CEO

I recently read something that described a head of school as the school’s CEO. I had to laugh. I reflected on some of the tasks I’ve been involved in just since school started a month ago, and the term Chief Executive Officer made me feel like I was living in some parallel universe. A head of school is chiefly responsible for a number of things, but many of them don’t feel very “executive.”

Chief Reminding Officer: I didn’t make this one up, but I honestly don’t remember where I first heard it, or I would give someone else credit. It is possible that the most important job of a head of school is reminding people what is important. This is harder than it sounds. I can very easily forget what is important, and I’m one doing the reminding! There are so many issues that are urgent, so many fires to put out, so many details buzzing in our ears like mosquitoes; it’s really a challenge to keep the main thing the main thing. My job is to be sure our mission and vision stay at the front of everything we do, that I help others move in the direction we know we need to go. That might not be in a straight line, but we’re still moving toward the goal.

Chief Protecting Officer: The person in charge protects the mission and vision from slipping away or shifting direction. We also need to protect the individuals and groups who might not speak up. We need to protect student learning and keep our schools focused on the people who need us most: our students. We need to protect our students’ safety and provide them a place where they are valued and respected, where everyone around them sees and honors their potential.

Mother in Chief: Some days it feels like I need to listen to competing voices saying, “She hurt my feelings” and “He’s not doing what he’s supposed to be doing” and “I don’t like this.” Unfortunately, this is not necessarily all from the students. I need to know when to say, “Let’s listen to each other,” when to say, “I’m so sorry you feel that way” and when to say, “Pull up your pants and get on with it.” Sometimes I forget which one to say when, and then I need to close the door and breathe for a few minutes.

Chief Servant: My year started with the auditorium basement flooding and my most important job that night was mopping. We cannot see ourselves in a position above doing the small things, the hard things, the things that allow us to laugh with someone, commiserate with others, and to just get in there and do what needs doing. Delegation is important, of course, but there is no substitute for being willing to get involved and get wet feet.

Chief Grieving Officer: Schools are emotional places, and sometimes we experience great loss. We lost a beloved member of our teaching staff to cancer only weeks ago, and we had a whole community memorial service just last week. Some grief is very public and we need to provide ways to express it. Other grief can involve the seemingly endless string of goodbyes we deal with in an international school community. It can be less personal but still difficult: a change in direction, the loss of what is familiar, accepting a new season of life. Sometimes the losses are intangible, but still real, and we need to just feel it with people.

When I was young, I asked my mother, an elementary school principal, what principals did all day. I thought at the time that she had a pretty cushy job because it was hard for her to describe it to me; it sounded like she mostly just listened to other people’s problems, and talked to kids who got sent to her office. Calling my job a school CEO doesn’t help me understand it much better. When I picture a CEO, I mostly picture Wall Street, suits, cigars, and spreadsheets. It’s an ongoing exercise for me to try to define what my job is from my little office covered with photos of my family, inspirational quotes, and slightly dirty coffee mugs. It’s all part of learning how to be me in this role.