Looking back to 2020

This week marks the third-year anniversary of my retirement as Superintendent of Schools. In some ways it seems like only yesterday that I called it quits, while at other times it seems like a lifetime ago. So, what have I done or better yet, what are some things I’ve learned in these past three years?

The doing is pretty easy to explain. Within eight months of retirement, my wife and I moved to be closer to and more involved in the lives of our grandchildren. What a blessing it has been to watch them grow and provide support to their parents in some unusually challenging times. To the surprise of my family, I stayed completely retired for 16 months. It wasn’t until April 2021 that the good folks at Nelson Canada came knocking to see if I would be interested in first, a one day a week and now a two day a week contract as an Education Advisor. My desire to work with Nelson came first because of their willingness to be flexible with my time and secondly, to keep me connected to the educational community. I’m extremely supportive of the Nelson products, be it their school resources, Edwin or professional learning and have great confidence introducing school divisions to their team of experts! I’ve also been able to provide some contract support to the likes of Apple Canada and EF Educational Tours. My previous experience with the group Education Research Development & Innovation (ERDI) allowed me to form some great relationships (and friendships) with many corporate partners.

Like most retired superintendents, I formed my own consulting company, CDSmeaton Consulting in late 2021 and began to provide leadership coaching, school improvement support and to the surprise of many, school board orientations, governance workshops and evaluations. Providing support to superintendents as they go through their evaluations and working with boards who have a sincere desire to do better has been a very positive experience. I’m also working closely with the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority in northern Alberta which is most rewarding. Finally, I’ve been contracted by five boards around the Edmonton area to lead their 2-year “Excellence in Catholic Education Leadership” course through Newman Theological College.

While it may seem like I’m very busy, my workload is far less than that of my days as superintendent. In the winter, I play hockey 2-3 times per week and I golf 60 plus rounds in the summer. Not complaining at all!

So, what have been some learnings during these past three years?

• COVID has been one of the most divisive issues in communities and in education. Everyone had an opinion and never before have people been so inclined to share it and in many times rudely!
• No matter what decision governments or local authorities made around COVID, it was wrong to someone!
• The ability to speak out has not faded away and in fact, people feel more empowered to speak their mind especially within social media circles.
• Never before has leadership been more essential. Unfortunately, few leaders ever took a course in leading through a pandemic and so much of what needed to be done was ever evolving.
• The ongoing waves of the pandemic and the massive diversity of opinions only made a leaders’ role even more complex. Most people craved the “old normal” but it has not returned nor will it ever return leaving many people feeling uneasy and uncertain.
• Teaching was a very difficult profession prior to the pandemic. However, the additional stresses placed on the entire educational system has made it even more difficult.
• The need to adequately support the mental health of employees is a priority. Only organizations that prioritize this goal will continue to prosper. Those that do nothing will eventually die a slow death!
• Even when the comfort zone is not what is required, people still want to spend their time there.
• Relationships within organizations take more time now to develop than ever before and are far more important. No matter where you are in an organization, it is everyone’s job to build healthy and trusting relationships.
• Most school board members are well intentioned and want to make a difference. However, many without significant and ongoing training, have a difficult time knowing how to make that difference within their governance role. NOTE: I’ve been very fortunate to be working with boards who have a strong desire to be on a continuous learning journey.
• The need to innovate in schools and likely most organizations is being severely hampered by fatigued and frustrated employees. Yet, innovation may be the only solution to many of the issues of fatigue and frustration!
• Tough decisions are always necessary but they should be well communicated. There needs to be a clear “why” for any decision and in the end, it must be done with integrity and honestly.
• Pointing your finger at another’s errors leaves you three pointing back at you. People need to clean up their own house first before they judge others!
• COVID has really demonstrated how broken our society is and the lack of commitment to support others. We’ve become very much a “me” population!
• The following quote from Eric Hoffer has never been more accurate, “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” We need learners more than anything else!

My 11-year tenure as superintendent was extremely rewarding. I had a board that trusted my work and mostly stayed out of operations. Both of these attributes contributed to the growth of a robust system and positive board/superintendent relations. I was also fortunate to be surrounded by some key central office leaders who really exemplified the mission and vision of the school division. Leading should never be an “alone” job and having the right people in place is essential. Finally, and this didn’t happen overnight, I had strong leaders in our schools. My considerable investment of time with our school leaders helped to develop relationships built on honesty, integrity and trust. We did not always agree (and nor should we have) but we always were able to focus on the bigger picture and look beyond the here and now.

To be honest, even with such strong relationships throughout the division, I can’t imagine the difficulty of leading through a pandemic. I certainly have great appreciation for those who did it, especially if they were new to the position. Not an easy task!

My timing for retirement was almost perfect and my ability to still do some contract work with school boards and leaders is more than gratifying. I can’t say that I don’t get frustrated with narrowminded individuals or with government decisions that make little to no sense but I’m in a really good place. Retirement (or semi-retirement) has been great and I hope to be able to continue to contribute where I can in the future.