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School Board Journal
November / December 1995
January / February 1996

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School board veteran offers advice
By ROD WILLIAMSON

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Question. Don't take anything at face value. Dig deeper, get the facts you need, all the facts, before making a decision.

Keep your head up. See the big picture. Every decision you make has consequences, what are they? Do your decisions create more problems than they solve?

Be deliberate. If you feel you aren't fully informed to make a decision, don't! It is better to delay than to make an uninformed decision. If you're not sure what to do, do it slowly. Knee-jerk reactions to problems create more difficulties than you are trying to solve.

Be humane. These are human beings that work here, thinking, feeling people. Treat them that way. In any of your interactions ask yourself, "How would I react to this conversation if I were on the receiving end? Am I treating this person like I would want to be treated?" Why do we forget what it was like when we were receiving orders, not giving them? Would you want to live by the policies and procedures you make? You'd better.

Be a team builder. We're all in this together, it's not "us and them." It's teamwork and mutual respect that get things done and done well. The longer an adversarial relationship continues, the closer you drift toward low employee morale and apathy. Recognize and solve problems, don't create them. The better your employees do their job, the better leader you become.

Be a professional. Professionalism is not an ego trip nor is it an exercise in authority. Your employees have dignity, they have value, treat them as such. Professionalism is not fits of temper or treats, it's respectful interactions with each other. When disagreements arise, a calm non-defensive attitude goes much further than conflict. To get respect, give respect. Treat your employees consistently and equally. Everyone works under the same rules. Don't dictate, you'll lose them. People can't live in a democracy and work in a dictatorship.

Listen more often. We learn more by listening to another's ideas than by explaining our own. Each employee of the district has experiences that can benefit all. Listen to them. It's not our level of education that matters as much as our level of common sense.

Admit to not knowing. It's okay to say, "I don't know." It's better to ask, "What do you think?" Our employees are the people doing the job, don't you think they might possess insights on how better to improve upon it?

Commit yourself. If the job is not important to you, get out. If you are in it for the money or the prestige or the power, get out. Let someone in who wants to make a sincere commitment to the job. It's hard, important, most often thankless work. Dedicate yourself.

Don't forget why you're here. Educating our children is the most far-reaching job you'll ever do. Don't let self interests overshadow the real purpose the children.

Good luck to you. You have a big job ahead.

Rod Williamson is a counselor at Carl Sandburg Community College in Petersburg, and a recently-retired school board member.