Kent Bechler: Leadership Associates

What happens when a former basketball coach takes his playbook to the superintendent's office?

In this episode, Nick Telford sits down with Kent Bechler, a former varsity basketball coach who now coaches and mentors superintendents across California as a Senior Partner at Leadership Associates. Kent explains why district leaders need coaches just like professional athletes do, and shares how to trade outdated "command and control" tactics for expert facilitation. In this episode you'll learn:

• Why working with the school board isn't an obstacle, it is your job
• How districts hit a seven-year cycle before needing to reinvent
• Why modern leaders must shift from command and control to facilitation
• How asking more questions turns a good solution into a better one
• Why the higher you climb in district leadership, the less truth you hear

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Oftentimes I'll talk with superintendents and they'll say, you know, I could really be a better superintendent and really get things done if the board would just get out of my way. And I remind them that their job is the board. That's their job to work with the board to make sure the district is moving forward in the direction that everyone agrees to. Because if not, then boards also sometimes have a quick temper or a quick decision in terms of wanting to replace the superintendent with someone else.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

You're listening to School District Superheroes, a podcast that puts the super back in superintendents. In each episode, you'll learn how today's most innovative superintendents are reimagining what's possible for students, staff, and their communities. And now for your host, Nick Telford.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Well, welcome, Kent Becker. Thanks for joining us here at School District Superheroes. It's good to be with you, Nick.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Thanks for uh having me, and uh I appreciate all the lead up, except that uh I didn't know I was supposed to have a suit on. So we're gonna go with what we have here.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

We like the authenticity, Kent. So uh you're looking good. I know you have a boot on there that people that people can't see, so I appreciate you strobing through that to to be here and and and talking to us.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Absolutely. It's great.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

Kent, I I kind of refer to you behind your back as the superintendent of superintendents. So we're we're very privileged to have you join us and and just talk about all things education, leadership, and getting your perspective on why these superintendents and administrators around the state are our real-time superheroes. I want to first of all open with a question I ask all of the guests here, which is who is your favorite superhero growing up?

SPEAKER_01 1:50

So, Nick, you're gonna laugh because you probably have never heard of this uh this uh superhero. But uh the superhero's name was Underdog. And uh Underdog was actually a little dog, and he had a uh when he charged out, he put his fist out and he uh took off, and he was the one who uh came alongside so many different folks that were underdogs, and he was uh underdog to help those that needed help. And uh it was a lot of fun. It was more of a cartoon, it wasn't Batman or Spider-Man, but it was underdog.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

Well, no knowing you for the time I have that actually makes a lot of sense. Um you spent a lot of time helping people who are uh trying to make it within leadership and um and helping them through their struggles and uh probably taking them from being the underdog to not not being the underdog so much anymore. So um that that's a great answer, and I don't know who that is, but I will look it up.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

You'll look it up while we're done.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Yeah. So, Kent, as uh opposed to some of the guests we've had on the podcast recently, you uh were a superintendent and you are now a retired superintendent and and on doing other things, which we'll get into here. But I wanted to maybe give a kind of quick uh background on your journey through education uh as far back as you'd like to go in terms of how that formed the man you are today.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Well, um most superintendents uh start off in the classroom and they uh have gone through uh college and gotten a teaching credential. When I went through college, it was not to get a teaching credential. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to major in, and so I majored in social work and became a probation officer. And I had 10 uh folks that were on my caseload. The oldest was a uh 65-year-old person who had some real issues, and then the youngest one was a sixth grader who thought he was a gang person. And as we as I went through the semester in terms of learning how to do the job, it became very clear to me that this was not the job I wanted to do. That summer I was on a basketball team in uh Australia, and we had a coach who was a high school coach, and he and I became pretty good friends, and he really encouraged me to go and get a credential and teach, and then also uh coach. And uh that sounded pretty good, and so I decided to do that and became a social studies teacher and a ninth grade basketball coach, and then I graduated to coaching the varsity team, and uh that's how I got started. Um I then had uh two or three uh kind of people in my life mentors and coaches, and uh they encouraged me to um go back to school and receive a master's in school administration, which ultimately led to me being an assistant principal. So that's kind of the the journey uh forward.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

As a superintendent, how many school districts were you superintendent at?

