THE CASE
After Peter Weller entered the teachers’ lounge, the room fell silent. Three colleagues—Debra Lowler, Linda Mays, and Jake Brumwell—were seated at one of the four small, round tables scattered randomly across the room. No one else was present. Having a common preparation period, the four teachers often spent 10 to 15 minutes a day discussing various issues while enjoying a cup of coffee.
Peter nodded as he sat down in the remaining chair at the table, but the silence continued. After a few seconds he asked, “OK, why did everyone quit talking? You look like my students after 1 catch them doing something wrong.”
“Peter,” Linda answered, “We were just discussing your favorite principal. Maybe she has a hidden listening device in this room and, after hearing our comments, sent you here to defend her!” After a brief pause, she added, “Just a joke, Peter, so don’t get hostile.”
Peter said, “Don’t you have more important topics to discuss? I know you have a penchant for critiquing administrators and your colleagues, but your obsession with Dr. Werner is unhealthy. Ease up.”
Colleen Werner had been appointed principal of Drewerton South High School, one of two high schools in the district, less than a year before. She is only the second principal in the school’s 14-year history. With an enrollment of just over 1,000 students, South High School serves the most affluent neighborhoods in an upscale suburban community.
George Calbo, South High School’s first and only other principal, retired at the end of the previous year. He was well liked by most of the faculty and support staff. Prior to becoming principal, he had taught social studies, coached basketball, and served as an assistant principal at Drewerton High School, then the only high school in the district. As the founding principal at South High School, he was able to personally select the school’s new employees. Many of them were his friends and long-time colleagues.
The announcement that Dr. Colleen Werner would succeed Principal Calbo surprised a great many stakeholders, including faculty and staff at South High School. The superintendent had received more than 50 applications for the position, including nine from current district employees. Among the final five candidates, Dr. Werner was the only one not currently employed in the Drewerton district and the only female. Most observers concluded that she was merely the “token female candidate,” especially since she was considerably younger (32 years old at the time of her appointment), less experienced, and less politically connected than the others.
The fact that Dr. Werner and her predecessor were opposites was evident almost immediately— even to most students. Mr. Calbo had devoted much of his time to managing people and material resources; Dr. Werner relegated these responsibilities to her two assistants. She devoted much of her time to visiting classrooms, working on curriculum projects, and building relationships with parents and students. Mr. Calbo spent nearly 2 hours every day in the teachers’ lounge, listening to concerns and complaints, discussing politics, and seeking the latest gossip. Dr. Werner, on the other hand, rarely went to the teachers’ lounge, and when she did, she usually stayed only long enough to pour a cup of coffee.