Teach & Serve V, No. 12
The Highest Duty
October 23, 2019
… to lead is to serve. To serve is to support. Anything else distracts from our central call as leaders.
I firmly believe that the best leaders serve those they lead just as the best teachers understand they work in service of their students.
I also believe that leaders can only be effective when they are given consent to lead and that classroom teachers are far more effective when the students feel as though they are partners in the learning process.
Yes, some leaders who rely only on authoritarian leadership can push their agendas and compel, by the power of their position, compliance from those who work for them, but I argue that this kind of scenario does not denote leadership.
Leaders support those with whom they work. It is their first and last priority and that mindset informs every priority in between.
Therefore, leaders must be very careful of the structures present in their classrooms and in their schools. They must be aware of the implications policies create in terms of service.
All too often, leaders endorse or create structures and policies that limit their ability to lend needed support. Too frequently, organizations adopt general strictures and broadly apply them at the expense of specific individuals and situations. We tie ourselves in politics, in red tape, and, all too often, in nonsense.
We must cut to the chase: to lead is to serve. To serve is to support. Anything else distracts from our central call as leaders.
What we do in school leadership – as teachers and administrators – is complex work. We need not make our roles to serve more complex by needlessly tying our hands.
A great leader goes to great lengths to provide support. This the highest duty of leadership.