The Systems Thinker's Prayer

O Holy Spirit Paraclete of Life please grant me the wisdom and profound knowledge to better serve the benefit of ALL as opposed to oneself.

 Once I was asked what is the difference between wisdom and knowledge. In my understanding I see knowledge as being an expert in a particular subject area were wisdom can only be gained over time that is developed through many trials, tribulations, exultations and experiences of life.

I dedicate this to the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming - 

qg

Educational Leaders Operate in a "Command and Control" Environment

I am totally convinced the majority of educational systems in the Untied States operate in a Command and Control environment.

The problem lays in the fact that people in positions of authority think they are Leading (They are Commanding). However, they operate in a short-term vacuum that expects immediate results from non-systemic thinking. They think they are Managing (They are Controlling).

So what does that mean? It means many educational leaders do not understand how to run an organization (School. District) from an end-to-end-process philosophy.

So what does that mean? They have no concept of "By What Method?" It's about just doing rather than thinking and planning for the long-term based on factual data and talking to customers and employees (Parents, Students, Teachers/Staff). It's about as a leader stop thinking you know what caused the problem from your office and get your butt out in the classrooms and teacher lounges and parent committee meetings and stop tampering with what might be a stable system (Stable does not necessarily mean good).