Linda Dawson is IASB director of editorial services and Journal editor.
At the state superintendent's conference in 2005, then-Illinois State Superintendent Randy Dunn talked about leadership defining the work of superintendents.
"The definition of leadership is different for everyone," Dunn said, but everyone should have a mental construct — a framework — of what leadership means. He identified a good framework with selected quotes from Abraham Lincoln, many of which will be shared below.
Leadership for superintendents involves working closely in the day-to-day operations of their districts. School board members, as officials elected by the community, must also develop a framework for leadership to help them make difficult decisions on broader policy issues that will, in turn, impact their superintendent's leadership abilities.
Decisions made by school board members or superintendents may not have the magnitude of those faced by Lincoln preceding and during the Civil War, but they are decisions that affect the education of their community's children — those often referred to as "a most precious resource."
With thanks and recognition to Dunn for searching out the quotes and providing some initial correlations, the following Lincoln quotes can serve as a leadership framework for school board members as well. It seems only fitting to share this framework in 2009 as Illinois and the rest of the nation celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Public's pulse
"His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see him; and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter he is dealing with." — Lincoln's reason for relieving General John C. Fremont from his command in Missouri (September 9, 1861)
Leaders must get out among their constituents and know what is going on in order to be effective. They cannot afford to isolate themselves from the general public or act believing they know what is in the public good, when a majority of the sentiment is obviously the other way.
Being well informed and knowing the public's pulse is especially important for school board members and is encouraged in the second of Illinois Association of School Boards' Foundational Principles of Effective Governance on connecting with the community. This connection can be as informal as listening to a constituent in the grocery store, as formal as initiating community study circles or something that falls somewhere between the two.
Assembling a team
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. Our case must be entrusted to, and conducted by its own undoubted friend — whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work — who do care for the result." — Lincoln's remarks from "A House Divided" speech in which he accepted the nomination for U.S. senator at the Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois (June 16, 1858)
Lincoln had many problems with his leadership team, including friction among his cabinet members. However, he was adept at creating a strong alliance among the people that he needed to move forward.
Boards of education cannot lead a district forward if that district is characterized by internal strife, whether among board members or among administration and staff, or a combination of the two
School board members need to have a clear vision of where the district wants to go and what the results need to look like. In order to accomplish those results, especially in terms of student achievement, the board needs to select a leader who shares that vision, form a trusting leadership team and then empower that superintendent to form alliances to get the district moving toward the desired results.
Balcony perspective
"I am compelled to take a more impartial and unprejudiced view of things. Without claiming to be your superior, which I do not, my position enables me to understand my duty in all these matters better than you possibly can, and I hope you do not yet doubt my integrity." — Lincoln's closing comments in a letter of support for General-in-Chief Henry Halleck to a close friend who urged his dismissal (May 26, 1863)
Sometimes the only way to understand the issues devoid of the personalities involved is to take what is called a "balcony perspective." Effective board members, working at a policy level, should concern themselves with the vision, mission and goals of the district and leave the day-to-day operational functions of the district to staff.
Richard Broholm and Douglas Johnson described the position leaders should take as follows in A Balcony Perspective: Clarifying the Trustee Role: "While staff must pay attention to the trees, trustees can look at the whole forest."
A mere 59 pages, this book is based on teachings by Robert Greenleaf, a former AT&T employee who authored a series of essays on servant leadership, and Ronald Heifetz, who taught leadership skills at the JFK School of Government. It provides a wealth of information interspersed with true-life stories.
Holding no grudges
"I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing." — Lincoln's comments in a letter about readmission of Louisiana to the Union (July 28, 1862)
Community members may decide to be candidates for the school board because they're unhappy about something. They'd like to fire a coach. They want a school boundary changed more to their liking. They want a different superintendent.
Those who are elected on a single issue may find themselves in a quandary once that issue has been decided. If successful and a coach is fired or a new superintendent is hired, they may be left with three years in a school board term without a focus for their energies.
Being mad or getting even is not a good reason to run for the board. Staying mad and creating unease during meetings is not an effective way to approach board work. The issues are just too big and too important to be ruled by negative emotion.
