The Beauty Beneath the Surface: When Leadership Teams Take “Selfish” Time

Each fall, I’m reminded how important it is to pause and look beneath the surface of what we see. I didn’t grow up with changing seasons. I’m a transplant to Minnesota from Southern California, and now, raising my young kids here, I’ve come to appreciate what fall teaches us. They love jumping in piles of colorful leaves, and as they learn to rake the leaves, I’ve learned more about what’s actually happening in those trees. 

On the outside, fall trees are stunning. The orange, red, and yellow leaves draw attention and praise. However, beneath that beauty, the tree is doing something practical. It’s drawing nutrients back into the trunk and roots, storing energy for the months ahead. The chlorophyll that kept the leaves green breaks down, and what we see as a color change is really the tree preparing for sustainable life through the winter months. 

This process reminds me of leadership teams who intentionally take time for internal growth. As Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky (2009) describe, adaptive leadership often requires leaders to “get on the balcony” or step back, observe, and strengthen the system before moving forward. From the outside, when a district or school allocates resources or time for leadership development, system-level planning, or capacity building, it can be perceived as self-serving. But like the tree preparing for winter, these teams are doing what’s necessary to stay strong for the long haul. 

Strengthening the Core 

When superintendents, cabinet members, or site leaders dedicate time to clarify priorities, collect voices, examine structures, and build shared understanding, they’re doing essential work that often isn’t visible. This type of internal investment supports long-term success for educators and students alike. Fullan, Quinn, and McEachen (2018) emphasize that coherence or clarity about what matters and why is central to systems that sustain improvement over time. 

I recently worked with a district that showed what this looks like in action. Their public launch of a new priority happened in August, but their journey began more than two years earlier. Before anything was shared broadly, their leaders were aligning practices, developing teaming structures, and strengthening their understanding of equitable systems. Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, and LeMahieu (2015) note that this kind of capacity-building is what allows organizations to “get better at getting better,” embedding improvement into daily routines rather than relying on short-term fixes. 

By the time we began working together in January, they had identified their focus area: infrastructure, and with further data collection and collaboration, the priority focus area was honed to restructuring their coherent, linked teaming infrastructure. Over the next eight months, they asked questions that strengthened alignment across the district: 

• What teams exist across all campuses? 

• What strengths can be leveraged across these teams of educators? 

• What resources do our teams need to do the expected work well? 

• What tools or templates make collaboration more consistent 

• How will we know if our work is having the intended impact? 

Leaders, alongside a team of educational partners (representing groups across the system), created shared tools, communication plans, and professional learning structures that made it easier for everyone, from leaders to paraprofessionals, to understand their role in the change.  This kind of alignment echoes Kotter’s (1996) argument that lasting change depends on creating a shared vision and visible short-term wins that build credibility for deeper transformation. Students were always at the center of their decisions. 

The Work Others Don’t Always See 

It’s easy to celebrate the outward signs of progress: improved outcomes, clear messaging, or strong data stories. Just like the beauty of fall leaves, those visible outcomes are the result of deep, behind-the-scenes work. 

When leadership teams take time to analyze, align, and strengthen their own capacity, they prepare the system to deliver better outcomes for students. That time isn’t selfish, it’s strategic. It’s what allows systems to adapt, sustain, and grow. Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) refer to this as building “professional capital”, where leaders invest in collective expertise and trust so that capacity multiplies across the system. 

Consultation and Fidelity: Sustaining the Work 

Two questions guide sustainable leadership work: 

• How are we communicating and inviting others into the process? (Consultation) 

• How are we ensuring that our investment results in consistent, lasting practice? (Fidelity) 

When leadership teams bring educators, caregivers, and students into the conversation, they ensure change doesn’t stay at the top. It creates shared ownership. When alignment holds across roles, the outcomes for students are stronger, more equitable, and more sustainable. Bryk et al. (2015) describe this as building “networked improvement communities”, structures that connect people to the work, not just to directives, but ties that bind.  

A Moment for Gratitude 

As a leader and as a parent, I find gratitude in both the visible and invisible work. My kids see the joy in jumping through piles of leaves. I see the quiet preparation that makes that beauty possible. The same is true in our systems. When leaders take time to strengthen the core, the entire community benefits. 

So the next time we see a leadership team dedicating time to internal growth, it’s worth reframing our view. What may look like a “selfish” investment is often a necessary step toward sustaining meaningful change. As Fullan (2020) reminds us, deep learning and lasting improvement come from leaders who are willing to invest in reflection, coherence, and relationships before results. 

When leadership teams build their capacity with intention and alignment, they create the conditions for growth not just for themselves, but for every student they serve. 

The beauty of fall is not in the letting go, but in the preparation for what’s to come. 

References 

• Bryk, A. S., Gomez, L. M., Grunow, A., & LeMahieu, P. G. (2015). Learning to improve: How America’s schools can get better at getting better. Harvard Education Press. 

• Fullan, M., Quinn, J., & McEachen, J. (2018). Deep learning: Engage the world, change the world. Corwin Press. 

• Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass. 

• Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Press. 

• Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every school. Teachers College Press. 

• Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Harvard Business School Press.