The Secret to Leading a District You Grew Up In

Dr. Jim: [: 00:00:00

And this is often the case when you step into a new role and you start the process of assessing how you, your teams and the people that report into your teams need to be organized, and how they function. Today's conversation will focus on how a new K through 12 district leader can optimize their team and make sure everyone has the right hat on.

aybe chief bottle washer and [: 00:01:00

Dr. Jim: He's been actively involved in various community organizations, including Rotary chamber of Commerce, the equity center board member. He's a insurance board member, and he's involved in the in the Texas Association of School Business of officials and the Texas Association of School Administrators.

When. Sean looks at his career as a, an educator and his role as a dis district administrator. His goal is to provide safe and productive working environments for his students, as well as his employees. He works cooperatively and collaboratively with all staff members to reach the hearts and minds of students and believes that's crucial to success.

His efforts each day is to be on the cutting edge of his field and make a difference in the lives of all members of the learning community. And that's critically important to how he operates from a day-to-day basis. So with all that being said, Sean, welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

ur insights, especially with [: 00:02:00

Dr. Jim: Piece of the conversation. I think it's important for you to set the stage for our listeners and get them dialed in to some of those key moments in your career that helped shape your leadership perspective and philosophy and influenced how you show up. So share with us some of those critical moments in your career that really help make you the person that you are today.

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And as I've gone through, I've realized that there's no job beneath me. That was established pretty early on with the expectations of previous leaders that I've had in my life. Not just teachers, but other administrators. And not only that, a lot of the individuals that I've worked with in the college setting as I've got my master's degree and doctorate as well.

So I think some of the major guide guideposts that I've had in my life have always been those folks that have held me accountable. My feet to the fire had those crucial conversations. A lot of the things that I struggled with as a young administrator, because my first job as an administrator, I was 25 years old and I was very black and white and I looked at things from a very black and white perspective.

my first child hand me a box [: 00:04:00

And I've used that as a tool to guide my decision making and my attitude towards the profession going forward.

Dr. Jim: There's a lot in what you said that was really interesting. I think one of the things that I'm curious about is how you managed to work through the necessary changes as a young leader. You described yourself as a black and white thinker. I. And at 25 years old, if you're put in any sort of leadership position, that can create its own set of problems, mainly driven through your own ego.

So walk us through how you actually navigated that process to create that collaborative environment that you are leading now.

imary level, and so I had to [: 00:05:00

And so I focused in on things instead of leading people, and it took time to build trust made a few mistakes along the way and hit a few bumps along the way.

But the biggest obstacle really was just gaining their trust and people that were skeptical of me early on, too young to this, to that. I began to formulate those relationships either in the form of managing or helping them manage their discipline or making sure their pencil sharpener was fixed or the light that was out in the room was replaced quickly soft.

Simple things were what I focused in on to build that trust where they could rely on me and that to make the difference up over those timeframe. Being a young administrator.

. Jim: So your comment about [: 00:06:00

Shaun McAlpin: The simple way is that it's easy. You can get a pencil sharpen to fix, you can get a light fix, you can get the tables wiped. You can make sure the door doesn't squeak. You can, those are things you can actually put your hands on, get a screwdriver and get things done. Or a child that's given a teacher some discipline problems, you can say, Hey.

Let me have him, lemme have him or her. I'll take him down an office. We'll visit you get focused back on the assignment or back onto your lesson plans. Those are things that are simple and easy to do. Building relationships is really hard because you're coming from different walks of life.

a lot to learn. And and I'm [: 00:07:00

Dr. Jim: Yeah, I really like your point about, the reason why you focused on things. It was because it was easy and I sense it's easier to control those things than it is to navigate the relationship aspect of people and influencing people in the direction that, that they need to be going.

The other thing that I'm curious about is that you've had 25 years in the district, and when we look at, people who have grown up in the same world it's often pretty easy to go through the motions and do things the way that they've always been done. So tell us a little bit more about how you didn't fall into that trap, given the amount of tenure that you had in the district.

ditions. We enhanced them or [: 00:08:00

Or how did you accomplish that? I ask lots of questions and and maybe I take what they're doing in another district. And I'm molded in a way that works best for Orange Field, and it still has the elements of what took place maybe in that other place, but it's, it fits Orange Field and [00:09:00] so I do a lot of that, whether it's employee of the Month ideas or Rookie of the Year, for new teachers.

Those are things that I hear about, and then I just incorporate those into what we try to.

I try not to do too much at once so that we all have a every year we roll out a new plan or a focus or try something new and every year we try to have a theme like this year is Ignore the noise. And we spend a lot of time and I do a lot of reminders about that, but really a lot of it is just beg, borrow and steal and make it your own.

Dr. Jim: No, that's good stuff. Give us a view into the district itself. What's the landscape of the district that you're leading?

