Good Intentions Sometimes Bring Self-Inflicted Wounds

Over and over we see boards and heads of independent and international schools suffering self-inflicted wounds by following what started out as good intentions but ends up as a departure from good practices. The departure usually begins with someone in leadership saying one of three things:

• "We are different, so good practices for others don't really apply to us;"
• "This situation is different, so good practices for other situations don't really apply to this issue;" or
• "We are 'independent' and free to discover new good practices, so existing ones don't really apply to us."

Each of these is an excuse to avoid doing something that someone doesn't want to do. In one recent instance, a board agreed to a retiring head's request to be kept on as "president for external relations," and let him keep an office in the school. Not surprisingly, conflict emerged between the not-quite-former head and the new head, ending with the new head leaving after a year. In another situation, neither the head nor the board enforced an existing policy when a board member married a member of school administration, saying, of course, that this context was somehow different from those the policy was intended to address.I am sure there are situations so unique that the usually rules of nature can be suspended, but such variations are really, really rare. In our experience, the words, "this time is different," usually sets the stage for self-inflicted wounds. Have you seen any at your school? If so, drop me a note and share the story (projects@ta-stl.com).