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Article
New Management
Copyright ©
All rights reserved
By Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.
A newly appointed principal was shocked to witness
several teachers haul away stacks of textbooks and supplies from an unattended
storage room. He searched for the janitor who held the only key to the space
and asked, “Who is responsible for controlling the inventory in the stock
room?”
“I am, sir,”
replied the janitor.
“Well, I just
saw a group of teachers walking out of there with supplies for which they had
no requisition form.”
“The
teachers usually give me a list of what they have taken after they have
stocked their classroom,” said the janitor. “They are pretty good about
returning excess materials.”
“I am not
sure it is such a good idea to allow teachers to have this kind of unlimited
access to the supplies,” said the principal. “Can we depend on them to be
completely honest about what they are doing?”
The
janitor scratched his head and stared at the principal and then replied, “We
trust them with the children, don’t we.”
A great
way to develop trust is to extend trust. Most people will live up to
expectations. Unfortunately, some will also live down to expectations. So
expect the best. More often than not you will get it.
For more information about
Ken Chapman and Associates’ Leadership Development Programs, contact Ken
Chapman at 205.366.0265 or email Ken at
kchapman@leaderscode.com.
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