The Human Operating System: Rethinking Tech Leadership in Schools

John Morgan, Ed.D., Director of Technology, Menifee Union School District

John Morgan, Ed.D., is Director of Technology at Menifee Union School District in California. He oversees district technology strategy, infrastructure and instructional systems, drawing on experience as a chemistry teacher. He also founded Edasi Systems to develop affordable classroom AV control solutions.

Educational technology is the ultimate people business. It is easy to get caught up in the hardware, software, and endless cycle of digital evolution. Yet, true leadership in this space requires more than just strategic vision and operational expertise; it requires an investment in the people who keep our schools running. You are no longer the one repairing devices or configuring networks. Your job is now to lead and empower the people who do.

As digital learning tools evolve at a breakneck pace, the greatest challenge redefining technology leadership is not the infrastructure. It is building and sustaining the human capital required to support it.

Embrace Your Niche: The Paradox of Intentional Turnover

Aligning IT systems with the needs of students and teachers requires a phenomenal team. Yet, the reality of public education is uncompetitive salaries. Entry-level IT staff could make comparable money working in fast food, or significantly more moving into the private sector. Once they figure that out, you are going to lose them.

My advice? Do not fight your niche. Embrace that reality.

“My goal is to train my team so well they can leave, and treat them so well they rarely want to.”

My goal is to lose my staff, and I mean this lovingly. I provide each team member with a professional learning license, giving them the training to test for industry-standard certifications like A+, Net+, SQL+, and Security+. I tell them to earn their certifications, gain hands-on experience, and ultimately get a glowing letter of recommendation.

I only ask for three things in return:

● First, we leave on good terms.

● Second, they are achieving a goal that is genuinely best for them and their family.

● Third, if they have a friend who wants to do the same thing, they tell them to apply. We train people to leave, but we treat them so well that they rarely want to. While I do experience consistent turnover, my applicant pools have never been stronger.

A Culture of Collaboration

My culture is one of collaboration, shared decision-making, and distributed ownership. When collaborating, my team knows I will throw every bad idea on the table because no idea is entirely bad. We find the genius of each idea, keep that, and throw out the rest. I encourage respectful disagreement, but simply saying "no" is not a solution. Productive disagreement is essential for determining our direction. I warn my team that if they blindly agree with me, we will go in a direction, but it might not be the right one. I need them to speak up.

Other times, staff come to me for permission on important decisions. Sometimes they just need to know that I have their back. I will take the heat and pass on the congratulations. That is why your paycheck is larger. You signed up to create a safe space for innovation and success through failure.

A Visitor in Their Realm

Distributed ownership is about building up your team. I treat school sites like the ultimate domain of the technician. Yes, the buck stops with me, but they own their site, and I require that they know more about it than I ever will. When I am on campus, I follow the technician's lead. The site needs to see that the technician is the authority in the room. This keeps people from going over their head to me and allows me to back up my staff.

This might sound scary. If you do not have faith in your technicians, ask yourself: do you have a training issue, an onboarding issue, a coaching issue, or a personnel issue? Identifying the root cause means stepping into the manager role for a bit to build systems or have difficult conversations. I hold this exact same standard for network engineers and database administrators. I am merely a visitor in their realm.

Finding the Ounce of Genius

Develop a culture that fits you and your team. There is no single prescribed way to lead. I have worked alongside incredible people who lead in entirely different ways than I do. I synthesize lessons from every leader in my life to build my own identity.

As you read this, you may decide my style does not fit you. I challenge you the same way I challenge my staff. There are two levels of intelligence in this world. One approaches something different and simply declares it wrong. The other looks closely and finds the "ounce of genius" in it, regardless of whether it perfectly aligns with their worldview.

My hope is that you can find the ounce of genius in my approach, combine it with your own genius, and build something even better. I cannot wait to learn from you one day.

Educational Technology

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