A common refrain about leaders is that they have ‘lost touch.’ This often happens when leaders may not respond or act in the way that we think they should with regards to a given concern or situation. This can be frustrating for both the leaders who feel they have looked at all perspectives and made a carefully thought out decision, as well as those who will be ones who are most impacted by the decision in the day-to-day.

There is some merit to this concern, since things do change and evolve. The introduction of cell phones and social media was a new concern that is difficult to appreciate if it was not part of your classroom or school experience. Similarly, emergent technologies such as AI have created new experiences (both good and bad) for schools. If these things were not part of your lived working experience, then it becomes difficult to reflect on a working experience that you didn’t have. 

However, there are some things that remain unchanging. Dealing with difficult parents or staff members, leading change, and a variety of other issues are an inherent part of the role that remains more or less unchanging despite the passage of time. One of the difficult parts for leaders is recognizing which are similar, and which are novel experiences. 

While there is some truth to this, I think a larger part of it has to do with both the lenses through which it is viewed and the emotional disconnect rather than that ‘losing touch’. What I mean by this is that when encountering a situation that arises in a classroom, such as large numbers or implementing a new policy, a teacher and a leader view this through different lenses. The leader may be looking at it in terms of how this fits into the wider school or how it is balanced against a variety of other factors, while the teacher is likely thinking nuts and bolts of how it is going to work and affect certain kids in their care.

The important thing to note, that neither of these are wrong! But the conclusions drawn will be different depending on how you look at it and the priorities that you have. 

Perhaps even more important than the different perspectives, teachers and leaders are likely to have a different emotional response to the same situation. The further you are away from the implementation of the decision, the more your emotional response changes. For leaders, some of the challenges are almost academic in nature, whereas for educators, they represent a lived experience of stress. 

As an example, adding another student to a class is likely an academic decision, perhaps that particular class has the lowest number so the newly transferred student goes there. For the school leader, it is a decision that is likely made quickly and without much emotion. For the teacher receiving that new student, it becomes a flurry of concern. How will they interact with the class they have? What needs do they have? How will they fit another desk? Will this parent be an ally or a concern? Etc. 

It is also important to note that this goes the other way as well. For leaders, there may be outside pressures or stressors that a teacher might feel differently about. As an example, let’s look at student suspension. For a frustrated teacher, a student suspension may seem simple. If a student misbehaves, they go home. For the school leader, they may be considering the history and background of the student, potential appeals to the suspension, knowledge of the environment and consequences they are going home to that the teacher may be unaware of. To be clear, I’m not using this as a case against suspension or saying that no student should ever be suspended, just that the emotions involved by both parties are likely different due to the roles or knowledge they may have. .

While it is difficult to fully step into the shoes of another, I think that leaders can take steps to help bridge this gap in perspectives. 

To begin, I think it’s important that leaders work to ensure that they go into the space where the decisions play out. Generally, this will be the classroom since this is often where many decisions have the most effect. While in this space, it is vital that those teachers who are most impacted or have to implement the decisions be a part of the discussion when the decisions are made. Bringing their voice to the table to include it in the decision making progress can only be beneficial. We may think that we can use our own experiences to help us envision what someone wants, but because we are all different the best way to find out is to ask them.

Another is to accept that while it may not be a big deal for you, it may be a big deal to your teachers and so it is important to try and view through that frame of reference. Bringing outside perspective is fine to help keep things grounded and negotiate meaning, but it is also important not to lose how this impacts the person themselves.

The only way to truly navigate the disconnect is if both sides recognize it and are aware of it. There are times that those differing perspectives will lead to strong feelings about certain decisions being made. But through open, authentic and honest communication this divide can be overcome to make decisions that feel good to both sides, or, at least they will be able to be understood and accepted by both sides. The sooner we step into each other’s worlds and see through each other’s lenses, the better we can navigate this disconnect to create stronger schools.