Lakeside School

Earlier this year, Director of Athletics Chris Hartley shared with colleagues and students that this school year would be his last at Lakeside. In this article, he shares his reflections on leadership. Recognition of departing educators, including Coach Hartley, takes place at the close of the school year. 

As I write what will be my last Inside Lakeside article, I find myself facing the challenge of what can possibly summarize nearly two decades at Lakeside. In my time here, I have worn many hats: director of summer school programs, math teacher, advisor, coach for football, golf, and boys lacrosse, college counselor, and director of athletics. I am incredibly thankful for the unwavering support from school leaders: They allowed me to be creative, to test new ideas, and to ask for advice and help when needed. I have grown as a leader because of Lakeside. I have grown as a coach. And now, I am ready to move on.

I came to Lakeside in 2008 believing that I was a strong leader. I had been an administrator at two schools before working at Lakeside: a dean of students in Texas and an upper school director in Michigan. At Lakeside, I have become so much more. Lakeside pushed me…in really good ways. There were certainly challenges, but because I was always surrounded by supportive, caring, intelligent people, I knew that the work would lead to good things, even if failure was part of the process. For this last installment in Inside Lakeside, I would like to share a few lessons this community has taught me and the takeaways about leadership that I’ve gained at Lakeside. 

Core values strengthen teams

For any group of people to work together well and to reach its potential, a set of core values must be created, agreed upon, and lived daily. While I had a sense of the importance of core values from previous jobs (especially coaching), I have come to realize the powerful impact of a group of people working together with a shared set of agreements about the purpose of their work and how they want to interact with each other. Whether working with a group of teachers in the summer school programs, working with the athletics staff, or coaching a team, sharing core values has taken away any ambiguity and kept the group grounded in all they do.

Discipline is freedom

One of the most transformative books I’ve read is Jocko Willink’s “Extreme Ownership.” I highly recommend it, as well as its follow-up, “The Dichotomy of Leadership.” One of Willink’s most famous lines is, “Discipline is freedom.” While it seems contradictory, it makes sense when you start with a set of core values. If we live by our core values — our discipline — every decision becomes simple, offering the freedom of a clear, principled path forward. At Lakeside, questions — Should I be honest? Should I say something mean-spirited? — are answered when we follow the school’s core values, such as integrity and kindness. 

Care deeply about what you do

The only way to feel good about how you spend your time is to care deeply about how you spend your time. Make wise decisions about what and to whom you give your time and energy. We can all (students especially) get caught up in the idea that we need to compare favorably with those around us. But we need to remember that each of us has a unique set of skills and values that should guide us to what we do. Part of the reason that I am choosing to step away from my work at Lakeside is that I have reflected on what is most important to me now, at this stage of my life. For 18 years, I have cared deeply for my work at Lakeside. Personal challenges over the last several years have led me to want to focus the majority of my time, and to dedicate my deepest care, to other areas of my life.

Your experience is not everyone’s

I am white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, and male. I have just about every unearned advantage in this country. I grew up believing that America was a meritocracy in which everyone had the same opportunities, and that it just came down to who worked the hardest. Due to wonderful mentors along the way, I have learned to think differently and understand how my experience can be vastly different from others, even if we share the same space and community. I’m now much more thoughtful about the assumptions I make. It’s important that I not only be open to learning, but also demonstrate this through my actions and the signals I send to others.

Lakeside has furthered my understanding of what it means to be a member of a community that shares many different lived experiences and celebrates many different ways of navigating the world. The work of being an inclusive community is not always smooth. But I’ve learned that when struggles emerge, listening to learn and setting aside egos are the first two steps in finding a path forward.

Be kind and generous

There is always an opportunity to be kind and generous. Maybe that means you smile at someone as you pass by them, even if you do not know them. Maybe that means you pick up some trash that isn’t yours (my grandfather taught me that one). Maybe that means you look around your surroundings and offer to help out someone working on a challenging task. Maybe that means you thank someone for doing something with passion and attention to detail. No matter how busy you are, no matter how you are feeling on a certain day, an act of kindness or a generous gesture strengthens a community and opens a line of communication with someone you might not know. 

Thank you to all the students that I have crossed paths with…you have made me a better person. Thank you to all my colleagues who have inspired me to be a better educator and leader. Thank you to all the parents and guardians for trusting me with your students and for giving me feedback so that my little part of Lakeside could serve students better. Be well, all.

Chris Hartley is Lakeside’s director of athletics. You can reach him at info@lakesideschool.site.