Shaun McAlpin: It's very unique because all three of our campuses are within walking distance. So I could walk to each campus and, make the whole round in probably 30 minutes, easily or less. And so that's one of the unique things about it. So I can be at our elementary, junior high or high school at within five minutes or less, and then I can make the entire walk.

y day. You get to engage the [: 00:10:00

We're not a city. We're not incorporated. We are the hub of what's happening in this community. And so a lot of the folks that work here actually live here. So we all have ownership and buy into making orange. Really the only place to be.

Dr. Jim: You de. Described Orange Field as a community and the campus is pretty close knit or close in terms of the actual distance. But what about the broader community? What are some of the unique challenges that exist within the community that shape how you lead your district?

Shaun McAlpin: We have a good working relationship with the cities that are surrounding us. They're really welcoming to what we're trying to do and keeping included love, recognizing our students love, having our band and drill team and other programs participate in parades and other events.

t they do, even though we're [: 00:11:00

Matter of fact, we have a meeting tomorrow. And that's how we stay together and keep each other up to date. And that's what I spent a lot of time networking with the local schools and and along with the other cities just to be a part of what they're doing. And and that's really worked out a lot.

Dr. Jim: And those are some trails that were blazed before I, I came here, but I just kept those up and tried to improve them.

When I opened the show, I talked about some of the mindset shifts that are necessary whenever you're trying to execute any sort of transformation or do something new. I. And I described it from the perspective of do you have the right hat on when you're in that role.

een in the same district for [: 00:12:00

So tell me a little bit about what your observations were as soon as you got promoted and you became the superintendent. How did the role change? What did you, what took you by surprise that required you to shift some of the ways that you've been thinking and acting prior to that?

ent. And that was one of the [: 00:13:00

You don't really quite know what that superintendent before you dealt with until you're sitting in the seat. And I was, that was my first job as superintendent. And so I didn't have anything to reflect on except the other jobs that were somewhat similar, like high school principal and things like that.

And just trying to understand and navigate through that. And interesting enough, I came on right when Covid hit and so I had to make a lot of decisions at a distance state information coming from the state, then delivering that to our board of trustees. And then sharing that with the team of administration and then trickle down to our staff.

And so that was one of the biggest challenges. So that was an unusual experience probably for most new superintendents who didn't have to navigate through a pandemic. But I learned a lot in that short amount of time. I had to learn fast. But one of the biggest things too, is understanding your staff.

district, a lot of the what [: 00:14:00

And so that was one of the earliest things that I did, was working through to put my team together and making sure we had the right people in the right places.

Dr. Jim: We'll get to the team alignment bit in a second, but there's something that you mentioned where you're talking about, I wrote it down as closing the gap of understanding. So what were some of those things that. You're like, you're in the seat and you realize, oh, I didn't know about this, that, or the other thing.

And then you have covid. What were the things that you did to close that gap of understanding? Because like you said, you didn't have a frame of reference of having done the job before, so what steps did you take to close that gap of understanding?

Shaun McAlpin: I had to work on my communication and make it more regular and more frequent. So with the pandemic as well as the new board of trustees that just hired me there's this learning, getting to know each other. And I started a weekly board brief where I gave them updates that were happening in the district.

I kept them informed of [: 00:15:00

I'll focus in on my job. I had to definitely take a new approach and communication with the board of trustees and on. The communication with the administrators who I was entrusting to get the right information to the staff so that we all had a same and similar mission, vision, and message. And that was a challenge at first because I'm very direct, a lot of times very straightforward and have high expectations.

ur main topics and make sure [: 00:16:00

Because you've been in meetings where you think you've demonstrated or you've laid out the expectation and you find out later that maybe only two thirds really grasp it. The other third were still meandering a bit in relation to what you're trying to accomplish.

Dr. Jim: So brushing up your frequency and clarity of communication, was that the biggest mindset shift that you had in the role, or was there something else that was even more important in getting you set up for success as you're as you're figuring out how to build or construct your team?

Shaun McAlpin: So first I had to look internally and reflect and put myself back in their shoes when I was the assistant or a director or a principal. So I had to be very reflective and say, how would I wanna be spoken to? How would I wanna be communicated with? How would I want to be involved? Because I'm very transparent.

obably everywhere I even got [: 00:17:00

But inflection. Be very empathetic of the staff that I worked with. And so that was the lens that I chose to look through in the early stages of becoming a new superintendent is how would I wanna be spoken to, how I wanna be communicated with, how do I want to be treated? So I used those types of focal points whenever I wrote things, spoke to people or or just day-to-day interactions that were not serious.

They were not a closed door meeting. How were I gonna, how was I gonna treat other folks? And so I would say that was, outside of communication, just really focusing in on the transparency, the trust. And building those relationships. Things that I struggled with 20 years ago when I first started in administration.