Better slow than sorry
"Take time and think well upon this subject." "Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time." "Delay is ruining us." "Time is everything." "Please act in view of this." "Make haste slowly." — Lincoln giving seemingly contradictory advice to different followers in different situations (May 1861 to July 1862)
As elected officials you have realized by now that not every issue that comes to the board is black and white. School board members often deal in the gray areas where there is no right or wrong, just different perceptions.
When faced with tough decisions, speed and decisiveness are not always best. While school districts often are criticized for being bureaucratic organizations that are as difficult to steer into a different course as a giant ship on the ocean, some decisions … especially those dealing with issues like reorganizing the district's boundaries or consolidating with another district … are best made after much thoughtful consideration and not in the heat of the moment.
But boards also should remember that sometimes an issue can be talked to death while a problem is left to fester.
The distinction comes from being able to move decisively when such action is demanded but being able to weigh the issues carefully before making a decision … and then striking the right balance.
Making tough decisions
"Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it." — Closing statement of Lincoln's Cooper Institute Address, in which he encouraged party members to hold fast to their beliefs (February 27, 1860)
The job of a school board member is not one that everyone understands. A board member must weigh all the different perspectives and then reach a decision that will be the most beneficial for the district. Sometimes those decisions can be unpopular with factions that seek to serve their own interests.
Board members always face public accountability through the media, but now the advent of blogging on the Internet has brought a new way, sometimes an anonymous way, for the public to take jabs at board decisions.
The board's venue is policy work — detecting the wishes of the community and reflecting those wishes in policies that can be carried out by the administration. If the board understands its duty, the likelihood diminishes that it will be drawn into micromanagement issues — even though some in the community would like to see that happen.
Speaking with one voice
"Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything … ." — Part of Lincoln's firm stance regarding new elections in Arkansas (February 17, 1864)
Once a vote is taken and a decision is made, that decision becomes the will of the board. To have members second-guessing a decision or continually bringing up an issue that a clear majority have declined to endorse undermines the authority of the board to govern, as well as undermining the level of trust that a board needs to govern effectively.
While it is important for board members to be able to express their opinions on the various issues that the district faces, it's also important that the board ultimately speaks with one clear voice. Some boards select a spokesperson, possibly the board president, to handle media inquiries and answer questions. Others allow board members to speak freely with the media.
However your board chooses, the board, the district and the community are best served if they present a unified picture once a decision has been put to a vote.
Know where you're going
"I think Lee's army, and not Richmond, is your true objective point. Fight him when opportunity offers. If he stays where he is, fret him, and fret him." — Lincoln's response to General Joe Hooker, who'd asked for permission to advance on the confederate capital rather than engage the enemy in combat (June 10, 1863)
Setting a clear direction for the district is essential for success and an important part of the school board's role. It's like picking out a prize and then staying focused on obtaining it.
While the prize is the vision, the exact route of how to get to that prize, however, is best left to the district's administration … unless, of course, the "route" has nothing to do with the ultimate prize.
Lincoln was making it clear to his general as to the "prize" he wanted — Lee's army. Having control of Richmond, while a notable objective, would not accomplish the vision: Taking the Confederacy's leading general out of the fight.
United front
"I can't spare this man. He fights." — Lincoln's response to critics who urged the dismissal of General Ulysses Grant after the battle of Shiloh, where Grant had been rumored to be drunk (April 1862)
In addition to setting policy for the district, the school board has one employee — the superintendent. Once a superintendent has been hired, the board needs to be clear about the expectations it has for that superintendent and the district. And then it should hold the superintendent responsible for attaining those expectations.
Just as Lincoln trusted Grant to get the job done, even though he had detractors, the board needs to trust the superintendent, all the while holding him or her accountable for progress toward the district's goals.
Flexibility
"Still the question recurs: 'Can we do better?' The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the story present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew." — Lincoln, in his Annual Message to Congress, exhorting its members to join him in a united venture to be conducted by the executive and legislative branches of government (December 1, 1862)
Organizations need flexibility and maneuverable leadership. Just because a district has enjoyed success by doing things the same way doesn't mean that same way will produce the same results forever. Demographics change. Economics change. Personnel change.
That means leaders … school board leaders and administrators … need to "rise with the occasion" in order to be the catalysts for change in their districts.
Even if your test scores are good, is there room for teachers and students to do better? Can board policies steer the district on an even better course?
Abraham Lincoln would probably be humbled to know that his words could help school board members think about their roles and their objectives nearly 150 years after his death.