Most educators want to work around good leadership. Why would we not? We want leaders who communicate clearly, make thoughtful decisions, support their people, and remain focused on what is best for students. We want to be part of an organization where leadership strengthens us rather than drains us.

This idea came to me, once again, while reading Sinclair Ferguson’s book, Things Unseen: One Year of Reflections on the Christian Life. In one of the devotionals, Ferguson writes about the importance of hearing good preaching and maintaining a desire to be around it. After reading that particular devotional, I thought, Yes, and could the same not be said about leadership?

So…

There is nothing wrong with wanting good leadership. In fact, good leadership is essential to the health of a school, district, university, or any other educational organization, or any organization, for that matter. However, I sometimes wonder whether we give as much attention to how we respond to leadership as we give to the quality of the leadership we receive.

We are often quick to evaluate our leaders. We examine their decisions, question their communication, and notice the areas in which they fall short. Some of that evaluation is necessary. Educational leaders should be held accountable, and poor leadership should never be excused simply because someone holds a position of authority.

At the same time, leadership is not experienced in a vacuum. Certainly, there are leaders who can suck the air out of a room, but the attitudes of those being led also matter. We can become so accustomed to analyzing everything a leader says or does that we stop genuinely listening. We hear the words, but we do not take them in. We attend the meeting, read the email, and sit through the professional development, yet we remain detached from the message. Instead of asking what we can learn or how we can contribute, we immediately begin identifying what is wrong.

There is an important difference between discernment and cynicism.

Discernment helps us recognize what is effective, what needs improvement, and how we can move forward. Cynicism assumes that nothing worthwhile is coming. Once cynicism settles into an organization, even good leadership can become difficult to recognize. People may become so accustomed to weak, inconsistent, or self-serving leadership that they gradually lower their expectations. Eventually, they begin to say, “It is what it is,” and that may be one of the most dangerous statements in educational leadership.

When people accept ineffective leadership as normal, they stop expecting clarity. They stop asking for meaningful direction. They learn to survive without encouragement, collaboration, or a shared sense of purpose. They find ways to accomplish their work in isolation, depending on a few trusted colleagues rather than the larger organization. Over time, their appetite for good leadership begins to disappear because they have forgotten what healthy leadership feels like.

Then they encounter a truly effective leader.

They meet someone who listens before speaking, communicates with honesty, and makes decisions based on mission rather than ego. They see a leader who provides both support and accountability, recognizes the value of others, and is willing to make difficult decisions without losing compassion. Suddenly, they realize how long they have been functioning without the leadership they needed. It is almost as if dead skin begins falling away and they are finally able to breathe again.

Good leadership has a way of reminding people what leadership is supposed to be.

It creates an environment where people want to grow. It does not demand loyalty through fear or position; it earns trust through consistency, humility, competence, and care. People want to be around that kind of leadership because it brings out something better in them. They think more deeply, collaborate more freely, and become more willing to take responsible risks. They are not merely completing tasks. They begin to see how their work connects to a purpose larger than themselves.

However, being around good leadership also brings responsibility. We cannot expect leaders to communicate while refusing to listen. We cannot ask them to invite collaboration while remaining unwilling to participate. We cannot request honest feedback and then become defensive when it is offered. If good leadership is going to nourish an organization, the people within that organization must be willing to receive it, reflect on it, and respond to it.

This does not mean that followers should agree with every decision or remain silent when concerns arise. Healthy organizations need thoughtful questions, respectful disagreement, and honest feedback. Good leaders should welcome those things. But there is a difference between constructive engagement and constant resistance. One helps an organization improve; the other slowly weakens its capacity to move forward.

Perhaps all of us need to ask two questions.

First, what kind of leadership am I providing?

Am I offering the people around me clarity, encouragement, direction, and meaningful opportunities to grow? Do my words and actions strengthen the organization, or are the people I lead forced to find what they need somewhere else?

Second, what kind of follower am I being?

Am I listening with the intention of understanding? Am I willing to receive correction, consider another perspective, and contribute to the direction of the organization? Or have I become so detached that I automatically dismiss what I hear?

Educational organizations need good leadership, but they also need people who recognize it, receive it, and respond to it. The longer we remain around healthy leadership, the more our understanding of leadership should deepen. We should develop a stronger desire for integrity, clarity, service, accountability, and purpose, not only from those who lead us, but also within ourselves.

Ultimately, we should want to be around good leadership because good leadership helps us become better educators, better colleagues, and better leaders. It restores our belief in what an organization can become when people are valued, the mission remains central, and leadership is exercised for the good of others.

But perhaps the greatest evidence that we have truly experienced good leadership is not simply that we enjoyed being around it.

It is that, because of it, we learned how to lead others better. And… if you asking what does good leadership look like? Look to Jesus.

As you step into your role today, remember that you are not just an educator and leader but a shaper of the future. Your actions and decisions profoundly impact the lives of those you guide. Go, be the great educator and leader that our future needs.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2026 J Clay Norton

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