I have never seen a School Principal or a Board Member literally try to ride a dead horse. However, I have seen many trying to do so metaphorically.
Spoiler alert – it never ends well.
Riding a dead horse is a metaphor that relates to the grandly named but staggeringly simple “Dead Horse Theory”. The theory is straightforward: “When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” In the context of school leadership and governance, the Dead Horse Theory becomes relevant whenever an initiative or a project has failed but is kept alive by wilfully misguided, stubborn, blinkered or ignorant decision-makers.
The Dead Horse Theory has even been dignified by internet memes such as this:
At both the board and senior management levels, school leaders often have difficulty abandoning pet projects that are clearly not working or achieving their intended goals.
Why is this important? Perpetuating ‘dead horse’ projects may well harm the students and staff in the school, either directly or indirectly by directing funds and energy away from genuine areas of need into unproductive areas. Moreover, persisting with ‘dead horse’ projects can provide an unnecessary educational and marketing advantage to competitor schools, it erodes motivation and commitment from committed staff, and it creates a school-wide culture of avoidance when faced with making difficult decisions. In short, it is a barrier to achieving the most important task of all, which is fulfilling the school’s Mission and Vision to meet the needs of its students.
How does this look in practice? In ‘dead horse’ terms, rather than dismounting from the dead horse, school leaders might choose to add more riders to the horse, feed the horse better hay, schedule daily stand-up meetings to discuss why the horse is no longer moving, form a cross-faculty task force to review the horse-riding strategy, or invest in a new sleek saddle in the hope it will inspire the horse to get up and run. If all else fails, the board may decide to give the horse a new, more aspirational identity – perhaps something like “strategic unicorn”.
Why might school leaders be trapped into illogical actions to keep riding a dead horse? Although some people are excited by change, the vast majority of people seem to prefer the comfort zone of inertia. This is particularly the case on school boards where long-serving members may have created their personal ‘comfort zones’ over many years or where the board has an unbalanced dominance of members from stereotypically conservative occupational backgrounds such as accountants, lawyers and pointedly (according to Jeff Cole at IQPS – the International Quality and Productivity Centre) executive leaders, senior managers, and middle managers.
How can riding a dead horse ever be justified? There are four common justifications heard in schools for trying to retain ineffective projects:
Of course, “rising a dead horse” is just a metaphor. No-one would ever try to do this in a literal sense, would they?
Well, actually, yes they would. The photo below shows a man who is actually sitting on a dead horse in South 8th Street, Sheboygan, Wisconsin (USA) in the 1870s. Although he is dressed more formally than any school board member I have ever met, it seems like a good visual metaphor of a school board member trying to ride a dead horse – and moving along with the precise speed I would have predicted.
So, how can school principals and board members overcome the temptation to keep riding a dead horse in their school? Leadership in abandoning dead horse projects can be demonstrated by following four courageous steps, uncomfortable though they might be at times:
1. Ask perceptive, penetrating, challenging questions – A ‘dead horse’ project needs to be identified through questions such as “what is the problem we are trying to solve?”, “what are the barriers to success we are encountering?”, “is this project helping us to achieve our Mission and Vision?”, and “if we were considering starting this project today, would we do so?”.
2. Build a culture of transparency – It is critically important that everyone involved in the school feels safe to identify, analyse and articulate problems, challenging established projects and procedures with justified arguments and observations.
3. Focus on outcomes rather than activity – Progress reports must be based on results and outcomes, not how busy everyone has been. Sound project management requires regular reporting based on KPIs that flow from the school’s Mission and Vision, not vanity metrics such as the number of hours worked, or meetings attended.
4. Be prepared to make the brave decision to cut your losses – Although it is often emotionally difficult to cut ties to a beloved project or a failing product, or to terminate a financial relationship that has turned toxic, doing so is almost always necessary for the vitality of the school.
In the ever-changing world of education, clinging to ineffective projects or toxic relationships is like trying to ride a dead horse – wasted effort, disheartening, and inevitably unproductive. Schools thrive on adaptability, innovation, and a culture of support, and that means having the courage to cut ties with anything that no longer serves the Mission and Vision. By eliminating those factors which drag schools downward, board members and senior management create space for fresh ideas, meaningful collaborations, and a truly dynamic learning environment.
Progress is not about holding on; it’s about knowing when to let go.
- Dr Stephen Codrington
Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the writing or illustrating of this article. Historic photo is in the public domain.
Footnote: I have used the expression “riding a dead horse” while acknowledging that the more commonly used expression is “flogging a dead horse”, or in the United States, “beating a dead horse”. Both idioms mean the same as “riding a dead horse” in the context of the Dead Horse Theory. However, I believe “riding a dead horse” addresses the concern expressed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that “flogging a dead horse” introduces unwelcome speciesism into everyday conversation in a way that trivialises cruelty to animals. PETA recommends replacing “flogging a dead horse” with “feeding a fed horse”, but I am unconvinced that this suggestion is useful for clarifying the Dead Horse Theory.
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