Rural School Leadership Lessons: Passion

In his book Bo’s Lasting Lessons, which was published after he died in 2006, Bo Schembechler discussed the importance of passion:

Let’s start with first things first: passion. Because without that, nothing else I’m going to tell you in this book is going to be worth a damn. It just won’t do you any good,

Because the fact is, you’re never going to be able to lead others effectively unless you put your whole heart into what you’re doing. If it’s just a job to you, it’s going to be just a job to them. And trust me: You’re not going to fool them. (p. 3)

For rural school leaders that means having passion for children and education. It also means having passion for the community in which they work. If you’re more interested in making money than you are about being part of a community, you probably won’t be successful in a rural school.