When Conventional Wisdom Isn't Wise

We received word this week that a head of school colleague in Western Europe had successfully, and legally, fired a longstanding and highly ineffective employee. This came after several years of meticulously meeting the letter of a challenging national labor law situation and dealing with requirements of the school's own collective bargaining agreement. This news brought me back to a board retreat at this school seven or eight years ago wherein a board member authoritatively said that it was "impossible" to terminate employees in this country, meaning that disruptive or ineffective teachers and staff, in effect, have jobs for life. The only option seemed to be negotiating a cash settlement in exchange for a resignation.The person speaking was an attorney, though not one specializing in national labor law, and several other expat board members nodded in agreement, with more than one remarking that "this is XXY country and our hands are tied here." Everything they said was in accord with how North Americans often view Western European labor rules, so much so that what could be interpreted as a stereotype had become conventional wisdom, if not outright orthodoxy.We suggested the board test whether or not this was true by consulting attorneys in the country who specialized in labor law and had experience representing large companies in such dealings with employees. Some board members resisted doing the test, saying that it would be a waste of time and money based on their deep belief in the conventional wisdom. Nonetheless, school leaders hired outside counsel, and learned that, while difficult and arduous, it is possible to reassign or terminate employees consistent with national law. This opened the door to a multi-year process of removing or reassigning several toxic and dysfunctional individuals, some in important leadership positions; in truth, the door that opened let in much needed fresh air.What this vignette illustrates is that often what constitutes conventional wisdom hardens into orthodox belief, something better left to religion than to management practice. Often, leaders, specially those new to their organizations, should challenge conventional wisdom, very gently at first, and then probe whether it is truly wise or is just untested belief.