I know that I still owe some answers from last week’s post, but this week I’ve been thinking a lot about partnerships and how critical they are in educational leadership. While many of mankind’s great accomplishments were achieved by individuals, so many great partnerships stand out just as much: Adams and Jefferson, Watson and Crick, Lennon and McCartney, Orville and Wilbur. Peanut butter and chocolate.

I was fortunate as an assistant principal earlier in my career to work with principals who believed in shared leadership. While it was always clear that the buck stopped at the big chair, I always felt like a partner in the leadership and decision-making processes of those schools. Consequently, when I became a building principal, I approached leadership in much the same way. I was taken aback when my new staff wan’t prepared for that paradigm. I inherited a fairly top-down system, and a clear hierarchy existed in the school’s governance. It wasn’t until I had been in place for several years and was able to be involved in choosing my assistant principal, that the principles of shared leadership could truly be executed. I was extremely lucky in the partner and friend I found in my second AP (now a principal himself). Not only were we aligned in our philosophies, but we were consistently able to devilishly advocate when we found ourselves with divergent viewpoints. I became a better principal when I had a partner and some time foil. I mean no disrespect to his predecessor, but he was of a different era and leadership style.

I am lucky to have found another great partner in leadership here at Highland Tech. Having worked here longer than anyone else, my assistant principal is both institutional memory and co-visionary. She can get down in the trenches (she actually teaches one class and co-teaches another with me) and she can look at the big picture and envision even greater things for our students and staff. It makes it so much easier to be the new guy when you luck into that kind of support. While I again “inherited” an assistant principal, I couldn’t have chosen a better one. To all new principals or aspiring principals, never ever underestimate the critical necessity of sharing leadership with the right partner.

Personal, not cultural observation: So I think the real reason behind the focus on partnership is that this week will mark the 20th anniversary of the day I met my wife. With all due respect, any partner I have had or will have professionally will never measure up to the partner I have personally. She’s going to abhor this attention, but anything and everything I have accomplished and will accomplish professionally I owe to her support, her belief, her intelligence, her guidance, her keen perception, and her love. This post (if you haven’t guessed already) is dedicated to her.