Failure, Leadership and Learning

I once took up the offer of being the principal of a private school not fully knowing the implications of that decision until years later. I had joined because I wanted to make a difference, to make an impact in the lives of students and the community that I served. The situation did not look bright when I joined the school. It was not seen as attractive and enrolment had already started to fall. Still, a challenge was a challenge and I wanted one. The deciding factor to go back there was that it was also my old school. I had good years there and had many good memories and I wanted the glory years back. It wasn’t easy. It was the toughest ride I had ever been on. To cut the story short, the Board closed the school after being in operation for many years. I was the school’s last principal. Closing a school was unheard of those days. It was a painful experience for me and for those associated with the school especially its teachers, students and the small community. However, I ha...