“You can handle the incident perfectly, but if you screw up the communications you can lose your job.”

This insightful observation was shared by a school superintendent many years ago. His guidance was spot-on.  In the past few years, it has proven to be true as numerous superintendents and other school administrators have directly or indirectly lost their jobs due to school safety issues.

On Monday, the now-former director of the U.S. Secret Service appeared before a Congressional committee to answer questions regarding the recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. There was bipartisan criticism and frustration about her testimony from members of both political parties. The director subsequently resigned the next day.

The common theme in the critiques of her testimony: A real or perceived lack of transparency and authenticity. The director’s testimony was very limited in content and viewed as questionable as to her responsiveness to the questions asked by Congressional members on both sides of the political aisle.

Contrast the former Secret Service director’s testimony with that of the FBI’s director, who testified about the assassination attempt investigation to a different Congressional hearing two days later. The FBI Director provided concrete, specific answers to many questions. He acknowledged many points which he knew, as well as those which he did not know. The hearing and interactions were less contentious.

Without doubt, many questions cannot be answered immediately after an incident and investigations to get the full facts take time. This post is not an opinion on the content details of the testimony of either the Secret Service director or the FBI director.

It is, however, a clear example of how impactful the communications, or lack of, can be in impacting the ambiguity, uncertainty and anxiety following a high-profile safety matter. It also illustrates – right or wrong – how those at the top can lose their job if they lose confidence because of their communications or lack of.

The lesson for school leaders: Transparent, authentic and timely communications from top leaders are critical following high-profile incidents. Specifics will vary case to case. But the importance of preparing and striving to deliver as much factual information as soon as possible cannot be overstated.

School leaders need to be strategic school safety leaders. They also need to be strategic school safety communicators.

Being trained and prepared to do both will be critical to maintaining the confidence and trust of school leaders’ constituencies in times of critical safety contexts.

Dr. Kenneth S. Trump is President of National School Safety and Security Services  

National School Safety and Security Services

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