After nearly a 35 year career in education, I retired as the Superintendent of Schools in January 2020. While in the role as superintendent, I sat on two national committees, ERDI and C21 and also was an adjunct professor for Gonzaga University. I now work as a leadership consultant supporting the work of school boards, system and school leaders.
Chris Smeaton
Author's posts
Feb 10
So you’ve had your interview and didn’t get the job…what’s next?
If you ask a person who just had an interview, “How did it go?”, you’ll likely receive one of three answers: I nailed it! I think I did okay. That was brutal! Regardless of the response, the individual really doesn’t know how the interview went, even if offered the position. That’s a problem if the …
Feb 07
Coaching kids- a message for adults!
This past week I enjoyed some great conversations with friends and colleagues about coaching. I also attended a high school basketball tournament where I watched some coaches in action and listened to the comments of fans/parents. SPECIAL NOTE FOR PARENTS- In all likelihood your child is not going to make his/her living as a professional …
Jan 24
What is your weakness?
Last week over lunch at home with my wife (I can do that now that I’m retired), the discussion of weaknesses came up. She had been watching a talk show and one of the panelist stated that every interview should ask the following question: What are your weaknesses? I’m not convinced that asking that question …
Jan 06
Letting others lead!
Late last week, I tweeted the following quote: Good leaders lead well. Great leaders allow others to lead well! While the above statement seems to be fairly simple, the impact is essential, both from an organizational perspective and for succession planning. I’m amazed at how many times I meet good leaders who somehow fear allowing …
Dec 09
My Retirement Speech!
On Friday, December 6th, I was honored by the Holy Spirit community at my retirement function. Below is the retirement speech that I gave that night. Enjoy! I want to begin by thanking all of you here today on behalf of my entire family. It is most humbling to be recognized by so many. And …
Dec 01
From the Desk of the Superintendent- December 2019
Good morning! You will note that this came to you early Monday morning rather than on the weekend when the month of December started. This is part of an email/texting protocol that I would like to begin implementing given the strong support received by both the Teacher Board Advisory Committee (TBAC) and the Learning Leadership …
Nov 29
Saying goodbye to my CASSIX colleagues
Last night, I was recognized at our annual CASSIX/ASBOA Christmas Dinner and Retirement Evening. Other than my own senior administrative team, these individuals (senior leaders from across zone 6) have been my closest colleagues. My relationship with this esteemed group goes back to 2001 when I entered senior leadership. During what I call my “retirement …
Nov 23
Supporting Principals as Instructional Leaders
In my work as a senior leader, I’ve long-held the belief, that the most influential person in a school division is the principal. Their ability to “lead from the middle” as explained by Andy Hargreaves is certainly influential but it also comes with some significant pressures from top and bottom. That simple fact should be …
Nov 13
Final Musings
Over the past number of years, the local paper, the Lethbridge Herald has provided superintendents in the area a chance to submit articles on a rotational basis. Although I’m not set to retire until January, the following article published on November 13th, will be my last. Enjoy! With my impending retirement in January, this will …
Nov 03
Catholic Education Sunday 2019
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario are the only three provinces remaining in Canada that still offer publicly funded Catholic education. If you are a new Canadian, or maybe just new to Alberta, your experience of Catholic education has probably been that it is not very accessible to the general Catholic population because it is private and involves …