Where did those words come from?

Last night, during the Teach Like a Pirate twitter chat (Mondays 8pm to 9pm CST, search the hashtag #tlap), I replied to one of the questions with a statement that I have been thinking about all day.  The question was, "How do you empower your students and colleagues with shared leadership?"

I responded with, "Don't be a school leader that doles out permission.  Be a school leader that clears paths for innovation."

Wow!  I am quite sure I channeled someone much wiser than me to get those words out.  I can't stop thinking about the realities of fully bringing this ideal to life.  So many times, folks have great ideas so they go to their supervisor for permission.  How do we move to a place where people grant themselves permission based on a few questions:

1. Is this best for students?
2. Does this idea move us towards achieving our vision or our goals?
3. Will any of the other excellent facets of our campus suffer because of this?

With the right answers to these questions, permission would not be needed!  Instead, wouldn't it be excellent if the school leaders could respond with:

1. I can't wait to see how it goes!
2. What paths can I clear for you?
3. How can I support your leadership?

Finally, can this be done in a classroom full of students?  With excellent design, I think it can!