37Chapter Four
Give the Credit; Take the Blame
Let’s begin with two basics. First, school leadership is not about earning
personal accolades; it is about facilitating positive change to improve stu-
dent achievement. Second, if people in an institution are part of this change
process, they are more likely to support and implement the change.
Some school leaders relish the spotlight so much that sometimes the
school becomes identified with its leader and seems not to exist inde-
pendent of him. Often such school leaders are charismatic figures who
accomplish dramatic changes in a short period of time. However, once
they leave, the school loses focus and dynamism, and student achievement
diminishes. Such a leader is a modern-day Alexander the Great—he con-
quers the world, but when he leaves, the empire of the school falls apart
and he is fondly remembered as the leader during the school’s “golden
age.”
Such a person is a failure. A successful school leader must institutional-
ize changes so that they continue to thrive long after he leaves the school.
In general, the school leader who stays in the background, who builds
a competent team, and who institutionalizes change will be the school
leader who truly succeeds. For the well-trained staff and institutionalized
procedures will continue long after this leader is gone and will ensure that
any gains the school has made will not be lost.
Once the school leader decides that the success of the school is more
important than his personal success, he can embrace this principle. How
does one “give the credit”? That’s easy. Whenever anything goes right,
give the credit to all those who contributed to the success, however tan-
gentially. Let’s look at some examples.