The Connected Christian School Administrator

 

The Connected Christian School Administrator

To survive in today’s 21^st century Western culture school climate, the Christian school administrator must be an individual who actively pursues connection. The synergistic pressures created by American culture, Academia, accreditation, finances, consumer satisfaction, student achievement, government regulations and mandates, and global health crises are not always detrimental, they can and do naturally provide for a school to be excellent in their strivings, but they are pressures nonetheless, and they require the Christian school leader to be a connected one. Marx (2006) affirms this:

Isolation is expensive. Why? Because the new coin of the realm is information and relationships. What we know and who we know both count. Unless we are firmly connected to those we depend on and those we serve, we will likely lose touch, and that’s something we can’t afford to do (p.9).

The cultural expectation is that an administrator would be knowledgeable in all the aforementioned areas, but to have a high level of knowledge in each of these areas is unquestionably unreasonable. It is impossible for an administrator to know everything to its fullest extent, and though each administrator has various levels of knowledge in different fields, he is not omniscient, and will require assistance from others to be effective. For example, what institute of higher learning trained its future educational graduates about how to navigate a pandemic? No one could have predicted our current health crisis. Or what educational doctoral student twenty-five years ago understood graphic design or web design? Yet this is now the status quo, schools without an attractive website are considered poor and unorganized programs. What is true and what every administrator should be cognizant of is that “you can’t make extraordinary things happen by yourself” (Kouzes & Posner, 2017, p. 217).

It would be costly if an administrator were to insulate himself from the influence of others, or if he disregarding others promulgated himself as some all-knowing guru, or if he were unwilling to humble himself by acknowledging his own weaknesses and need for connectivity; that is, costly for both him and the ministry he was hired to oversee. The idea of a self-made man is false, we live and breathe the influence of others. Behind the seeming marble features of great men, are the fingerprints of those who carved them.  

Solomon, through the apothegms of Proverbs, articulated the great need for a connected leader:

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14).“Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established” (Prov. 15:22). “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end” (Prov. 19:20). “For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory” (Prov. 24:6).

 It is important to note that there is a difference between networking and connection. In short, networking is knowing someone, but connection is engaging with them in meaningful ways. The difference is analogous to knowing of a potential person to marry versus marrying them.

Paul, though the greatest missionary of mankind, understood the importance of connection. He did not isolate himself from others. Besides his well-known journeying companions (Barnabas, John Mark, Onesimus, Luke, Silas, Priscilla, Aquilla, etc.) the thirteen Pauline Epistles are replete with names of specific individuals in each church, including around twenty names of individuals in the Church of Rome (Romans 16). Though this article is mainly about administrative connection for educational and personal growth, much can be said about the emotional support and friendship that supports the mental health of the administrator. Paul acknowledges this in Colossians 4:11, “these only are my fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort to me.”

 However, connection does not flow in one direction; just as much as the administrator should be willing to learn from others, he also must endeavor to impart his knowledge to others with the same energy. Paul understood this principle when he penned to the Church in Corinth, “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you” (II Cor. 12:5). Again, Paul authenticates this through the three groups mentioned in II Timothy 2:2: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” The three groups listed in this verse (many witnesses, faithful men, others also) describe the importance of knowledge transference. It would be reckless for an absorbing administrator to then resist being squeezed, a tragedy of broken potential.

Another observation is that the administrator need not always to connect outside of his sphere of influence, the individuals that comprise his school: school board members, teachers, parents, alumni, and even current students, all are individuals that the administrator can glean from and from whom he can garner support. Often, wisdom and the transferring of knowledge are perceived as limited to those who are older or more experienced than us, but I have found that even a child can give great insight. People often provide insight on ways to improve specific functions of a Christian school.  Jim Collins (2001) notes this in his conversation with a prominent business CEO:

When asked to name the top five factors that led to the transition from mediocrity to excellence, Bruckart said, ‘One would be people. Two would be people. Three would be people. Four would be people. And five would be people.’ (p. 54)

 The connection of a Christian school administrator to others is of great importance. He cannot simply stand alone, no man can, especially one responsible for so many people under his shepherding. Yes, the pressures are great, sometimes unbearable; they have a habit of bringing us to prayerful knees and the comfort of our colleagues. It is necessary that we have each other, otherwise, we and our schools cannot survive.

 

Copyright (Picture):

"Scattered puzzle pieces next to solved fragment" by Horia Varlan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

References:

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap...and others don't [Kindle 

             Edition]. HarperCollins.    

 Kouzes, J. & Posner B. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in

            organizations (6^th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.

 Marx, G (2006). Future-focused leadership: Preparing schools, students, and communities for

            tomorrow’s realities. ASCD