The Listening Heart
From the Head of School on vision and leadership at dTHS.
As I move into the Head of School’s office and assume the mantle of leadership from Dr. Powell, the question I have been asked throughout the last year is, “What is my vision of leadership?” What is my vision for leading the remarkable community that we call de Toledo High School? To answer this, I will reiterate much of what I told our search committee and Board of Directors on November 29, 2016, when I formally applied for Head of School.
As with teaching, there is no one way to lead. Every situation and every personal interaction requires a unique approach. However, there is one constant to being a leader, the ability to listen. In I Kings, chapter 3, G-d appeared to Solomon in a dream. G-d asked the king, “What shall I grant you?” Solomon responded, "Grant your servant a listening heart in order to govern your people, to distinguish between right and wrong..." King Solomon did not ask for strength, wisdom, or power. He asks only for a listening heart.
It is with this listening heart that I approach the position of Head of School. The transition from founding head to the next head will be a transformative time for de Toledo High School. It will officially mark the passage from the beginning, start-up phase, to the next evolutionary phase of dTHS. Guiding this transition will require the buy-in and ownership from all the stakeholders at dTHS. To be successful in this transition, I will need to have an open heart, open ears, and the ability to surround myself with great people, who have wisdom, deep insights, and whose partnership will propel dTHS to even greater heights.
Therefore, being this type of leader will require flexibility and the ability to read and understand the situation and the people I am leading.
Sometimes, I will need to lead from the front, speaking to our community to communicate our ideals and vision. Other times, it will be leading from behind, like a ship’s captain, whose conn is always at the rear of the ship, seeing where we are going and having the vision to make necessary course corrections. This approach allows our educators to be in front, to own the journey, and allows our faculty to be the innovators and face of the school. "A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." --Lao Tzu
Most importantly, I will always strive to be as transparent as possible and explain my decisions and rationale to our stakeholders so that there can be an understanding of why the decision was made. And at all times, I will have to listen. Collaboration and ownership by the faculty, staff, Board, students, and parents will allow dTHS to continue to raise us to levels not yet contemplated.
In the end, my job as the Head of School is to educate, enlighten, and motivate others to embrace our shared vision and make it their own. This is how I plan to inspire, to collaborate, and to lead dTHS.
B’Shalom:
Mark Shpall, MA.Ed, J.D.
Located in the San Fernando Valley portion of the City of Los Angeles in Northern Los Angeles County. de Toledo High School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Builders of Jewish Education (BJE,) and financially supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Jim Joseph Foundation.
