The Triumphant Superintendent

School Administrator, June, 1999 by John R. Hoyle

Despite greater job pressures, school system leaders can find their shining moments in the way they advocate for children and their learning

After another glorious victory in battle, triumphant emperor Julius Caesar told adoring crowds: "I came, I saw, I conquered." On Dec. 2, 1804, in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon triumphantly proclaimed himself Emperor of the French people. Joan of Arc and her army were triumphant in battle to save the city of Orleans, And dedicated teachers in urban schools experience a moment of triumph when a student smiles and proclaims, "Now I understand."

To triumph, one must be victorious and magnificent, and one must exult in success. To triumph, one must reach the pinnacle or experience an amazing accomplishment that may come only once in a lifetime.

When Tara Lipinski, the figure skater, saw the judge's final marks to win the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, she shrieked with pure ecstasy in her moment of triumph. Her high achievement grew from a 5-year-old's vision while standing on a makeshift podium to act out her fantasy of winning the gold. Einstein surely felt a similar moment of triumph when he discovered his theory of relativity. Marie Curie experienced hers when she uncovered the mysteries of radioactivity. Teacher Anne Sullivan surely felt triumphant when Helen Keller uttered her first word: "water."

Have you as a superintendent experienced moments of triumph? Can you recall a time when you exulted in the accomplishments of your professional life? Perhaps you are still looking for that moment. Psychologist Abraham Maslow suggested that this mountaintop experience was the highest psychological state of self-actualization. Every person today needs to experience a triumphant moment--a moment when you were at your best, when you were a peak performer.

What does it take to become a triumphant superintendent? What magic puzzle of skills, attitudes, knowledge, experience, genetics and values must fit together for that one brief shining moment of triumph? What would it take to connect to the dendrites of creative thinking in your cerebral cortex and cause you to reflect on the why and how of your leadership style? If you want more triumphant moments in your life, you must realize that the only way to have them is to heed the words of Peter Drucker, author of Managing for the Future, who said, "The foundation of effective leadership is thinking through the organization's mission, defining it and establishing it, clearly and visibly ... The leader's first task is to be the trumpet that sounds a clear sound."

Getting better in the superintendency is frequently in the eye of the beholder. You may find yourself beholden to a board of education whose moment of triumph may be your resignation. It is beyond the grasp of this writer to explain the vagrant ways of some school board actions. Suffice it to say that if you have a supportive school board, your moments of triumph can come more often.

First, consider the warp-speed of change in our technical, organizational and personal lives. Second, consider the major forces driving us to frame new problems and solutions to different issues. Third, revisit the power of vision and how a shared vision can inspire others to embrace, as researchers Carl Glickman and Ed Pajak once called, "a cause beyond oneself" that gives faith, hope and love to others and a commitment to never give up in times of despair.

The New Millennium

We are caught in an age of keeping up with the Bill Gates of the world. Windows here, windows there, miniaturization and speed of light information processing.

In a few months we enter the new millennium we have been talking about for decades. Will the 21st century live up to its advanced billing in terms of medical breakthroughs, a healthy environment, information technologies, global communications and world peace, and above all, the length and quality of life?

We have fiber-optic cable spanning the globe to send a million bits of information at the speed of light, virtual reality that is too real (at least in movies and thrill rides), forms of artificial intelligence, gene cloning with the capability of creating new organs for transplants and new human beings. We have pocket-sized and wearable computers and smart cards to monitor our health, handle our banking and shopping, remind us of birthdays and anniversaries and cook our meals.

We have gone far into outer space on a seven-year trip to Saturn with the spaceship Cassini, loaded with plutonium as an alternative power source when it races out of the sun's power. We learn that quantum physics is changing its old theory base to one of connectivity and relationships to all matter and the other sciences. In this era of chaos theory we realized that systemic change is our best path. Everything is tied to something else.

Driving Forces

In this time of warp-speed change the following four forces must be met head-on if triumphant moments are to happen in your life as a superintendent. Among these forces are: (1) school governance at the local and state levels; (2) school funding for teachers and facilities; (3) accountability to the public for student performance; and (4) privatization and other forms of school choice.