David Drucker

Systems thinking is a novel idea that, in theory, should create a better school
environment for ALL stakeholders involved. The leader of the building should be the ON the
system instead of in the system. The phrase on the system means to be observing the system
along with making sure the system is running to its full potential. Once the leader gets involved
with the system, it begins to fall apart. The leader needs to step up, she or he needs to make it
a free-flowing machine. Seems as though that a leader is left with an easy task, let the system
do its job. Unfortunately, leadership is not so easy. Throughout the remainder of this paper,
there will be some analysis and speculation as to why leadership, specifically in a school
system, is complex and difficult. There is no cookie cutter way to be a great leader, but there are
strategies available to leader to help create success in their current systems.
Some leaders are lucky enough to have a system in place, while others have a broken
system given to them. The job as a leader is to make the system successful, so if the system is
already successful, the leader must keep it running smoothly. What if there is no system in
current existence? What a daunting task to ask a leader to do on their own. However, the great
news is the task does not have to be done alone. To start a healthy system, the leader needs to
develop values of the school. These values need to be free flowing for the leader because ALL
staff members must see these values in their leader. These values need to be educationally
based. If a leader wants the staff to believe “All means all” they need to step up and prove to
everyone that those are the values of the school. Along with values, the system needs to have a
clear purpose. Every person within the system must be pointed in the same direction as far as
purpose goes. If a school defines a purpose, it is the leader’s job to NOT give any wiggle room
to any staff members. Once the leader shows weakness in the values or purpose of a school,
then they lose the people on their staff. Speaking of staff, a system can not properly run without
the proper staff involved. Leaders do not have one hundred percent authority of who is hired,
however, they need to be able to find what their system needs. The people in the system is
what makes it run, if there is a person who is not fully on board with the vision or purpose, it is
the leader’s job to get them on board. All in all, get the right people and get a vision that people
can support. That combo will get everyone going in the right direction, and that is the start of
getting the system up and running.
Then there is the opposite end, a failing system. Systems face challenges every single day.
Unfortunately, the leaders of those systems try to patch the system instead of finding the root
cause. And guess what, those patches work, for a short amount of time. Leaders need to dig
down to the heart and soul of the problems within their system. There are leaders that may
blame their system failures on the employees. One can have an insubordinate employee, but
there should be a system in place to either get rid of that staff member or give them professional
development to get them back on your team. Employees are a leader’s GREATEST asset. With
the correct values and vision, employees should be able to feel confident in the leader that they
are following. Once a staff member reveals flaws in the mission, vision or values of a leader, it
spreads like wild fire. These situations need to be addressed and handled promptly. Another
large flaw seen in systems would be time management. When the system sees their leader
spending too much time in one part of the building, they begin to feel as though they are not
important. Let’s talk about the hiring process. This is a crucial part of the system that sometimes
gets looked over. Leaders get a snapshot of these potential employees and have to a rational
decision about their ability to help the system in the long run. The hiring team needs to be
asking questions about the employees work ethic and the persons career vision. “Gut feelings”
play a massive role in the hiring process because of how quick these turn arounds are. When
 David Drucker

there is turnover every year, you must fit a team together based on just a few hours of knowing
a person. There are no test-runs, nor are there do overs once the contracts are out. The team
assembled must have a vision and should not be irrational when making a hire. Ask the right
questions, and if there is any hesitation, do not rush to say yes to someone. Lastly, trust needs
to be displayed in all systems. When the system lacks trust, no employee will believe in the
process. Be transparent and answer the why’s. People must know the reasons for why a system
is running in its current condition. If the whys are not answered, people become speculative.
One needs to be open to ALL parts of the system and everyone needs to be on the same page.
The idea of running a system seems to be straight forward from the outside, but I have
been a part of two school systems that appear to be broken and unfixable. Before talking about
the negatives, I will discuss things that are great. Currently there is an MTSS system that is
getting our students the correct intervention and extensions that suite their needs. In that
system we find our students that need extra supports within the first quarter. That system
involves very strategic communication and impeccable trust between teachers We ALL trust
each other that we are doing the right work within our classrooms. The numbers within our
MTSS system speak for themselves. Once we get them into an intervention seventy-five
percent of those students move to proficient by the end of the year. This system has been
worked on for years and continues to improve each day. Another positive is with our PLC
system. Our school has made it known, district wide, that we believe in PLC. Majority of our
teachers get excited about our PLC work because we know collaboratively we will raise our
students to unseen levels. It gives us a chance to bounce ideas off each other to give our
students critical knowledge and NOT to let things fall between the cracks. Even though those
two items are incredibly successful, there are issues with our overall system. First off, many
school decisions are made behind closed doors and no reasons are EVER discussed with staff
which creates a transparency issue. There is a view that there is a “leadership click” that goes
on throughout the school day. We have adults tattling on each other about other teachers.
Those teachers then get disciplined by the principal. This trust issue is a big deal. No one wants
to report to ANYONE in this “click” because we fear repercussions. When trust is broken, staff
does not follow the mission or values of the leader. Our other major systematic issue is where
our principal delegates his time. He will only stop into lead teachers’ room to observe lessons.
Many staff members have requested him to visit their rooms and he will not make any time,
unless it is a lead teacher. In the hallways, this principal will not acknowledge anyone except a
handful of teachers. This rubs people the wrong way and makes them feel unwanted in their
school. Employees are the greatest asset in a school, get them on your side to ensure success.

In conclusion, systems are a difficult beast to tackle. A leader must have a game plan
and a vision for what they want their system to look like. In my mind, to start a successful
system, the leader needs to build relationships with all employees. In a larger district, it may be
difficult to personally know all of them. A helpful strategy may be to use rounding. As mentioned,
employees are our greatest assets in a school. How do you get them on your side? Lead by
example, show them your vision and values, then live them! People need to trust the person
they are working for. Keep them in the loop and treat them like professionals. Give them the
difficult conversations and tell them why the school is moving a specific direction. Be an open
book, and in the end remember the true values of the school!