Training Subversives - The Ethics of Leadership Preparation

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Training Subversives: The Ethics of Leadership PreparationAuthor(s): Frederick C. Buskey and Eric M. PittsSource: The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 91, No. 3 (Nov., 2009), pp. 57-61Published by: Phi Delta Kappa InternationalStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40345091 .

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Mping Subversives: TheEthics^^C^^k ofLeadership reparation^^^^^^^^^^fil Aspiringrincipals ust earnmore han do no harm.'^^^^^^^^I^^Hj Theymust lso learn o do good.'^^H^^^H^^^V ByFrederick . Buskey nd EricM.Pitts||^H^PP^:'^-i^HHHHHHtt||^|opher Benjaminonstant^H Wi I *"**"I1PI!M ineadership^^H ^H -M.developmentecause it can be such an uncomfortableroposition.^^^K ,^H Constant uggested hat arbitraryowerwillhave dividedmenof^^H ^H superiorntelligencentotwogroups: heformer illbe seditious,he^H H latter orrupt"1989: 126).

^^^^K ^^H FREDERICK C. BUSKEY is an assistantprofessorf educational eadership,Western arolinaUniversity,^^^Bjj^H Cullowhee,North arolina. RIC M. PITTS is a graduate tudentn ommunityounseling tWestern arolina^^^^B^^B University,ullowhee,North arolina.

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58 Kappan November009 pdkintl.org

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Likewise, Starrattdescribes two overarchingforms fresponsibility to do no harm ndto dogood 2004).While traditionalchool icensure ro-gramsmay eadequate tpreparingeaders odo noharm, rtoavoidbecoming yrants,here'sittle v-idence that theseprograms repare eaders to dogood. Inmany choolcultures, oinggoodmay n-deed nvolve ctsof edition.Principalicensure reparation rogramsmaybepreparingchool eadersforneither ption, hoos-ingto eavetochancewhowillbecome editious rtyrannical, ithmany eaderswinding p in a no-person's and where heydo notcommitharmbutconsistentlyail o do good.Many leadership ro-grams hat rain uture rincipals perate n an as-sumption hat the principal s themostpowerfulperson nthe chooland candrive hangefrom hetop.But, nNorthCarolina,for xample, rogramcompletersendto become assistant rincipalsndleadteachersndfrequentlyaveno mandate or e-form. venwhen spiringchool eadersmove ntopositions f hierarchicalupremacy, hey're ftenconfronted ith chool cultures hat re so focusedon test cores hat very ther onsiderationales ncomparison.A DIFFICULTQUESTION

At WesternCarolinaUniversity,n theopeningweek ofthefirst ore eadership lass,we questionour K-12 colleagues bout their ssumptionsboutschool eadership. mong hese uestionss a seriesofthree nterconnectedueries:1 Have youeverpurposefullyubvertedrsabotaged norder, irective,rogram,rpolicy?2. Ifnot, ould or shouldyou?3 Ifso,wouldyoutellus about t?Students isplay widerangeofresponses. orexample,Wendel aid, No. I have lways ried o domybest ofollow rders ndbe a teamplayer." im-

ARTICLETAGLANCESometimes, eaders have to be subversivesnordertodo good. Leadersneed totakefive teps beforepracticing ubversion, ncludingbeing informed,probing, heckingpersonalethics,preparing,ndacting. Strategiesforethical subversionincludetracking,impleactions designed to delay imple-mentationf directive;ircumnavigating,orkingaround hedirective rchangingts mplementation;and breaching, inkinghe directive.