The things that I feel like I've really improved on over that long 20 years is really to become better at what I.

t were some of the practical [: 00:18:00

Shaun McAlpin: I think that the big thing is just be consistent. They need to see me come to work the same way every day. Be at work on time, be have a. Not be up and down and be very, laser light focused as they say, but not overly black and white or too focused on things. Remember I mentioned earlier about things versus people.

You manage things. You lead people. And and so a lot of what I did early on was build that relationship and be consistent, but and firm, but also I had to learn to relax a little bit and not take things too seriously. And and so it was a real effort on my part to find balance and what I was doing, even though maybe behind the scenes I was really scared to death, or fearful or what people thought about me.

e able to put my head on the [: 00:19:00

Dr. Jim: So the thing that I like about your answer is that you emphasize consistency and authenticity. So I think that's really important if you're looking at building trust across the district. Now, you referenced this earlier, part of that exercise was I. In trying to figure out, okay, are people deployed the right way in the district?

Are people in the right seats? So tell us a little bit more about how, what you did from an authenticity perspective, a communication perspective, and a transparency perspective. Tell us about what that revealed to you in terms of the operations of the district and what people were doing.

ut I had a unique experience [: 00:20:00

And already had an idea of where they may fit best. And so that is I got, I had a cheat code as they say, because I was able to do that. Now, if I'd have been new to the district, that would've been a lot tougher. So our transition to who fits in the seat the best or who serves in this role the best was a little bit easier for me than maybe most, but it was also hard.

And I'll tell you why. ' cause you had relationships with these individuals and when you ask them to serve in a different capacity or do a different job or add something to their plate that they may not have thought would be a part of their new part of me taking, becoming the superintendent. Those are tough conversations.

months or, and grateful and [: 00:21:00

When you describe that and you describe those conversations you've mentioned that the relationships aspect of it, created some challenges. Some people like what you said, some people it didn't. So how did you navigate those sit situations? Where people, probably resented that you're getting all up in their kitchen and taking away their Legos.

Shaun McAlpin: Personally, I just, again, went back to how would I wanna be spoken to, how would I want this discussed? And then once I established what I believed to be the, how I would want things done or how I would wanna be treated, then I just sat down and had that crucial conversation and was very. Lack, I don't like to use the word direct, but I was very confident in how I felt about that role and their new role or their additions to that role.

why we were doing the things [: 00:22:00

And I don't want that to be lost because I get caught up in the feelings or other things. And then what I always try to do is let 'em know that we're gonna evaluate this. It's not, this is not set in stone, so this will be constantly evaluated and improvements will be made and adjustments will be made, so don't be fearful of change.

Dr. Jim: One of the things that I think would be interesting to get line of sight on, what you just described sounds a more on the theory side and when I'm looking at what you're describing, you're trying to make sure that everybody within the district is.

xamples of where people were [: 00:23:00

Shaun McAlpin: One of the biggest was curriculum instruction. I'm educational leader of the entire district and each principal is educational leader of their campuses. And so that was one of my biggest concerns becoming a superintendent. But I spent the last 10 years, or almost 10 years in finance, and so as long I did stay engaged and involved in curriculum.

But I felt like that department needed to be tweaked and it wasn't the individual as much as what they were responsible for. So one of the initial things I did was separate them between primary and secondary and assign and delineated roles Very specific so that there was confidence in their jobs so that instead of taking care of 13 grade levels or potentially 14 when you include pre-K.

elephant one bite at a time. [: 00:24:00

Most importantly because we have eyes, more eyes on our major focus, which is educating students. And then others were just duties that didn't make sense for, without lack of an example. But you may have a clerical staff member or a paraprofessional doing a job that just didn't match and it didn't make sense, and someone just didn't take the time to understand that person's duties.

So by moving things around and streamlining some things, we became more efficient. And I'm always about making things more efficient

n place, how did you measure [: 00:25:00

Shaun McAlpin: I didn't want to put a timeline on it because there's natural timelines built into the school year, so I didn't put ultimatums or timelines on anybody. I just worked with them and told them that it would be a touch and go environment and supports as needed. And that seemed to give a comfort to some of the changes that were made.

But because we solid timelines, but I let the natural organic timelines drive the decision-making, whether it was the six weeks data, because we are on a six week school system, school system and then or it was testing, standardized testing data, or it was benchmark testing data, so there were natural breaks built in. So those are the timelines we used to determine success. And, we might take two steps back, and then the hope is we regroup and we take, the make up a step, maybe three steps forward the next time.

n how people look their body [: 00:26:00

They're happy. So you feel confident as a superintendent that maybe you made the right decision. And so you see their personality change and they become more positive and engaging and supported. And so you just try to be real responsive to folks and hear them out and do a lot of listening, a lot of listening.

