Gerry Paille

When you have ownership and voice over the process, you care more about the outcome. The best principal I ever had, was a master at empowering her staff to lead in the decision-making process of the school by not only asking for input, but acting upon the expertise of the people she had served. If you are going to ask for feedback and ignore it, you would have been better off not asking for the feedback in the first place. Legendary coach John Wooden shared “Listen to those under your supervision. Really listen. Don’t act as if you’re listening and let it go in one ear and out the other. Faking it is worse than not doing it at all.” My principal asked for your input as a way to learn from you in how we could all make our school better. Ultimately, she was responsible for the decisions of the school, and that is exactly why she asked for input from the staff. She knew her final decisions would be better when she leveraged the gifts of her staff. When I think of this process, it reminded me of how she (my principal, Kelly Wilkins) embodied this quote from Steve Jobs before I ever heard it: “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to to , We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” The interesting thing was I cared more about my input because I knew it could affect what happens in other classrooms beyond my own, and the entirety of our school. Through this process I realized how the best administrators and teachers are not only learning how to utilize your gifts, they help you find them your self and realize your own potential to have an impact on the world.