Michael entered the office and sat at the desk. The office was roomy. The right wall was covered with inspirational posters sporting cliche' quotes that Victor loved. The left wall had been turned into a trophy case filled with elementary school district basketball championship trophies. Victor's desk was a stained oak that had a large desktop screen that took up half the space. The other half had an oversized paper brainstorm pad that had not been written on since he'd labeled it.
"Michael, do you know why you are here today?" Victor stood behind his desk and gripped the back of his chair.
"I'm assuming it has something to do with the school assembly?" Michael inferred. He had not talked to Victor after the meeting, where he'd been declared a future partner of the school.
"Incredible!" He smiled, "You're deduction skills are well beyond your work experience. This is exactly why I wanted you in my family." Victor said, finally sitting down at his desk.
Michael wasn't sure what to say, so he responded with an uncertain, "Thank you, sir."
"I know there are just a few weeks left in the year, so for now, I want you to continue with your current role at the academy. I started you with the gym because it teaches you how to handle people at their worst. First graders arguing over kickball is much more difficult than teaching them to read." He opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a small binder. "Even though you won't be taking on a new role this year, I would still like to take this summer to teach you a few things about being a leader."
Victor slid the binder across the table to Michael. The paper slid in the plastic cover read "Victor Bissett's Ten Rules of Leadership: A practical guide to success."
"You have it inside of you, Michael. You are going to be great, it's just going to take someone to pry it out of you." Victor gestured to the notebook. "Please open to the first page, I want to start the first lesson today."
Michael pulled open the binder.
Rule One: A leader shows no fear.
"You can read the details later. I'm sure you'll find the content quite good. But I think this is a lesson that can only be learned through trial."
Michael sat still, unsure where Victor was going with this.
"As you've seen, our school has seen it's fair share of negative press recently. You saw Mr. Finch in the lounge. I met with him this morning. Stealing a Sound of Music costume from our theatre department was unacceptable. He will not be finishing the year with us. It was hard telling him the news, but I looked him in the eye as I did it. I even smiled, so he knew I did not have an ounce of fear."
Victor paused for a moment, looking out the window behind his desk. "Michael, I'm going to throw you in the fire this morning. The only way you can fail this lesson is by failing to try." Victor turned and looked at a poster on the wall to make sure he'd quoted it correctly. "This will be rough, but this morning you must show no fear."
"What do you want me to do?" Michael finally spoke up.
"I want you to fire a teacher." Victor smiled as Michael shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't feel comfortable doing that. I'm fairly new to teaching and—"
"Of course you're not comfortable, do you think Michael Jordan was comfortable missing all those game-winning shots? No, but they set him up for all the ones he made." Victor gave a quick glance at the wall again.
"Who do I need to fire?"
"Mrs. Garverdink," Victor said eagerly. Michael's face flushed white, as his fingers tapped anxiously on the desk. "This is a video she posted to her class website last night."
Victor turned his desktop screen towards Michael and started the video.
A small child was facing a wall. His shoulders were bouncing up and down as he attempted unsuccessfully to recite his ABCs through stifled sobs. Mrs. Garverdink's voice came through the speakers, "Timmy, what do you get when you can't say your ABC's?"
"To s-s-stand at a -w-w-wall-l," he stuttered through tears.
"And what do you get when you can say your ABCs?" The camera shifted to the class sitting at their desks behind her.
"Popsicles!" The kindergarten class cheered, lifting the treats in the air.
Victor closed the video and turned off the screen. He took a deep breath and scrunched in disgust.
"It's even worse watching the second time," He said, shuttering, "Sugar is a gateway drug." He said with a stern face. "I created this school to create gifted students, not addicts. She can finish the year, but she will not be getting her contract renewed."
Michael nodded as if he agreed that the popsicles were the worst part of the video.
"Are you ready?"
"I don't really feel like I should—"
"Nonsense," Victor picked up his office phone and tapped the dial tone. "Is Mrs. Garverdink still in the office?" He listened to her response, "Well, go get her. Tell her to come to my office immediately. Oh, and send Bill as well — just in case—I know he's directing traffic, but I need him here." He hung up the phone and turned to Michael. "Come over here. When she arrives, make her sit, but you need to stay standing. It shows power."
Michael hesitated, but stood and slowly made his way around the desk.
"Just remember, you miss most of the shots you don't take."