Case Study 13

“Superintendent Briggs is Busy Creating Visions Today”

Mary Briggs is the superintendent of school s of a city school district comprised of more than 60 schools, including pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools. The school district has approximately 50,000 students enrolled at any one time. Many of the students are doing well, but the school district is also beset with many problems. Fewer than 50 percent of the students graduate from high school, and only about 10 percent of the high school graduates are considered ready for college or employment.

The local press, many parent groups, and the office of mayor voice frequent complaints about the low performance of the city schools. Some people blame the teachers and the school principals for the problems. Others blame the parents and the neighborhood influences for the problems. Still others blame the problems of the school district on Superintendent Briggs, who, as the leader, should be able to fix most of the problems facing the district, they believe.

A member of the school board recently asked Mary Briggs what she perceived to be the most important part of her job. Briggs replied, “I do visions. As a leader my job is to help create a better future for the schools, our students, and our teachers. I see a great future for our schools in which most of our students develop the skills and intellect to prepare them for the modern world. Many of our students will become leaders in our society, no matter what field they enter.” The school board member replied, “Thanks, Dr. Briggs, but I thought you might be working on problems like there not being enough money in the food program for our poorest students.”

During the workday, school principals and vice principals often send Briggs e-mails asking her advice for dealing with an immediate problem, such as a student physically assaulting a teacher or another student in the classroom. Usually it takes about twenty-four hours to receive a response. As an alternative to sending Briggs an e-mail about an important operational problem, some principals or vice principals will attempt to get through to her on the telephone. Usually, the calls go to voicemail. On occasion, the call does get through to Briggs’ administrative assistant. A response from the assistant that has come to irritate many of the principals and vice principals, is “Sorry, Superintendent Briggs is busy creating visions today. So she cannot talk with you unless this problem is a total emergency.” As a result, the phrase “Superintendent Briggs is busy creating visions today” has become a punch line for many jokes among principals, vice-principals, and teachers.

Questions

1. As a strategic leader, what error might Mary Briggs be making?

2. To what extent should a school superintendent be spending more time on strategy than operational problems?

3. What advice might you offer Briggs to enhance her leadership image in her school district?