1. LUDA
Fall Conference
October 2018
Glenn W. “Max” McGee
maxmcgee@hyasearch.com
224.234.6129
@glennmaxmcgee
www.glennmaxmcgee.com
“Recruiting, Developing, and
Retaining Great Educational Leaders”

2. “You can’t have a great
company without great
leadership. They create
the right environment
and the kind of culture
where people are able
to do more than they
think they can.”
- Lee Cockerell
(A former Disney executive VP (for 16
years) who led a team of 40,000
employees and was responsible for
operations at 20 resort hotels, four theme
parks, and two water parks, among other
things.)

3. Holding Out for A Hero

5. Trends we are seeing at HYA
• Teachers are reluctant to become administrators because of
both dollar-per-day pay and “teacher leader” opportunities
• High school principals are more valuable and more difficult
to recruit than district office administrators
• Assistant principals are the primary source of new principals
and are more eager and ready to move than principals
• Principals tend to stay put unless:
• Their school boards are fickle
• They are not “supported” when
conflicts with parents arise
• Superintendent departs
• Highly attractive incentives are
available

6. Application issues we are
seeing at HYA
• Cover letters and resumes are focused on processes and
responsibilities NOT results and work products.
• Cover letters and resumes do not reflect what the individual
can contribute to the district but rather what they
contributed to their former employer.
• Over emphasizing numbers and under emphasizing
narrative.
• Canned or minimal responses to questions you know you
will get (why here and why now; first 100 days; weaknesses)
“How do you develop new leaders in your organization?” Here
Cockerell says the depth of their response is what mattered.
“People who do it well can talk about it all day. People who
don’t answer this question in 10 seconds.”

7. Keys to Recruiting Terrific Leaders
•Organizational Culture
•Partnerships with providers
•Grow your own
•Teach classes
•Incentive packages
•Keep an eye out for “transitions”

8. We are safe, we belong, and we are
connected
We are share vulnerability and
collaborate
We have a shared purpose
“At Disney, we believe everything’s
important,” Cockerell says. “Every detail.
We don’t want any paper on the ground.
We’re fanatical about–you don’t have to
be happy to work at Disney, but you do
have to act happy for eight hours. Because
we’re putting on a show.”

9. Helpful Hints for Developing
Outstanding Leaders
•Shared
experiences
•Ongoing Training
•Asset based
evaluation
•Connect with a
team
•Engaged mentor and/or coach

10. • Part of the philosophy at Disney
is that "people remember
people."
• The Disney training process is a
comprehensive strategy
designed to promote and
reinforce company values,
history and operating
philosophies, Williford said.
"Training is more critical to
desired behaviors and
outcomes than most companies
ever imagine," he said.
• "We spend a lot of time training
and immersing trainees into the
culture," Williford said. "There
are six full weeks of training
before a new cast member even
sees a guest.”

11. Retaining Great Leaders
“When the water hole starts drying up, the animals
around it start to look at each other rather differently.”
• Your presence and gift of time
• Appreciation and respect from you, the board, and the
community
• Autonomy and balance
• Being trusting and trustworthy
• Protection and cover when under fire
• Communicate, communicate, communicate

12. “A change in trust in management of just one-third of a
standard deviation [~10%] has the same life satisfaction
effect as a 31% change in income,” or as Covey, Link, &
Merrill summarize : “A 10% increase in trust has the
same effect as a 30% increase in pay. ”
With the financial challenges facing school districts in
every state across the country, investing in trust makes
sound financial sense and is likely to increase teacher
retention rate and be a competitive advantage for
recruitment. Helliwell, John F. and Huang, Haifant (2008) “Well-being and trust in the workplace”
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts
Avenue Cambridge, MA. NBER WORKING PAPER 14589
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14589
Investing in a culture of trust

13. Low Trust Taxes
v.
High Trust Dividends
• Low Trust
• Bureaucracy
• Politics
• Disengagement
• Turnover
• Churn
• High Trust
• Improved
outcomes
• Innovation
• Collaboration
• Execution
• Loyalty

14. Cockerell created a weekly
newspaper for employees
called The Main Street Diary.
He published it every Friday
night and sent it out
electronically. It featured
things like coming events,
what the company was
working on, and
acknowledged employees
who’d done something
particularly well.
“What we have here …
“In most businesses, you’ll hear people complain
that they don’t know what’s going on …”

15. "Organizations are
concerned about
engagement, so engage
people on an emotional
level. If employees have
made that emotional
connection to your
organization,
engagement will rise.”
A final “magical”
morning memory

16. A final thought for:
We will be successful recruiting, developing,
and retaining the leader our kids need and
deserve to the extent we create schools and
distircts that are an engaging, emotional
experience grounded in shared purpose,
meaningful emotion, and abundant joy.