ilarly,ricia tated, I havenever eengiven n or-deror directivehat havehad to makethatdeci-sion." n contrast, ictoria elated:There were number fpolicies let slidefor hisstudent,rograms ignored s theywerenot n hisbest nterest.foughtexcusemy anguage) ikehellforhim, ndhopewith ll ofmyheart hat t wasnot nvain.Ellen shared, I havepurposefullyubvertednorder from n assistantprincipal t my currentschoolby nsistinghat student ot be long-termsuspended."Somestudents ttached egative onnotationsothe dea of ubversion,s in Mona'sresponse:Youhave obewillingo tand pforwhat ou e-lieve srightor tudents andbewillingobringyour oncernso the able. t's asy o subvertndpretendgnorance.t's ometimesard obehon-est ndput tout here.Others, ikePatrick, ut a positive pinon theword:Mydad was a colonelntheU.S. Armyndyouhave o understandhat ismissingrders asnota. familyradition!am, lthough,big oy owand anhonestlyay hat . . hopefullycan ven-tuallyill his ox on he uestionist]with realzinger!PerhapsBaird'sreflectionummedup best thecomplexityf thequestionwhenhe stated:Afterhinkingbout his or few ays,don't e-lieve have.Atfirst,thoughthathis sbad ndthat urely've had theopportunityo stand pagainstbaddirectiverpolicy.he truths,how-ever,hat 'veworked nderome reat rincipalswhonever skedme odoanythinghatwould otbe n he nterestf tudents.lso,'mnot warefany olicieshat ave eennegativeither.'mgo-ingto continueo thinkbout his uestion,t'sburningnside fme!Baird's tatementhows hatmany eoplehaven't

been challenged o think bout the meanings rethicsbehind rulesand policies they're outinelyasked ocarryut.He alsohelps s see that hekindsofthings hat ne is asked odo candependon theleadership n each individual chool. Finally, orBaird and manyothers,gaining deeperunder-standinghatwill llow them o answer hese ues-tionswithmorecomplexitysimportant.FORMS OF SUBVERSION

Expanding nthis heme, tarrattoints utthatsubversionmightoccur in two broad contexts


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(2009).The firstmaybe easily ecognized s resist-inga policy, irective,rpractice hatwould, f m-plemented, arm tudents. his form f resistanceis inherentn the tensionbetweenustice nd careandmay e understoods the harge o do noharm.The second ontexts one inwhich he chool tself- through xistingulture, ractice,rgovernance- inherentlyenies pportunityo someor all stu-

themto deal withthe challengesof working namoralsituations?As our students etterunder-standwhatconstitutesthics nd justice, heybe-comeoverwhelmedythenumber f ethical on-flictshey xperience.When should hey tand ndfight?When shouldtheyremainquiet?Aspiringleaders nour classes ftenimit hemselvesothesetwo uestions. heyalso imit hemselvesotwo p-

As our students betterunderstandwhat constitutesethics and justice, theybecome overwhelmedbythe numberof ethical conflictstheyexperience.

dents. n such an environment,he eader sproac-tive nresistingesires f theorganizationnorderto achievegood,notmerely oprevent arm.Forexample, social tudies eam eadermay ni-tiate n efforto collaborativelylanwithhis col-leaguesand to developauthenticearning xperi-ences in the teachers' lasses that enrich tudentlearning. nassistant rincipalmay ead theestab-lishment f special xperience or t-riskreshmenin order to prevent hem fromfailingEnglish.These effortsreproactiven that hey reworkingtoachievegood,andtheymaybe subversiventhatpowerful lements f the school culture expecta-tions, tradition, therleaders)may oppose suchchanges.A series fnoted cholars asemphasized thicalpractice.Murphy suggested reculturing"choolleaderpreparationroundthe threemetaphors fmoralsteward, ducator, nd community uilder(2002: 7). Earlier, tarratt ffered frameworkfthree omplementarythics: ustice, are,and cri-tique 1991). Fullan 2003) pressed or moral m-perativehat sapplied o evelsfrom he ndividualto the chool, egion, ndsociety s a whole. nher-ent neach ofthese allsfor differentind f ead-ership ontext s theexpectationhat chool eadersneed o act.This means hey otonlyneed tomodelservice ndcaring, utthey eedto remake rgani-zations ntoplaces hat ncourage ervice ndcaringby all players.Gross and Shapiroconnectmorallearning o democratic choolstructuresndarguefor modelofschool mprovementhat's xplicitlylinked o social ustice 2005). Grossasks, Will weprepare generationfobedient unctionarieserv-inga bureaucraticccountabilityegime, rwillweprepare newkind f eaderwhocanbuild a dem-ocratic-ethical isionfor the school and the sur-rounding ommunity?"2006).How do we developschool leaders ntomoralstewards nd servant eaders?How do we prepare

