More Parent Leadership is Needed

It has been my experience over the past twenty years of involvement with parent groups, community groups, teachers, schools, faith-based, and other volunteer-dependent organizations, that leadership matters.  No great surprise there, I am sure, but where does it come from?  Where do you find leadership in these organizations?

I also came to realize that leadership can be learned.

Business organizations spend millions on leadership training and leadership development programs.  Why?  Because it works and it pays a sizable return on their investment.  In other words… it’s worth doing.  In order for people to look within and dare to bring out the “leadership version” of themselves they have to be motivated.  In business – there is a salary to keep, a promotion to gain, and a career to build.  This motivates.  In volunteer-dependent organizations the motivation is there, but it is more subtle and elusive.  In both instances, the motivation – like all motivations – is rooted in caring. 

Volunteer-dependent organizations draw amazing achievement from an unpaid workforce.  How?  Because their people care, and often… passionately.  In our schools, parents are a volunteer force.  An army of potential doers, thinkers, and achievers.   What is the source of their caring?  Their love for their children.  However, it is not enough to depend on this motivation to carry effectiveness into achievement.  They care, but like most people, their leadership version of themselves has not been trained, taught, exercised, or developed.  For schools to receive the greatest impact from this army of volunteers, parent leadership must be developed. 

Experiential training with a dual focus is needed – focusing on the “how” and the “what” of parent groups. 

One focus needs to be on how positive influences emerge and increase within the group.  This means they need to be watchful and aware of what is causing their peers to gather, to become more willing, to become organized, and to achieve valuable results.  Too often a new parent leader will be given a stage from which to be heard and they become lost within the elixir of an engaged audience, speaking long after their point has been made.  Too often, a veteran member is elected chair or president only to fall away from serving and resort to over-controlling.  The problem isn’t their willingness.  It’s their understanding of leadership.  They are not studying the impact of their influence so they can make internal adjustments toward more effectiveness.  They have the opportunity to make a positive influence, to increase the power of the group’s caring and motivations, but due to inexperience, they fail to recognize what works. 

The second focus needs to be on improving education for all students.  This focus is the only foundational cause that all parents can get behind.  From this foundation all ideas, endeavors, and efforts make sense and build power.  Too often parents fail to see the big picture, fail to realize the enormity of their potential impact.  Yes, their caring and motivation is rooted in their love for their own children, but it only takes turning to the left or to the right to see that there are many parents who have children to care about, too.  This doesn’t mean competition.  It means there is a potential to combine forces of love and goodness, on a huge scale; a scale that will actually create incredible advantages for their child as well. 

Within these two areas of focus anyone who wants to participate can find challenging pursuits – either existing opportunities, or new initiatives – with rewarding outcomes.  Knowing how to become a more effective leader is imperative.  Knowing what to draw people toward is vitally important.  This is how large volunteer-dependent organizations create unity and massive impact. 

High tide raises all boats.  Imagine what 500 unified voices would sound like.  5,000?  In San Diego Unified, with more than 200,00 parents, just a quarter of that number – 50,000 parents – could create a “high tide” of influence to improve things across the district.  What keeps this from happening?  A lack of leadership.  I am not criticizing anyone here.  I am saying that there is a need, a dearth of something valuable, and it happens to be available.  So why not do what we can to increase parent leadership?  That’s all I am saying.