SPEAKER_01 4:54

So I um moved through the ranks, became a high school principal, assistant superintendent of instruction, and then I was the superintendent in Duarte, a small 5,000 student district at that time, as close to an inner city school district as you can get in the suburbs. Then from there I went to Walnut Valley uh for um a short period of time, and there we had the city of Walnut and the city of Diamond Bar, and then from there to Corona Norco, and uh Walnut was about 15,000 and Corona Norco was about 55,000. So three different districts, uh each one uh a little larger than the other one.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Flying through all of that, I will come back to maybe the lessons learned uh over those three different districts. But when you finished and decided to retire as superintendent, uh what was it that stopped you uh maybe seeking another role as a superintendent at another district? Was there a natural uh kind of end to your desire to stay in that kind of role?

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Well, I've always wanted to do a variety of things in my life. And uh when I get to the end of my life, I would like to have looked back and have done a number of different things that are interesting, but also that allow me to kind of give back and and uh serve uh folks if if I can do that. So um that's um kind of the the mode forward. I remember what it was like to move into a job for the first time, and the the level of uh frustration and newness that is there. I I felt like as a retired superintendent or as a consultant, which I uh think we are. I'm not retired, I'm just a uh educational or leadership consultant, that I and we, the folks that I were working with, could really provide support uh for folks that were in jobs and they they maybe didn't know as much or maybe were a little frustrated. I also followed two superintendents who died, one uh while he was superintendent and one about a month after he retired. And so I knew that retiring a bit early or walking away a bit early to do something different uh might even increase my longevity. And so uh all these little things go in, but the end of the result was I want to do a variety of things, and I have received a lot of support as a superintendent, and I want to provide that for superintendents as well.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

Is there any mentor that sticks out to you during your time in education? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Um, one in particular, his name was Dr. Clay Hess. Uh he was my master teacher when I started my student teaching. Uh he and I became, we had a nice connection. He was a person that grew up in West Virginia. From there I went into the military, and then from there he went into education. And so I linked up with him because he was a social studies teacher and he was the basketball coach. And he and I became friends, and then uh when I was ready to start teaching, I actually took his job because he became the assistant principal at a nearby school, and then he and his mentor went to the high school and they brought me with them. And uh he's the one that uh really my life changed drastically when he came into my life. Uh he had me go back to school and get a doctorate and really focus on leadership and leadership development, and that fundamentally changed who I was as a person. And um I I owe Clay um a lot because he really guided me um forward.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

That's great to hear you're now that person, you're the Clay House to uh so many other either aspiring superintendents or superintendents. I'm curious as to what you the kind of lessons you're learning as to the importance of mentorship and how to how to be a good mentor. What advice would you would you give to those people in similar similar to positions to yourself in terms of that delicate balance when coaching someone in a leadership role?

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Folks don't usually ask me what I'm learning, they ask what other folks are learning. But I I will tell you that um uh every day uh when I talk to folks about issues and challenges that they are facing, whether they're problems or whether they're uh personnel items or community, what you realize the more folks you talk to is that there are multiple answers and solutions to a question. The um the outcome is decided by which one of those you choose. And in many cases, it's not a difference between the right or the wrong one. It's a difference between this solution versus a better solution over here. So uh it really comes down to being very patient and asking questions. My sense is that uh folks um do not ask enough questions, and uh they they make a decision uh maybe on the faster side because they think they have uh encountered all the opportunities or options. But what they fail to realize is that over time, especially if you ask um questions and then more questions, uh things start to become clearer. And usually the outcome is it is a difference between a good solution and a better solution. And what I try to do is get people to think. If they think uh through things, then I think they come up with a better answer and they're they're more effective as leaders. But if you just make it quickly, uh you lose out on the opportunities to um provide support and you you miss yourself in terms of of the opportunities that you might have. I think I'd be a better superintendent uh today than I was when I retired. But Nick, I don't want to go back. I really like where I'm at.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

Great advice. You I do you know you hear a lot uh that there's no right answer or wrong answer sometimes in terms of what the solution is, but I really like the framing of a good and better because it just gives that idea there's always something that you can improve on, and always something you could dig a bit deeper, you'll you'll even uncover more options. Uh so yeah, that's uh great great advice and thanks for sharing it. Would would you having talked to so many of these folks and and doing what you do almost every day, are there lessons that top top one to three common denominators across the folks that you coach and work with in terms of the gaps or the areas that they're trying to improve upon?

