What are your strengths as a school leader? A school leader must have
self-awareness to make better use of his talents and the talents of his staff.
Mr. Thelen’s strength was instructional leadership. By having competent
professionals on the staff serving as the first buffer on a multitude of other
issues, he was able to concentrate on this strength. Of course, whatever
the school leader’s talents, the stickiest issues will still come to him in the
end, but these will be the winnowed chaff of many others resolved at a
lower level. Instead of intervening and resolving every issue, he will only
have to deal with the most difficult.
There is no downside to this principle. Every staff member wants to find
his niche, the area in which he can excel. By maximizing his pluses and
minimizing his minuses, you help him find the niche in which he can
achieve job satisfaction. Likewise, by exploiting what you do well and
finding ways to compensate for those areas where you lack talent or ex-
pertise, you make yourself a more effective leader.
Maximize the Positives; Minimize the Negatives 129