tions:denyor comply. o becomemoreeffectiveleaders, heymust xpandboththeir uestions ndthepotentialnswers o those uestions.GETTING BEYOND "FIGHT OR FLIGHT"School leadersneedmorenuancedoptions hansimply ightrflight,erhapsmore ptly ermedr-gue or obey.Weoffersimplemodel hat's eenadapted romKing'sbriefdescriptionn his 1963 "LetterfromBirminghamityJail."Kingdescribed our teps nanynonviolent rotest: Collection f the facts o determine hetherinjusticesxist; Negotiation; Self-purification;nd Directaction 2000).Based on feedback romK-12 colleagues,we'vemodifiedheprocess o that chool eaders anap-ply t to a widerrangeofsituations,oth arge ndsmall.Wepresent linear rocess, lthoughnprac-tice, it's probablymore iterative s one worksthroughmultiple ecisionpoints. Inform ourself Collectall of thenecessaryinformationo make n educated ssessmentof the ituation. ave youheardfrommultiplesidesand sources?How reliable syourinformation? hat's he timeframe?Whatpolitics ndpersonalitynderlie he ituation?What'stheethical ostorpotential orharmto others?What's he ethical otential orgoodtoothers? Probe- Trynegotiation. egin ow-levelresistance. orexample, curriculumcoordinatornstructedoimplementhethirdnewwriting rogramn four earsmay eektodelay mplementationnd test hedistrict's

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commitmenty asking uestions, raggingherfeet, rrequestingdditional nformation. Personal thical hecking Identifyhe rootof theethical onflict. heckclosely orpersonal iases.Gauge the oulful amageofcompliance ersus hepossiblephysical/emotional ostsof conflict.dentifyheextenttowhichyou'rewilling oengage naction. Prepare Assess ndgather esources.Develop a planfor ction. Act Initiate ction trategies.ARTISTIC INSUBORDINATION

Bergmannnd Brough llustrate egrees f fol-lowerships concentricingswith upportersn theinside nd resistersn theoutside2007). Theycat-egorizeresisters s passive, ctive,or subversive.BergmannndBrough ssume hat eaderships inthe nterior f the circle.However,whathappens fleadershipspart f he esistance? ow do"leaders,"who re upposed o be at the enter f he ings,eadfrom he outermargins?n moving he eaderfromthecenter o theoutside fBergmannndBroughsillustration,emaygainsome clues about effectiveresistancenreactive ndproactiveorms.Not everyituation ill allfor he amerange faction.To help leadersanalyze pecific ituations,use a contextual rameworkor ngagingnethicalaction ndartisticnsubordination.FIG. 1RelationshipsBetween Cost,Compliance, and Resistance

Figure1offerspossible rameworkor ecidingwhen to comply,when to engage n passiveresist-ance,and when to engage nactive esistance. hechoices f ypes f ction ange romimple nd safe(for nstance,talling n implementationo test heseriousness f thedirective) o risky nd complex

