openness. Trust is established through integrity, saying what you mean, meaning what
you say, and ensuring your actions back up your words. A pattern of walking the talk shows
credibility and integrity, thereby causing people to trust you. A key component to the trust issue
as the superintendent is that your subordinates know that you have their backs and support them.
If they see that you won't let Board members or the public mistreat them, they will trust you, and
therefore you won't need to encourage openness because openness will simply be a part of the
culture of the organization. As the superintendent, you must be willing to take the hits for your
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people. If they see you do that, they will make sure change needs are implemented in a way that
makes your job as super easier and makes you, as super, look good. As the super, you, in turn,
reward them for doing their job.
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References
Coley, K.S. (2006). The helmsman: Leading with courage and wisdom. Purposeful Design
Publications.
Klamm, H. & Johnson, R. (2017). Trust at the top- Enhancing the relationship between the head
of school and board chair [Webinar]. Liberty University.
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