When leadership fails

The recent news regarding the tragic circumstances surrounding the Penn State handling of the child sex abuse claims by former employees and that of Syracuse coach Bernie Fine should be a wake up call for leadership at all levels. These events clearly show that the leadership of the schools failed these children at many levels. And these schools are not alone. School systems across America at every level from pre-school through college have students who are being harassed and assaulted by the very same people that are meant to protect them. And when leadership gets wind of the allegations, even when details are often graphic in nature and clear and convincing testimony attests to the crimes, leaders at the top refuse to acknowledge the crimes. Instead, they minimize their concerns by putting their district, or school’s reputation above the moral imperative of not letting children be victimized by their teachers, coaches, and faculty, which will likely forever traumatize the victim. The legacies of these leaders will only be that of shame and failure to act when it mattered most.

Leadership at all levels should recognize and demand that morality and proper conduct are built into the policies and practices of their leadership roles. School districts and their leadership often state very clearly their core values are “moral,” and that they base them on things like “respect, integrity, and excellence,” but the reality is that there is often a significant disconnect between what they say and what they do. Hypocritical to the point that their transparency only reveals a lack of authenticity in their program and their leadership. If school systems and their leadership are to truly be accountable, they must at all times articulate the core values that they profess to be their defining culture and ensure that everyone involved at every level lives, eats, and breaths those core values with unwavering difference.

In an article published by Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D, titled What Happens When Leaders Fail to Lead?, he shares an age-old adage about managers versus leaders that says, “Managers do things right.and leaders do the right thing. So leadership is about doing the right thing-and it should always be about that. There should never be any exceptions to that rule, because that is when leaders fail.” By example, a school official reports the child abuse to the top leadership and leadership knows what is the right thing to do, but instead wavers from that path because taking the right course and doing the right thing may alienate some board or community members and hurt the leader’s chances for appointment or re-hiring. This is what happens more often than not, even at the highest levels of government office. “You can’t lead effectively if your actions are motivated by staying in power, rather than taking the right actions.” This is what often blinds the top leadership and helps create the rift between them and their moral obligations.

Over a decade ago, I authored a book (unpublished) titled Americas Schools: A Haven for Practicing Pedophiles. It researched the inside scoop on the information they didn’t want you to know. Convicts and pedophiles in America’s schools are found in alarmingly higher numbers each year. The research discusses the administrative decisions that are made to avert, divert, and covertly hide these people out of fear of school legal turmoil and lawsuits. It profiled hundreds of cases. However, today some 10 years later, the data is ten-fold that of my earlier research. We seem to be getting better at identifying and reporting these crimes, and the leadership of school districts seem to be getting better at covering them up. Unfortunate for the countless victims that will live with their experience forever, when leadership fails. (Craig H. Garrison)

Craig H. Garrison is a former principal of Marianas High School and Saipan Southern High School.