I was speaking with the superintendent of a mid-sized district in the Midwest this week. He is an old friend and someone I regard as an expert in education leadership and school leadership.  We had not had a chance to connect in some time. He was updating me on developments with a school administrator in his districts and we were sharing thoughts on all manner of tangentially related topics.

“Response Fear” is a sometimes irrational skepticism of survey respondents who fear their loss of confidentiality. We can all imagine a scenario in which a feared school administrator (or a related school leadership position) uses survey data to explore the hearts and minds of his or her team.

Chapel Hill 7th and 8th Grade Center is a middle school on the west side of Indianapolis that was in need of a new school administrator. MSD of Wayne Township Superintendent Dr. Terry Thompson has overseen an impressive series of building initiatives which, most recently, included rebuilding the school into a state-of-the-art facility.

Many of my clients are masters of educational leadership and, as such, are anxious to learn about how their teachers really feel. Principals typically feel as if they know whether teachers are generally pleased or not with their current lot. But, if their teachers are unhappy, just how unhappy are they? If their teachers are highly committed, how highly committed are they?

In my work with schools in the area of education leadership, I have seen all forms of resistance to change. In some groups of educators, their focus on the status quo is difficult to spot which make it difficult for school leadership and educational leadership whose focused is on implementing best practices in education. The untrained ear hears rational, logical arguments for current methodologies and current approaches. We can be quickly lulled into tranquility ... and loss of action.