Why Sun Tzu?
I am an educational leader who loves to read and learn from other leaders. Studying effective leaders, I fervently examine what makes them successful, in hopes of taking away some small tidbit of information to use in my professional and personal life. One such inspirational leader is Sun Tzu, who wrote the extremely popular military treatise The Art of War. These writings are on the US Marine Corps Professional Reading List, recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel, and required reading for all CIA officers. I thought, if The Art of War is good enough for our best and brightest Military personnel, it certainly must have something to offer me. I was right!
A Quick Story
The following story is taken from the book "The Art of War," by James Clavell. Sun Tzu, whose personal name was Wu, was a native of the Ch’i state. His Art of War brought him to the notice of Ho Lu, King of Wu. Ho Lu said to him, “I have carefully perused your thirteen chapters. May I submit your theory of managing soldiers to a slight test?” Sun Tzu replied “you may.” The king asked, “May the test be applied to women?”
The answer was again in the affirmative, so arrangements were made to bring 180 ladies out of the palace. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies and placed one of the king’s favorite concubines at the head of each. He then made them all take spears in their hands and addressed them thus: “I presume you know the difference between front and back, right hand and left hand?”
The girls replied, “Yes.” Sun Tzu went on. “When I say ‘eyes front,’ you must look straight ahead. When I say ‘left turn,’ you must face toward your left hand. When I say ‘right turn,’ you must face toward your right hand. When I say ‘about turn,’ you must face right around toward the back.”
Again the girls assented. The words of command having been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes in order to begin the drill. Then to the sound of drums he gave the order “right turn,’ but the girls only burst out laughing.
Sun Tzu said patiently, “If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame.” He started drilling them again and this time gave the order “left turn,” whereupon the girls once more burst into fits of laughter.
Then he said, “If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.” So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies to be beheaded! Accordingly, and immediately, he had the two leaders beheaded and straight away installed the pair next in order as leaders in their place. When this had been done the drum was sounded for drill once more. The girls went through all the evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching ahead or wheeling about, kneeling or standing, with perfect accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound.
Then Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the king saying: “Your soldiers, sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined and ready for Your Majesty’s inspection. They can be put to any use that their sovereign may desire. Bid them go through fire and water and they will not now disobey.”
How can Sun Tzu's Story relate to Educational Leaders?
Sun Tzu valued preparation, planning and excellence of execution. The bottom line was preparing soldiers to win wars. By maintaining that women could be trained equally as well as men, proved that Tzu believed that ALL civilians could learn to be soldiers. Similarly in Education, our goal is excellence, in preparing our students to be successful in a highly competitive world. Like Sun Tzu, most educational leaders would agree that ALL students have the capacity to learn.
Educational leaders are responsible for establishing the Core Values of their respective districts and schools. The statement by Tzu “if words of command are not clear and distinct…then the general is to blame” clearly relate to communication and vision. If leadership is unable to precisely lay out a school districts road map to success, it reflects poor leadership at the highest level (District Level Administration). Tzu goes on to state “if orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers,” which leads me to believe that if a solid guiding vision is communicated and is not followed through at the building level, the building level administrative team is accountable.
Educational leaders are responsible for establishing the Core Values of their respective districts and schools. The statement by Tzu “if words of command are not clear and distinct…then the general is to blame” clearly relate to communication and vision. If leadership is unable to precisely lay out a school districts road map to success, it reflects poor leadership at the highest level (District Level Administration). Tzu goes on to state “if orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers,” which leads me to believe that if a solid guiding vision is communicated and is not followed through at the building level, the building level administrative team is accountable.
The good news is that there are several instances when a strong district vision and core values is clearly communicated with exemplary principals and administrators carrying out that vision effectively in their schools. And no one is beheaded! Ultimately it’s great teachers in the trenches that are the ultimate “Warriors” who win the daily battles and win our wars.