SPEAKER_01 11:31

The challenge in educational leadership and maybe in leadership in general is the ability to think through the options that are out there or the consequences or the unintended consequences and move forward carefully, but nevertheless moving uh forward. Umganizations have about a seven-year run up. So, typical in an organization, you you start here flat and then you start to go up, and you have about a seven or eight-year run up. And then about that time, organizations tend to uh uh level off. And then one of two things happens. You either kind of reinvent yourself or the organization and start another seven or eight-year run up, or you start sliding into entropy and very, very carefully or very, very slowly, and you're not always aware that you're not making the progress that you uh once did. And for superintendents who uh really want to move forward and uh want to accomplish something, have a good legacy, they have to be mindful of the the progress and the challenge that it takes to move up. And you know that from uh just your your own um uh work that you do in the LEVO. You know, you guys get about our seven-year run-up, and then you you leveled off, then you reinvent it, you added other things, and you started up again. And I think organizations can do that, but it takes um a superintendent who is patient and understands the the values uh that um are important to the organization, but are important to them and the community, and then they they move from there.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

Thanks, Kent. And uh it sounds like they need to uh innovate. Uh there needs to be continuous innovation, and uh some of the folks that we've had on have the people that I honestly I I love to have uh as guests on this show is folks who do want to innovate and who have that thirst and drive to find out uh how to do something better. Are there trends in education that you see now that have obviously changed in the last five to ten years where you think innovation is needed?

SPEAKER_01 13:47

If you think about the the characteristics of a great leader, some of those uh characteristics are um the ability to be a strong decision maker, uh someone who has courage, someone who is flexible and creative, asks many questions. They're flexible, they facilitate things well, um, and they understand conflict resolution. It used to be that the role of the superintendent was kind of a command and control role, that the uh usually a male, and they they were whatever they said went, and so it was a kind of a command and control. That actually um kind of went away in the 2000s. The decade of the 80s was all about management. The decade of the 90s was all about leadership and leadership development. 2000s we moved more towards teams, and now in the in the decade that we're in presently, it's we're kind of shifting to the the leader, the superintendent, becoming a great facilitator. Not so much making the decision, but they're involving everyone so that the decision is um a little bit more uh creative, is a little more adapted to the organization that they're in, and it allows uh folks to participate in the in the process. In general, people don't have to have their way, but they have to be heard. And so the the role of the superintendent is kind of shifting more, and the creativity comes in how do I facilitate this meeting where I involve the parents in such a way that they're they're involved in in their child's education and they're uh satisfied and happy, versus me just telling them which direction we're going to go, which does not work. One quick uh story I was working in placing a superintendent in a district, and uh one of the board members looked at me and she said to me, Kent, do you know the difference between parent involvement and parent engagement? And it was like it was a trick question. And so I said, Well, I'm a I would assume that parent involvement has more to do with serving, like you know, baked goods or running off copies for things or doing a task. But I would assume that um parent engagement means that the parents are actively involved in the in the decisions that uh affect their child. One of the things she said to me is, we don't do parent involvement, we do parent engagement. And right then I knew that the superintendent who was going to have to take that uh position or wanted to take that position was going to have to adjust their their style. It's not a command and control anymore, it's far from it. Uh it is now a facilitation position which involves lots of folks. And if if people aren't curious or creative, they'll never pick the right solution for the challenge that they're facing.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Do you see it uh people getting into trouble with that specifically in terms of facilitating too much? Do you see that as a challenge for some folks you work with where they are trying to actively do that and things are taking longer and there's any like there's maybe fatigue around the amount of buy-in you're trying to get and people are calling out for a decision to be made?

