How Important Is Great Leadership?

The other day I was in my principal’s office discussing this year’s PSAT results with the school counselor. In the middle of the discussion I noticed a slip of paper that was taped to side of a bookcase. The bookcase was no where near the principal’s desk, so I assume this note must have been a remnant of the last occupant of this office. The slip of paper posed the question “Just How Important Is leadership?”. A timely question as I’ve been scratching my head a lot lately wondering what to write about in this blog.

On the surface this question seems simple and a bit silly as we’ve all been taught that great leadership is the key to success. Yet as I look at the world around me, especially in education, it seems no matter good or bad leadership at the top, schools manage to pump out students that live productive and meaningful lives. Even in schools where there is great leadership it’s hard to argue that the lives of each of students who walked the halls of the school are measurably better from that one person.

Outside of education it seems evident that life continues to progress despite great leaders. In 2008 when Obama won the White House I thought that his obvious leadership skills would somehow cut through the bipartisan bickering in Washington, but exactly three years since he took the job things continue to seem as bad as ever, if not worse.

The note went onto say “A highly effective leader is good for a roughly 30% increase in achievement for the lowest performing teachers’ students and a 36% increase in achievement for the highest performing teachers’ students by creating a highly effective school”. I’m sure were all familiar that 75% of statistics are made up on the spot, so I don’t know how reliable the numbers are in the quote, but it begs a question. Are your students already at the top of that 30% increase or waiting at the bottom for someone to start the transformation?

What would it take to make your school 30% better? If the quotes true, it just takes one person. So how do you become that one person and who’s done it before?