District administrators must move from an attitude of being served to a belief that their role is to serve the needs of school sites. Robert Greenleaf has written eloquently on the idea of servant leadership, and those who should be the best models of that are those who work in the district office. After all, no child learns to read, masters mathematics, or pursues her dreams sitting in a district office. This is done in classrooms. There needs to be a movement from operating as channels to creating webs.
Channels are linear and direct the flow of things in a certain direction.
Yet, education is systemic and holistic, and therefore it needs the support of a web of strength that will surround and uplift the process. District staff must move from a preoccupation about things to a focus on process. Counting the state reports or accounting for equipment may be urgent but it is not important. It is time for district offices to worry about the things that count, rather than counting the things that are worrisome. Finally, district leaders must begin to focus much of their attention on what is outside the district rather than what is on the inside.