(contactinghird arties ndasking hem o deliverinformationo boardmembers).How far leaderwillgo intaking ction an be assessedbytheper-ceivedmoral ostof omplying ith hedirective.highermoralcost ndicates higher evelof com-mitmentndmorewillingnesso use actions hat reriskier nd morecomplex.Strategies an be lumped ntothree implifiedgroupings.Tacking strategiesnvolvegenerallyimple c-tions esigned o test he ommitmentf he ystemto thedirectives r to delay mplementationntilthe ituationhanges.Circumnavigatingnvolves igherevels fcre-ativityndrisk. he goal ofcircumnavigatings towork round he directivesrchange henature ftheir mplementationo mitigate henegative f-fects.Breachingstrategiesre ntended osink hedi-rective. reaching aninvolve omethings simpleas "drawing line nthe and"andfightingdirec-tivehead on. Often, owever,tmay nvolve ighlycomplexmachinations,utthegoal salways o endthedirective,nd the evelof risk s understoodobehigh.Key to theprocessofpreparingeaders o takeethical ction sequipping hemwith ools o do so.Sharp outlined both a method and 198 specificstrategies orwagingnonviolent truggle gainstdictatorshipsnd totalitarianegimes2003). Fu-turework n preparingeaders or rtisticnsubor-

dinationmustnclude he daptationf number fthese trategieso the schoolarena and guidelinesforwhen ndhow toapply hem.IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

While the all for evelopingmoral tewardssatoncevalid, dmirable,ndessential,henecessityfpreparinghem o stay lean nthemessyworld fdysfunctionalchools s also imperative.ailure odo so is tantamounto fatteningp the ambsonlyto lead them to slaughter. owever,the pathtoteaching thical esistances ittered ith uestions.What is the differenceetween maverick nd abrigand? ow ethical s t toprepareeaders or hepossibilityf ubvertinghevery rganizationshatwillbeemployinghem?How ethicals ttonot re-pare eaders o exercise ll oftheir owersn"takingtheproactiveesponsibilitiesf eadership"Starratt2004).Perhaps this whole path of exploration aisesmorequestions han tanswers, utexploringhispath s importantven as we workto answer hequestionst raises.As our tudentsxpand heir n-derstandings f ethical eadership, heysee thatschools are complicatedenvironments ifewith

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conflicts fresponsibility. hen a particular -12colleaguebeginningurprogramwaswilling oletgoof situationnwhich studentwaswrongly e-niedreadmission,he aterdeclared, I'mnot donewith hisyet."Whenwe,as teachers,reate heop-portunityorherto make uch a commitment,he,as a colleague,trusts s withtheresponsibilityoprovidethe context, he tools, and the skills totackle uch ssues. ICREFERENCESBergmann,herrel,ndJudith rough. ead Me - IDareYou:ManagingResistance to School Change. Larchmont,N.Y.:Eyeon Education, 007.Constant, enjamin. TheSpiritfConquestand Usurpation."InPoliticalWritings,d. BancamariaFontana.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityress,1989.Fullan,Michael.The Moral mperativefSchool Leadership.ThousandOaks, Calif.: orwin ress,2003.Gross,Steven."(Re-)ConstructingMovement or ocialJusticenOur Profession."nternationallectronic ournal orLeadershipnLearning 0,no. 31 (2006). www.ucalgary.ca/iejll/vol10/gross.

Gross, Steven, nd JoanShapiro. OurNewEraRequiresNew Deal: TowardsDemocratic thical ducationalLeadership."UCEAReview46, no. 3 (2005): 1 4.King,Martinuther,r. Letterrom irminghamity ail."nClassicalWestern extsnFeministnd MulticulturalPerspectives, d. James Sterba.NewYork:Oxford niversityPress,2000.Murphy, oseph. "Reculturinghe Profession f EducationalLeadership:NewBlueprints."ducationalAdministrationQuarterly8, no. 2 (2002): 176-191.Sharp,Gene. FromDictatorshipoDemocracy:A ConceptualFrameworkor iberation. oston:Albert insteinnstitution,2003.Starratt, obertJ."Buildingn Ethical chool: ATheory orPractice nEducational eadership." ducationalAdministrationuarterly7, no. 2 (1991): 185-202.Starratt,obertJ. Ethical eadership. an Francisco:Jossey-Bass, 2004.Starratt, obertJ.E-mailmessage totheauthor, ebruary,2009.

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Training Subversives - The Ethics of Leadership Preparation