Loosen Your Grip

(Or, how trusting teachers leads to better outcomes)

Photo by Peter Drew on Unsplash

My golf game has a slice. When it gets out of control, especially at the tee box, I have been given the following tip more than once: Loosen your grip. What I hear are two things:

1.      Physically loosen my grip on the club.

2.      Mentally let the club do more of the work.

When I have a tight grip, I am trying to blast the ball as far as I can – usually into the rough, woods, or water. When I relax and just focus on making a healthy swing, my aim is typically better.

Leaders sometimes have a tight grip on their schools. We focus too much on results (the shot we have yet to take) and less on the process (the swing we need to make). Our figurative slices include unrealistic goals, expectations without adequate support, and frustration when the school year does not go as we had envisioned.

I know this, and yet I still need reminders to relax. Why?

• Because I am too attached to the goal. If we succeed, I am positioning myself to take credit. If we do not, it …