Dr. Jim: One of the other things that I'm curious about, like when you're going through this optimization exercise, we've spent all this time kind of talking about how roles within the district are up.

Shaun McAlpin: Optimized and aligned so that they're operating as effectively as possible. But there's another aspect that we didn't cover, which is you're somebody that's been in the district for a long time. You probably built some habits where you're used to having your hands in a lot of different places. How did you shift away from that to make sure that you're creating enough bandwidth for yourself to do higher level work.

It was a [: 00:27:00

Shaun McAlpin: And if I'm constantly getting in their way or.

I was going, I was gonna lose that empowerment piece that I felt was very crucial because I felt there were times in my as I came through the system that I felt like my power was taken away. Not in a bad way, not in an egotistical way, just that someone came in and tweaked the thing or took over.

it was my idea, someone else [: 00:28:00

And I felt like for me to not only have a successful district, it need to be organic and run on its own, and it need to be its own ecosystem and so it should operate and that's how I looked at it. And so I just slowly took my hand off certain things and empowered folks and reminded them.

I've done that job, I don't wanna do it again. And so that seems to put the explanation point on it that I don't, I want to understand what youre doing and where we're going but I don't need to be hammering the nail. That's your job...

Dr. Jim: When you look at all of the work that you've done from delegating more empowering more, making sure that people are optimized in the roles that they're doing and aligned the right way, what's been the impact on the district?

and conversation is it's my [: 00:29:00

Lot and ask a lot of questions when I'm out and about and and trust that people are being honest with me. Sometimes I'm the last person to find things out, right? That's how it goes when you're at the top and not in a good, bad, whatever. It's just a natural ebb and flow of things, and so I have to work really hard to continue those relationships.

It's easy to get caught up into the community events and to this meeting and office. So you. To the question, how do I know it's working and how do I see improvement? It's time. Time tells a lot. Attitudes say a lot individuals that wanna stay in the district. You look at your retention. Those are the things that I put my time and effort in.

icy and people do wanna come [: 00:30:00

So people have confidence and calling me or talking to me. And I use those types of things as a way of saying that, Hey, we may be doing something right here. And and that's where I hang my hat.

Dr. Jim: When you look back at this entire conversation that we've had I'd like. You to think about your own experience and especially in the through the lens of making sure that the district is optimized in the right way. What's the advice that you would send to another superintendent who's looking to do the same thing?

What are the key principles that they need to keep in mind so that they hit the ground running and are successful in their effort to align the district appropriately?

ust, or that the focus is on [: 00:31:00

I didn't come up with them. They've been used for eternity. But we we say things like, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Say we're never on an island by ourselves, like we're all in this together. Keep it simple. Those are all these types of things that I use a lot to remind folks, not only when we hire people in, but just reminders throughout and engaging different individuals during the day.

Is that, that we're all in this together and I'm not here to outdo you. We're we wanna finish the race around the same time. We wanna start the race around the same time and we wanna finish together. And and that's how I've tried to approach it. But if I had to give advice to anybody I would say that get to know your people.

d then be ready to hand this [: 00:32:00

If I don't show up, it's gonna operate. If I'm not here and they're gonna find someone else to replace me pretty quick. You can't get too focused in on that. You're in control of everything and you're going to solve all the problems and you're gonna be the best superintendent of the world. You just, you're gonna be handing this baton off to someone else.

And the way I look at it, our school district will be a hundred years old next year. And there were many superintendents and many leaders, and many people that came through. Made a difference here and all I'm gonna be doing is passing the baton on someone else at some point. If you can keep that focus, I think you can do a lot of great things.

Dr. Jim: If people. Want to continue the conversation with you, Sean. What's the best way for them to get in touch with you?

or the superintendent's page [: 00:33:00

Dr. Jim: When I think about this conversation, what stood out to me is something that you mentioned early on in terms of when you look at transforming a district, and especially one where you've actually grown up in that district. It's easy to potentially fall in the trap of going on autopilot.

And the way that you actually avoid that trap of going on autopilot is to take the assumptions off the table. If you fall into the trap of assuming that because you've been here, you know how everything works, that can easily lead you down a path where you're just working to just keep the lights on.

time managing the tasks that [: 00:34:00

I think if you take those few steps, you're gonna be set up in a position where. You're actually creating space for yourself and you're working on high value things versus task oriented things. So I appreciate you sharing that with us. For those of you who have been listening to this conversation, we appreciate you hanging out.

If you like the discussion, make sure you leave us a review on on your favorite podcast player. And if you haven't already done so, make sure you join our K through 12 leadership community. And then tune in next time where we'll have another. Great leader hanging out with us and sharing with us the game changing in insights that help them build a high performing team.