Article on effective educational leadership and meaningful problem-solving.

1. Creative Problem Solving and Innovative Arbitration
By Robyn Delahunt
In the recent past, I have seen creativity as a practical application that is
connected to either resourcefulness or artistic endeavor. That seems to be a highly
simplified perception coming from a creative person but is typically the realm in which
most people regard creativity. The same goes for the idea of innovation. Innovation in
the past seemed to be attached to the social or medical sciences due to its connectedness
to the concept of investigation and invention. Now these ideas seem limited in
conceptualization, but before this class, I did not regard these words outside of a
personally designated realm, and though I recognized their worth as positive leadership
trait, I did not see that they were necessary elements of effective administrative problem-
solving skills. This class and the events that have ironically coincided on my campus with
regards to leadership and its destructive tendencies when creativity, compassion, and
innovation are not utilized, has caused me to view situations and issues through a
different lens as a future administrator and have given me pause to consider their value
when staff issues need to be addressed and rectified.
This year at school has had the makings of a very interesting reality TV show.
There has been a conglomeration of melodrama ranging from deception to betrayal to
polarization to libelous gossip spread throughout my department and within the campus
administrative tier. These actions have led to the kind of miscommunication, damaged
relationships, and unprofessional behaviors that would give valuable fodder to any
television executive interested framing the demise of the human condition as the form of
entertainment. Unfortunately, when adults engage in such activities, and the individuals
who are hired to manage these situations get caught up in these activities, those who are
innocent bystanders are the ones most negatively impacted. When teachers and
principals are the culpable participants in these situations, it is the students who lose
because the adults are shifting their focus from their primary purpose of teaching and
supporting children to the drama that is consuming their time and energy.
It is in times like these that a good leader demonstrates innovation and creativity in
the form of creative problem solving and innovative arbitration to prevent the problem
from resurfacing and to assist in the process of creating a safe work environment for all
of their employees. Recognizing the need to be highly engaged with your staff and aware
of situations within your organization is paramount to early intervention on behalf of a
manager, but for reasons still unbeknownst to me, many leaders do not recognize the
importance of first-hand involvement with their staff. They typically delegate a
subordinate administrator to oversee certain entities with the flawed expectation that that
person will be forthright and appropriately reactive to situations that occur under their
watch. If the responsibilities are misplaced and the subordinate is not an effective leader
or communicator, then bad situations get worse and small complications turn into large
problems. The typical knee-jerk reaction of most administrators is to privately berate the
chosen subordinate for their lack of leadership and then publicly admonish the employees
who are acting out, but this just creates more strife within an already tumultuous
situation, leading to more significant and damaging rifts in professional and personal
relationships. The purpose of an administrator is not that of levier of admonishments and

2. executioner of emotional security, yet many leaders do not understand the far-reaching
implications of assuming that role and how damaging it is for their reputation as an
effective leader.
A leader who is able to creatively problem solve does not yell first and ask questions
later. They are involved enough to understand the nuances that come from internal strife
and they are engaged enough to intervene in a timely and appropriate manner. A leader
who uses their creativity with regards to human management skills will look for
alternatives to intimidation tactics and recognizes that employees need to feel happy and
safe in order to produce effectively. They will listen instead of talk, they will process
before they respond, and they will reflect calmly instead of reacting hastily so that they
can solve a problem opposed to create new ones. When issues become highly tenuous, a
good manager will find calming tactics to ease the arousal stimulus in their employees
because they realize that “extreme negativity coupled with extreme excitement is the
hardest emotion to relieve (Nass, 2012, p. 147).” If employees are already upset and the
leader adds to the negative feelings, the ability to recover is greatly reduced. A creative
and thoughtful manager will take a “King Solomon” approach to problem solving and
find creative ways to allow their employees to find resolution with each other without
excessive administrative interference. But as I said, this can only happen if the
administrator is engaged and aware enough to intervene at an early stage in the conflicts.
If problems are allowed to persist and fester, then innovative resolution will have to be
employed. Innovative with regards to goal oriented, wellness driven resolution with the
intent to heal and not further harm the organization and its members’ overall morale.
Employee frustration cannot be allowed to move into the anger or apathy phases because
problem solving is much more complicated at these stages. In an anger phase, people are
not good listeners and cannot take constructive guidance, and in the apathy stage, people
no longer care enough to adjust or evolve, so intervention is best executed at the
frustration stage when people still care enough to change and are still willing to listen to
suggestions. This is the “grapple and grow” period that Hallowell refers to and that all
people confront when they have been at a job for an extended amount of time and
socialized, ideological, or philosophical complications arise. Being that we are social
beings who need human interaction, issues that involve miscommunication and
philosophical differences are going to get in the way of professionalism and behavior
management at times, especially when the team is enmeshed due to extended amounts of
time of togetherness and extreme interrelation. The employees become a dysfunctional
family of sorts and the manager has got to be willing to be the firm but caring parent who
steps in with the most appropriate interventions and not simply the disengaged arbitrator
of punishment and reprimand. In order to turn the employees around, the manager must
be willing to recognize that adding to the stress of an already traumatized team of
employees will further damage the morale of the group and will not allow for emotional
recovery of those in the storm of emotional unrest and upheaval (Hallowell, 2011, 142).
Growth must be a relevant objective to intervention when frustration is diverted by an
effective leader.
As unpleasant as this school year has been for our team, it has been a practical
lesson in leadership and problem solving for anyone willing to step back and observe. I
have learned that a good leader does not rely on the information and feedback of others. I

3. recognize that emotional deflection in the guise of administrative delegation is a cop out
for leaders who want to remain disengaged from their staff by sending a subordinate to
do the job they are invariably responsible to execute. Most of all, I have learned that
disengaged administrative silence in the midst of organizational strife speaks volumes to
the fact that a manager is not ready to be a true leader. With that being said, I take away
from the lessons of this year, both academic and practical, the insight necessary to lead as
an effective, engaged, and proactive future administrator, willing to speak when it is
deemed necessary and silent when listening is imperative.
References:
Hallowell, E. M. (2011). Shine-Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People.
Boston, Massachusettes: Harvard Business Review Press.
Nass, C. (2012). The Man Who Lied to His Laptop. London, England: Penguin Books
Ltd.