SPEAKER_01 17:01

I think that I'm not seeing the fatigue. Uh what I what I'm seeing is uh individuals, superintendents who are coming into the position, um, and they're really good folks, um, and they're smart and they're they're preparing for this position. But because we have a generation of folks leaving the profession, people are becoming superintendents and becoming the leaders far um sooner than they used to. And so what's occurring is they don't have maybe the depth of experience that it would help, or maybe the street cred on the part of board members that board members would trust them. Oftentimes um board members want to to kind of dictate the way that things are are moving, uh, with mostly with good intent. But if you're not as skilled as a superintendent, you can you can probably see your organization start to shift away from you and towards other folks. And so it's really important for the superintendent to have someone in their life who can be a thinking uh partner, somebody who will tell them the truth, because they have you have to remember the higher you go in an organization, the less truth you hear. Because people want to gain favor. And so um if as a superintendent you're in the position, you really have to move quickly to kind of understand and to learn what organizational leadership is, and how do you really deal with five individuals who are your bosses, or at least at least they think they're your bosses, and how do you navigate around them or keep them involved in such a way that um you have this energy that develops in the organization to really move forward.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Yeah, board members as a superintendent, as you said, they are the bosses of the superintendent. Do you do you spend a lot of time coaching superintendents on how to manage that dynamic with the board?

SPEAKER_01 18:48

You know, absolutely. That's I think that's one of the uh top one or two or three challenges superintendents have. And it's only going to become more challenging as time goes on. You know, the new legislation that allows board members to be paid, so now they can re can receive uh a monthly check, they also have full benefits, and they now they also have their own trustee area. So you're you're starting to see uh these trends with uh superintendents becoming less a part of a team or a group and more about just themselves and their um attendance area. And so the the challenge is really with the superintendent that they bring board members together and they really spend the time explaining and working to help them understand that we are one school district, we're not five districts, we're one school district. And and and we work together because if we don't work together, you're really not going to accomplish very much as a school board member. You're only as good as the folks that are around you, and you have to agree. And that that then becomes a challenge. Oftentimes I'll talk with superintendents and they'll say, you know, I could really be a better superintendent and really get things done if the board was would just get out of my way. And I remind them that their job is the board. That's their job, to work with the board to make sure that we're the district is moving forward in the direction that everyone agrees to. Because if not, then boards also sometimes have a quick temper or a you know quick decision in terms of wanting to replace the superintendent with someone else. And that's never good. That that hurts kids. And so you um you make good decisions up front and then you you move through that, recognizing that every place, uh every leader at some point in time makes a mistake. That's okay. You hop up, you get and you get back on, and you you move forward because at the end of the day, we this this job is about kids and helping kids um get ready for uh successful life um and to be healthy.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

