Daniel Gallagher | Superintendent, Little Elm ISD

My path in education has provided me a unique experience and perspective. I taught at every level — elementary, middle, and high school and have served as a campus principal, a central office administrator, and a school board member. Serving in those levels has allowed me the opportunity to see our profession through many different lenses.

Now I have the privilege of serving Little Elm ISD as its superintendent, and my leadership journey has provided me valuable insight for the challenges and opportunities superintendents face.

What is very clear to me is that a school district needs many leaders to fulfill its mission. I support the notion that leadership is not confined to the normal assumptions about who is responsible for leading. Leadership must occur throughout our organization — in our classrooms, in our maintenance department, in our central office departments, and in our students.

Leadership

Every one of us has an opportunity to change lives by positively impacting the lives of our students. However, I support the idea that we should expand that realm of influence by helping others grow by building capacity throughout our district.

My favorite leadership quote (I do not remember its author’s name) says, “Leadership is not about the position; it is not about a title. Leadership is about others.”

Leaders must believe the answer to solving public education’s challenges is not in a program or a package. The answer is in our people, and great leaders invest in others. In Little Elm ISD we provide leadership opportunities to everyone, no matter what their position is in our district. Here are some of the ways we accomplish that:

Each year we have an aspiring leaders’ leadership institute or ALI. We meet once per a month with those staff members and take them through different aspects of leadership, which is something they enjoy.

We put them in groups, give them actual leadership scenarios, allow them to discuss at their tables, and then share how they would handle that situation. Then we discuss the way the situation was handled and debrief. It is eye opening for them, and they really get to learn about other departments through that process.

One of education’s most challenging problems is sustainable leadership. True leaders must prepare people to fill their positions when we leave. The most successful leaders I have seen are those who recognize talent and grow their direct reports by providing opportunities to step into leadership roles and make decisions through the lens of a leader.

Relationships

As leaders, the ability to build and maintain positive relationships are the foundations for success in everything we do. Regardless of whether we are in public education or the private sector, we are going to struggle to lead others if we do not foster strong, positive relationships.

Trust is at the center of relationships, and trust is a two-way street. Building trust takes time, and most new superintendents are met with a healthy skepticism, especially if they came from outside the district. For superintendents to earn the trust of others, he or she must first trust others.

Taking the time to talk with people is the single best way to demonstrate approachability. For those of us who enjoy talking to people, that skillset comes naturally. For others, who may be more private, it is a skill that can be developed.

I use the term “talk with people” intentionally because we cannot do all the talking. We must listen. People must feel as though we are listening to them, being empathic, and taking their input. Looping is a great tool for that. Simply close the conversation loop by repeating to the speaker what you heard and allow them to confirm you heard it correctly or to correct you. Looping ensures they know they were heard.

Once they have been heard, they will usually expect some type of action. If leaders promise to investigate, call back, or be present somewhere, we must follow through. People may not always agree with my decision, but I always do what I said I was going to do.

I suggest that authenticity and trust go hand in hand; being approachable, listening, and following through is the cycle that builds trust. Authenticity cannot just be words. Our actions truly do speak louder than our words. What is more authentic than a leader doing what she said she was going to do?

Culture

One of the primary responsibilities of leadership is ensuring a positive organizational culture. Like most districts, Little Elm ISD began quite small — everyone knew each other. As we are growing, our Board and our community expect us to maintain a small town, family atmosphere, where everyone is recognized for the important role she or he plays in the success of our students.

As superintendent, I cannot take credit for the culture we have. Previous Boards, superintendents and leaders built a positive culture. Yet I know my task is to maintain that culture. We are proud to be recognized as a place where teachers love to teach and kids love to learn, where every single person is truly proud to be a part of our district’s family.

Further, we want this to be a district where if you have a family member — your son or daughter or your mom or dad or cousin — who works here, you are proud of their choice. Treating our employees like family is an important way to maintain that culture. People must see that we really do value every position and every single person.

We use the term family a lot here, and we personalize it for our district by spelling it differently: FamiLE. The capitalized L and E are to emphasize something we all have in common, working for Little Elm.

The words leaders use matter. Rather than saying, “people work for me,” choose more inclusive words. For example, when introducing a fellow employee, say, “she is a valued member of our team” or “we work together” or “we work alongside each other.”

As leaders, we must remember that positive and healthy cultures are always people centered. It is critical that we remember we are in the people business. When we focus on the needs of the individuals within our organizations and truly care for one another, success will follow. I feel blessed to be able to serve the LEISD community as superintendent and love working alongside our famiLE members. Each of us has the ability to improve the culture of our organizations through leadership development, fostering positive relationships, and ultimately making a positive impact on those around us.

Building capacity in others — It’s our superpower

Daniel Gallagher serves the Little Elm ISD community as its superintendent of schools. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at Arlington and his master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Texas Wesleyan University. He may be reached at dgallagher@littleelmisd.net.

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