Graceful Exits

 As a high school principal it is very important that you get accurate and timely information. You also need to learn who are the people you can trust to be honest with you. Not being from Adamsville, Tennessee, I was consider an outsider. I was raised in Tyler, Texas. An outsider who is in a leadership position can experience many challenges to accurately comprehend the community. It has been said, "We see things not the way they are but rather we often see things the way we are." As a principal of Adamsville High School, I needed someone to help me to honestly see more clearly.

 Where do you go to find out what the community is thinking? I would go to restaurants and community events, talking with individuals in order to get feedback. But one of the most influential individuals I found was Billy Waggoner. He was the owner and operator of the Community Shopper, a local shopping  guide that contained local news with each weekly publication. Being raised in the eastern part of McNairy County, Billy knew the people. He was also highly intelligent with a burning desire to study and record history. He was a former baseball catcher. He was also a writer and lover of music and a gifted performer. He became one of my main sources for reading the pulse of the community. He was confident enough to tell me the truth yet he did it in a way that did not attack my character. He was a wonderful confidant. 

Well, what does that have to do with a graceful exit? Looking back maybe Billy helped me to understand the importance of a graceful exit by extending to me a graceful entrance. So, after long school days, I began going by the Community Shopper office frequently to talk with Billy. I would often ask him what he was hearing and seeing and he would offer advice and insights from his perspective. He was someone who traveled weekly throughout McNairy and Hardin Counties as he sold advertisements for his newspaper. Being a local and a very respected man, he knew the pulse of the extended community.

 One special day I was talking to him about how to handle a personnel problem. It was becoming more apparent that I was going to have to recommend termination for an employee who was raised in McNairy County. The teacher was simply not  performing up to expectations. I inquired of Billy how I should proceed, not identifying the individual. It was then that he said to me, "Whenever possible, always strive to give an individual, even an adversary, a graceful exit." An amazing insight. Even though the teacher was not an adversary, he or she  and his or her family would probably reach that level soon. Billy was such a wise man who taught me about graceful exits and graceful entrances. I was able to take his advice in that situation and many more through the years.  He helped Adamsville Jr./Sr. High School as much as anyone during the twenty-three years that I was there with timely and accurate insights. His heart and soul were connected to the people. And he helped to connect me to the people through his wise counsel

We as leaders need people like Billy Wagoner to help us to see and hear from those we serve. Leadership is about striving to understand and then to be understood. Leaders understand the value of information whether it is formal or informal. Let us determine within ourselves that we become leaders who have eyes to see and ears to hear from those we serve. Also let us offer graceful entrances into our groups and organizations as Billy Waggoner gave me a invitation into a wonderful relationship.  Let us extend, as well, a graceful exit when necessary to those who fail to meet standards of the system. Remember--I believe we are all leaders regardless of our position.