I was sitting in a leadership session presented by a fellow author in leadership, looking back and thinking about the stark contrast between smart and dumb leadership. It’s sad for me to admit, but after 30 years in education and leadership, I remember poor leaders better than good ones. The memory of poor leaders failing to meet the moment—and their gross inability to build trust, loyalty, and teamwork—remains vividly stuck in my mind.
The problem has as much to do with there being too many poor leaders as their impact on us. Fortunately, I have experienced the kind of leadership that captures the principles of how to make a school great, even remarkable. I think we all know how important strong leadership is and there is ample evidence about its value in taking an organization to the moon, and with adoring fans.
One of the best ways to understand the difference between bad and good leadership is to look at how leaders engage their teams. My research shows over and over an undeniable pattern: Great leaders act as "multipliers" who set their egos aside to amplify and empower the skills, ideas, and intelligence of those around them, whereas bad leaders act as "diminishers" who wall themselves off, micromanage, and suppress their team's potential out of insecurity.
In short, leaders who work smarter save everyone from working harder.
How leaders can make your organization smart, not dumb
I remain stunned even now, after 30 years of seeing bad leadership over and over again. Pride and insecurity seem to be the biggest culprits.
One of the most significant lessons I learned in leadership was acknowledging that there was always a smarter person in the room than me, and that it wasn’t a threat to me to admit I was wrong, or someone had a better idea. I heard this saying once, and it has always stuck with me: If you’re the smartest person in a room, you’re in the wrong room.
If I have to be the smartest person in the room, two dangerous facts exist:
- I will have a lot of inferior people working for me, and as any coach will tell you, when the team loses the game, YOU lose the game. I’d rather have smarter people making me look good, winning . . . .
- Even if someone has a smarter idea for a pivot, they will be afraid to share it because they fear I will snuff them out.
I have had the privilege of working alongside incredible educators, absolutely compassionate and skilled individuals, supporting children of all types. One of the most important lessons I learned came from concepts such as edcamps. I learned about Edcamps from an innovative educator who showed me the empowerment associated with learning that is targeted, with an energized vibe, and focused on high interest topics for educators. These are worthy of engaging professionals with and offer the kind of intelligent learning that matters more now than ever.
Smart leaders don’t let great ideas die in a corner of the school. If you have been around schools as long as I have, you know that there are remarkable ideas hidden in classrooms where humble yet amazing teachers bring learning alive. Great leaders use grassroots ideas to overcome contractual barriers, reclaim time, and empower teachers to share their hidden classroom expertise across the entire school.
As an author, researcher, and school leader, I have a rare vantage point: I've observed how thousands of classrooms function firsthand, allowing me to bridge real-world practice with evidence-based research. It was hard for me to keep quiet, working behind “diminisher” leaders, but it’s taught me not to be them and to share with you how important humility is in leadership.
Helping kids win
Is actively becoming a smart leader hard? Yes. It’s easier in the short term to shut your door and say, “I’m boss!” But I have been part of leadership teams in which the hard work was fun and worth the sacrifice. Change happens when a leader embraces vulnerability—a risky move for an organization accustomed to covering its tracks, but brave and beneficial in the long run. And smart!
Having that courage took me years to see change. Patience and persistence were the pillars of that process. I endured dumb leaders and a long road of frustration for an organization that always had that untapped potential percolating just under the surface, and needed smart leadership to help it burst out and do what matters most in education: Help kids win—in the classroom, at home, and in life.
Such success doesn't happen every day for every child, but when it does, it makes the pursuit of great, smart leadership entirely worthwhile.
