Size Matters but Leadership is Leadership

Leadership is leadership regardless of the size of an organization. The same tenets and principles that we focused on in Franklin, a school district of 350 students, are the same ones we focus on in York, a school district of about 1,400 students. Guess what, they're the same ones I would focus on in a huge district as well if/when that ever happens.

Attention to detail, clarity of purpose, communication, follow-through, reciprocal accountability, high expectations, keeping the main thing (students) the main thing, labrador enthusiasm, insane work ethic, integrity, unselfishness, servant-mindedness, more follow-through, results-driven, action oriented, public relations, instructional leadership, even more follow-through, more communication, and relentless pursuit of improvement are strategies that work in any size organization. The only difference is how many people you have to get to buy in.

Franklin was a 2-person administrative team....we discussed the above tenets during lunch duty and put plans in place to ensure our school district was moving in the right direction like our hair was on fire. Here in York, we have formal admin team meetings twice a month for about 90-minutes each time and we use the same strategies. I would assume the same strategies are in place in Grand Island, LPS, OPS, and others.

Us small districts deal with the same issues that our colleagues in larger districts encounter; it's just on a different scale. The public relations plan we use in York with one newspaper and one radio station is most likely very similar to what is used in Omaha....they just have more media to deal with. The curriculum and instruction initiatives we have in place here are a lot like what they use in Lincoln....they just have more teachers going through it. The facilities planning in Grand Island or Papillion is a very similar approach to what we use in York....they just have more buildings. The quality processes and strategies are the same; it's just the quantity that changes.

I don't write this to offend anyone...it's just that sometimes too many people look at size to determine a school district's worth, or the value of an individual. It's not necessarily true that leaders of larger organizations are better than leaders of smaller ones. It's not necessarily true that teachers at a Class A school are better than teachers at a Class B school just because of the size of the facility.

Size matters but it is the size of each individual person's drive, heart, and passion....not the square footage of a facility, the number of students in their district, or how many people they try and lead.