Dealing with Teachers Who Undermine the Mission or Retire On the Job 

(Originally titled “Working with Difficult Staff”)

In this Educational Leadership article, John Eller (St. Cloud State University) and Sheila Eller (a Minnesota elementary principal) share their thoughts on how school leaders might contend with two types of problem colleagues:

• The underminer – These staff members work behind the scenes to recruit colleagues to oppose the leader’s position or initiatives by fabricating or exaggerating negative aspects. “Covert agitating can poison school climate and make reform impossible,” say Eller and Eller. Underminers may create a subversive faction within the school, turn a debate about issues into a personality battle, and create a hostile environment for everyone. 

It’s important to act quickly to minimize the damage, say the authors. One strategy is to meet privately with the chief underminer, respectfully confront what seems to be going on (“Several staff members have told me you’re upset about the PLC meetings we are holding. If you have concerns, I want you to share them with me rather than others”), and try to find out what the real issue is. If a group has coalesced, it may be a good idea to meet with everyone together – or it may be smarter to divide and conquer. Either way, it’s important for the principal to respond to the substance of the complaint and not be defensive, while making it clear that behind-the-back undermining is unacceptable.

Eller and Eller also suggest that principals dealing with undermining reflect on their leadership style and ask themselves whether staff members have appropriate channels for expressing disagreement and discontent – for example, a robust pro-and-con faculty debate, office hours, an open mind about different ways of doing things, and a concerns-based suggestion box. “If you let people know you’re really interested in listening to their complaints or worries and using their perspective to guide change, they’ll be more willing to share with you,” they say. 

• The on-the-job retiree – A staff member who plans to retire in June may feel free to coast for the rest of the year, demoralizing and angering colleagues. “A charismatic coaster can become a ‘cult figure’ or gain prestige because he or she openly defies the organization,” say Eller and Eller. “Some teachers may look up to the person and even reinforce these negative behaviors… People may feel forced to take sides in relation to their actions and behaviors.” 

As with underminers, it’s important to respond quickly to slackers with a frank conversation. Here’s what a principal said to Stan, who had announced to colleagues that he was retiring at the end of the year and wouldn’t be attending his grade-level PLC meetings: “When a teacher leaves a school, that educator leaves a legacy behind. That legacy includes things like a reputation, what others think of you, what others remember after you’re gone. Stan, I’d like you to think about the legacy you want to leave here after your retirement. And I’d like us to meet and talk about this again next week.” Upon reflection, Stan changed his tune.

Another approach is to give the teacher an important task that uses his or her particular skills or passions. The principal might launch an initiative that requires everyone’s effort, creating peer pressure for the pre-retiree to get involved. Or the principal might work privately with the teacher to develop a succession plan.

“Working with Difficult Staff” by John Eller and Sheila Eller in Educational Leadership, April 2013 (Vol. 70, #7, online only at www.ascd.org); the authors can be reached at jellerthree@aol.com and seller3600@aol.com. 

From the Marshall Memo #481