Back to the all-important topic of leadership. I have a friend who is a partner in one of the larger agricultural businesses in Abbotsford. I asked him about the company's CEO. My friend described him as very able and hardworking, and said that he was doing excellent work. I asked further what role the partners played. His response? "We get out of his way and let him do his job."

This answer is consistent with that of many strong Canadian corporate leaders. Aaron Regent, President of Barrick Gold, gave his definition of leadership: "Sometimes leadership's about leading, sometimes it's about following, and sometimes it's just about getting out of the way."

For many people who run for school trustee, leadership is the use of new-found power via reserving virtually all final decisions for board members, questioning plans, giving orders, and otherwise restricting the extent to which the senior educational professionals go about their business. There is not a management text, a competent business practitioner, or a leadership consultant who would recommend this, but it is a common enough practice on school boards.

If a board of school trustees is not to be significantly involved in day-to-day operations (and the Lord knows that many of them want to be), what is their role? First and foremost it is to cast a vision. A study conducted by a global human resource company of what workers most value in their superiors revealed this number one response: the ability to create and share an engaging vision for the future.

Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Co., agrees with this: "At the end of the day, you have to have some dream about what you're trying to achieve." The CEO of a large architectural firm concurs: "Leadership....means inspiration."

How is this done? My belief is that this is best accomplished by working closely with the senior educational leaders in developing a strategic plan that captures the values and objectives that our city stands for (excellence, inclusivity, safety, provincial leadership, character), and which any educational system worth its salt would provide (responsibility, self-respect and respect for others, creativity, productivity, education that meets the unique needs of all learners).

Once that is accomplished, the trained professionals are given the responsibility to carry out the strategic plan, and are held accountable for results. The CEO of Ericsson Canada puts it this way: "Managers and leaders don't have all the answers, but strong leadership seems to utilize the knowledge of the employees and the collective power of their motivation and experience." Another president adds: "What leadership has provided for me is the true joy that comes from seeing the success in others when they really unleash their hidden potential."