Superintendent Interview

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Leland Williams the retiring superintendent of Dickinson ISD. The transfer officially took place on September 1, 2011. Dr. Williams is currently serving in an advisory role through November to assist the new superintendent Vicki Mims, who was the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services. Dr. Williams was the superintendent for Dickinson ISD for 16 years. He was the longest-seated superintendent in Texas. He has served students in Texas as an educator for more than 30 years. One of the first things he said was that as you progress higher through an organization, you must trade management skills for leadership skills. You cannot do everything, so you must give up control in order to gain leadership ability/capacity. He defined leadership as the ability to understand the parameters of a situation and be able to work with others in that situation so that they will follow you. He also said that leadership cannot be taught, but it must be learned. The positive aspects of leading a school district include having the opportunity to select the right people and place them in the right position to achieve the goals of the organization. He described a good superintendent as having the following qualities: high energy, good listener, understand problem solving, highly visible, and always “firm, fair, and consistent.” He had good advice about working with boards of trustees: communication is crucial; you must set high expectations; do not ever lecture them; lead by actions and conversations; understand where they are coming from; let them have the power but not the control; inform but don’t offend; and be consistent over time. With regards to strategic planning, he referred back to the idea that one person cannot do it all; you must hire the right people, put them in the right place, and get out of their way. He said you must lead by conversations and not directives. He clarified the difference between strategic plans and tactical/action plans. Strategic plans are visionary and long-term; the war. Tactical/Action plans are concerned with daily operations and have specific objectives and activities to fulfill the strategic plans; the battles. Then he quoted General Patton in reference to Texas Aggies, and said you may lose a battle, but you want to win the war. In fact, sometimes you lose a small battle on purpose. I could go on. Dr. Williams was a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. Our interview lasted an hour and could have lasted all day. If I can be half the superintendent he was I’ll be golden.