Undercover Leadership

What if you, as a leader, had an opportunity to find out some of your school's nitty gritty details? You know, the stuff that faculty and staff talk about in the teacher's lounge — the information that you will only know about if you know the people in your school. What if you had a chance to go undercover?

I have started paying attention to the new CBS show Undercover Boss. The premise behind the newest entry into the reality-documentary genre is that a major corporation's CEO goes undercover and starts working the organization's front-line jobs. Through the experience, the CEO begins to better understand what employees go through. Whether it is job related or a personal hardship, the undercover boss learns much about his company and his personal leadership.

So what would you find out about your leadership if you had a chance to go undercover in your school? My initial thought is that it might be hard to hear what my employees might say about my leadership, especially when they don't know I'm listening. Obviously, it's part of a students' job description to not like the school administrator, but you hope your employees have a respect for you and the school.

If I am honest, this is one of the hardest parts of leadership for me — the part where I put up the strategy books and charts and get my hands dirty, and where I turn my attention from always being behind a microphone and in front of large groups of people and put my focus back on the people who make my school such a success. It's time to turn in the suit and tie for a few days and put on the clothes of a classroom teacher, custodial worker and lunchroom worker. For the next several weeks, it is my goal to work different jobs within the school community. I can't go completely undercover, but I can still gain a new perspective.

Students need to see that out of their school leader. Faculty and staff need to see this out of those who make decisions from behind a desk. It is my desire to improve my leadership by improving my knowledge of what really happens within my school. My employees are the ones who make our school such a success. They deserve a leader who is willing to get out from behind his desk and remember what it was like to prepare a daily class unit, set up and tear down chairs and wash some dishes. Once I reveal my "cover," I'll write about the lessons I've learned. Who knows, I may be able to make a TV show out of this :)