The cabinet room was silent.
The finance director had just finished a passionate pitch to invest in new automation software that could save thousands of staff hours and reduce overtime costs. Across the table, the curriculum director leaned forward and countered just as earnestly: “I understand the budget pressures, but this is the year we need more boots on the ground to coach our teachers. If we cut people, we cut our results.”
Both leaders were right. And both were working at cross purposes.
As a superintendent or district leader, you must be able to see this problem and name it immediately. This team isn’t debating programs or budgets. They are debating philosophies.
They are optimizing for speed and cost on one side, and for quality and depth on the other. And in their rush to win the argument, they were blind to the fact that they were chasing outcomes that could not be maximized at the same time.
This is what I call the “eff-ing problem,” when the push for efficiency and the push for effectiveness collide. It happens in districts all the time. Left unchecked, it produces mediocre results, frustrated teams and decisions that satisfy no one.
Why this matters for leaders
Efficiency is about doing things right… faster, cheaper, with less waste. Effectiveness is about doing the right things… deeply, thoroughly, and with meaningful impact.
When these goals are not aligned, leaders risk wasting time, money and energy on initiatives that never reach their potential.
A critical leadership skill is knowing when to step back, recognize the conflict and decide how to harmonize the two; not balance them equally at all times, but determine which should take the lead in a given moment.
Signs you’re stuck in the eff-ing problem
- Conflicting KPIs (key performance indicators): Departments measure success with incompatible metrics (time saved vs. impact delivered).
- Meeting déjà vu: The same argument resurfaces every few months with no resolution.
- Process overload: Adding steps, forms or checkpoints in the name of speed.
- Mutual frustration: Operations think academics are unrealistic; academics think operations are unsupportive.
- Compromise that pleases no one: The middle ground delivers weak results in both speed and quality.
- Lopsided wins: One priority consistently dominates, breeding resentment.
- Fuzzy priorities: No one can clearly state the district’s current primary focus.
Spotting these warning signs is an essential first step, but it’s only that… a first step. Awareness without action simply leaves the team stewing in its own frustration.
The real leadership work begins once the tension is identified. Savvy leaders know they must reframe the conversation from “Which side is right?” to “How do we harmonize the priorities?” Only then can they shift from a tug-of-war to a coordinated push in the same direction.
And this skill can’t reside solely with the superintendent. The senior leader’s job is not just to resolve these tensions, but to equip every other leader in the organization with the same lens and tools.
When one person can identify and realign, progress grows by factors. When an entire leadership team can do it, progress grows by exponents. That multiplier effect is what transforms occasional coherence into a sustained culture of alignment.
Rebuilding coherence: How to realign
- Declare the dominant driver: Decide whether efficiency or effectiveness is the North Star for this season.
- Sequence, don’t simultaneously chase: Prioritize one first, then shift focus to the other.
- Set shared metrics: Establish at least one KPI that matters equally to both sides.
- Translate across functions: Have each team define what the other’s priority means in their context.
- Model trade-off thinking: Demonstrate that picking one now isn’t abandoning the other, it’s sequencing.
- Facilitate cross-pollination: Invite leaders to work alongside each other’s teams for perspective and empathy.
- Use the “one table” rule: Make final calls with all key voices present to avoid silo decisions.
Harmony, melody and rhythm
Back in that cabinet meeting, a savvy leader realizes the win wasn’t in finding a perfect compromise. It is in naming the tension, choosing the priority for that moment and ensuring everyone understands why.
We don’t “solve” the efficiency vs. effectiveness debate forever, but we align for the season ahead.
In leadership, harmony isn’t about splitting the difference. It’s about choosing the melody first, then finding the rhythm that supports it.
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