Fresh eyes could bring clarity, fixes for schools

Often, when there’s a high-profile government job opening in Hawaii — UH president, chief of police, superintendent of schools, for example — the water cooler and break room analyses turn to local-versus-mainland, insider-versus-outsider.

It’s not necessarily a hostile thing, and it certainly isn’t unique to ­Hawaii. Every community keeps tabs on folks who arrive and start making rules and changes. It’s “Hoosiers.” It’s “Northern Exposure.” It’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”

Though it’s common to be wary of newcomers — especially those who airdrop out of wherever into a position of power — ­Hawaii can be so passive-aggressive about it. It’s often the first measurement by which a new community leader is measured, but few people come right out and say it. It’s all background rumblings, whisper-whisper, grumble-grumble.

There are real reasons to worry about outsiders.

The knock on hotshots from the outside is that they don’t have the experiential knowledge of what works and what is already working on the ground in a specific place. For people within an organization, it can become an exhausting effort to explain little nuances and idiosyncrasies that have already been thoroughly road-tested and proved effective.

It can devolve into an unpleasant competition to see which sycophant can cozy up to the new boss first and become their trusted guide into the new world by introducing them to Reyn’s wear and coaching them to say shoyu instead of soy sauce.

But there are also real reasons to worry about insiders who manage to climb their way to the top spots.

They may be stuck in their ways. They may be invested in maintaining the status quo. They may be so beloved by co-workers that they can’t manage effectively. They may have scores to settle with those with whom they tangled to reach the top. Every “connection” is a possible conflict of interest.

Perhaps there is a more helpful way to think of change and change-makers.

There was a management mantra popular in the ’80s — and still put to use in some larger companies — called “fresh eyes.” It is the idea that someone from the outside can bring a whole new way of seeing things to an organization stuck in doing things the same way.

“Fresh eyes” is a much more pleasant idea than “change agent,” “disrupter” or “thought leader.” “Fresh eyes” implies new energy, clarity of vision, a new perspective rather than a person with a sledgehammer and a hit list.

Everyone wants the best for Hawaii’s schools. Hopefully, newly named Superintendent Christina Kishimoto will be a servant-leader who recognizes all the good that is happening in the DOE, supports the best of what exists and takes decisive, effective action to fix the things that are wrong. After the embarrassing political mess of dumping the former superintendent of schools, this would be a great time for fresh eyes, for clear vision and for a smart, unpoliticized and practical plan for making schools better.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.