You do you hear a lot of those uh lot a lot of stories, good and bad, when it comes to you know those dynamics, and um I'm sure uh the superintendents and folks you coach really appreciate that focus, and as you said, it's one of the top things you have to work on with them. So you are part of uh Leadership Associates, and more so on the coaching side than the on the search side of the house, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong there. I wanted to find out a bit more about what Leadership Associates does, how they operate, why they're important, uh and anything else you'd like to share.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Leadership Associates started in 1996. And I became a superintendent in 1996, and it was started by uh two guys in the South, uh Bob Sanchez and Harry Weinberg. Those gentlemen they became mentors and coaches to me. Uh Harry Weinberg, who started Leadership Associates, was to education in California, that John Wooden was to college basketball. I mean, that's the kind of reverence that Harry had. And Harry, everyone um loved Harry. He was uh funny. Yeah, but boy did he know education and he was a great leader. He's the one who I spent a lot of time with early on in my career, and he would really guide me in terms of can you think about education this way, and here's the what we do with parents and here's how we work with kids, here's the expectation we have for you. Um I was one of their first recruits. They uh called me when I was in Glendora, and I was not looking to be a superintendent, and actually, Nick, when I started in education, I didn't even know what a superintendent was, uh, let alone uh wanted to be one. But um Harry kind of walked me through the the steps, and so leadership associates then began to grow. And instead of doing four or five searches every year, uh they started to get do maybe ten or twelve and then more. And we do about 65 to 70 percent of the searches in California today, uh serving boards. We think it's one of the most important decisions that a school board member uh uh participates in. And um I really like that uh type of work, and uh Harry and I talked often about uh me leaving the position a little bit early to do other things. And when I left the position and retired to do this consulting work with leadership, I had this passion to do this uh leadership coaching and mentoring. And uh you think about a professional athlete, think about a professional musician, uh they have to have coaches their entire time because if they don't, uh someone will pass them, someone will get better. So it's a lifelong learning process that they go through and that we go through too, as well as individuals and as leaders. I remember what it was like uh when I became a superintendent. I mean, quite frankly, I rolled into work the first uh week and went to my office and sat there and I wasn't sure what to do. One of my assistant superintendents, when he became uh superintendent, he called me after about a week and he says, Boss, he said, I have a strange question for you. He goes, What am I supposed to be doing? And I laughed. I said, You know, I remember that like it was yesterday, that feeling. And really, uh, what you should do is go out and visit schools, go talk to kids, go watch what kids are doing and what they're learning and not learning. And those are the kinds of things you have the opportunity to influence and create a better setting and a better opportunity for students. And so, leadership associates, that's the path we we have gone down. It's not about being in charge, it's the opportunity to lead and to assist, making making the organization stronger and better suited for students. Because at the end of the day, we're here because of the kids.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Well, I think that's probably very, very comforting for folks who are either recently in the superintendent's seat or due to be there soon to know that someone like yourself who's been there and done that can vividly remember the time where you know it did not look that straightforward as to what the um what you should be doing in that role. But I do love the advice of starting to do something and be that getting out to schools, talking to your admins, and getting to know the district, know the students, know the teachers. It sounds to me that across leadership in general, it's a principle that you've just got to get close to the work, and the closer you are to the work, even if you're a superintendent, the more truth you hear.

SPEAKER_01 25:25

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

As we close up, uh I just wanted to know if there's any advice you'd give uh to folks listening who are considering a role as a superintendent or even on the cabinet level, any parting words you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_01 25:40

Being a an educational leader, I think, is a real gift. And uh it is the best job that I have uh I have had. I love being a superintendent. When we had times of conflict, I didn't love it quite as much, but uh you recognize that there are very few positions in life that allow you to have the impact on kids and ultimately on people as you do as a superintendent. Um everybody thinks they're an expert in education because everybody went to school. And if they had a good experience, they they want that for their kids, and if they had a bad experience, they want to change it. And so parents are are um very involved and have strong opinions, which they should. But it's up to us as educational leaders to provide the opportunity and insight to parents that we really do have the their students' best interests at heart, and here's the kinds of things that we do. Short of something probably in the spiritual world, I think that um being a superintendent or being in education is one of the finest ways you can spend your career, and the opportunities to be to really create a legacy are unbelievable. I had a lot of help going through life. I had help when I was in college and with financial support, academic support, professional support, and I'm very fortunate to be able to provide some support back for others, and hopefully they do the same thing. And you'll have, I'm sure, a couple of the folks that worked with me, you know, in Corona or Walnut podcast, and they should reiterate some of the same kinds of things that we're here to serve kids. People matter, and it's all about people. And Nick, you're a great friend of Leadership Associates. I mean, you really have uh learned a lot and you've provided a lot of support for uh leadership development. And on behalf of Leadership Associates, I want to thank you for that because we couldn't do all the work that we do without folks like yourself who were really invested in the work.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

Well, thanks very much, Kent. I appreciate the the shout-out and uh and a great way to I think a great way to wrap things up in great parting words um and and uh advice from the master who's been there, done that, and seen it all. So thanks very much, Kent. It's been uh it's been a real pleasure and an honor to have you uh speaking with us and uh hope maybe to have you on again someday.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

What you're doing is great, and it's highlighting leaders and highlighting the work, and uh we on behalf of education we appreciate that because that's the kind of uh um publicity that I think we need as leaders. So Nick, thanks a lot, appreciate it, and uh look forward to coming on again sometime.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Behind every successful school system is a superintendent making hard decisions, building strong teams, and putting students first every single day. These are the real superheroes shaping the future of education. Follow the show on your favorite podcast platform. And if you know someone who would be a great guest, email us at podcast atallearning.com. I'm Nick Telford, and this has been another episode of School District Superheroes.