I've seen the chaos of those entirely oblivious to the shenanigans happening in classrooms because they prefer to lead with their heads in the sand. I've sweat buckets under the watchful eye of the micromanagers who show no confidence in the professionals they hired to do the job they were trained to do.
But the most effective school leader I've ever known has an entirely different approach. He leads by love.
Steve West is one of a kind. He is six foot twenty-two, or something like that, and probably the kindest, most tender-hearted guy I've known in education. Working for him and with him was a joy.
He's been in education for a while, but the last 11 years of his career have been at Greenways Intermediate. This is where I met him, 11 years ago.
I don't think he has any magical educational powers or super genius educational methods. What he does have is a giant heart that translates to knowing his 800+ students by name each year. Kids have to jump up high to reach his high five, but it's the highlight of their day. They may not have daddy's at home, but there is a big teddy bear at school who always has a ready hug and smile.
The Greenways family is unique. People want to work for Mr. West. Again, not because of his instructional genius, but because of his love. Mr. West loves his faculty and staff with the same generosity as his students. In a world where hugs are so often frowned on, Mr. West still hugs his people.
He knows what is going on in their lives. The GIS family has had its share of heartache over the 11 years it's been open, but this past year stretched them to the brink. They've lost spouses and children, parents and friends. They've shed buckets of tears together all while going about the business of loving and educating kids. Oh yeah, and passing tests. Because that's what we do in education.
Don't get me wrong, Mr. West is not perfect. There were a number of times in my eight years there when I was accused of flipping him off in my mind...for good reason. We didn't always agree on the execution of plans. I occasionally wanted him to be a little more of the lead by fear guy when someone wasn't taking care of business. But I never once questioned his love for the kids, the faculty, or me.
In May of my seventh year at Greenways, I found myself in the depths of the worst possible pit of personal struggle. My marriage was crumbling around me and I was in a place of extreme crisis and fear. Besides my two best friends and my family in Houston, for quite some time, the only people in my professional life who knew what was going on were my other counselor and Mr. West.
I was most definitely not at my best professionally, and I needed him to know why. His approach? Love. And grace. He didn't ask questions, and I didn't offer details. He offered a daily hug, or several. He allowed me to change positions in order to accommodate my pending legal frustrations and eventual move back home.
More than that, he never doubted my ability to do my job. He continued to treat me as a professional and expressed the same confidence in me as a counselor that he always had. And in a time of extreme self doubt, this was a healing balm.
I came back to Amarillo this weekend for a party in my honor. An opportunity for my Amarillo family to meet my new loves. And who was there to share in my joy? My Greenways family, of course.
Neither before nor since have I experienced this degree of family in my career. I get it from my actual family. And my church family in Houston is a rock. But professionally, this level of bond is rare.
And at its heart is Steve West, more specifically, his heart. He gets teary and choked up at the drop of a hat. He hugs his people with total disregard for political correctness. He high fives and hugs even the stinkiest and dirtiest of kids. And we love him for it.
He knows PLCs and data. Best practices and strategic learning. His campus improvement plan is as good as they get. But his leadership is all heart. He's just loving people. And it works.
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