No successful organization would have become successful in the absence of 颅effective leadership. That鈥檚 axiomatic.
Leadership means creating a vision and planning how to execute it, securing resources and seeking and remediating errors of the past.
Leadership is about motivating people to work together and co-operate with others as the organization hopefully moves toward its goals.
School districts or other 颅organizations looking to fill leadership positions from 颅outside their immediate geographic area have always encountered numerous 颅obstacles if the objective is to hire the very best person possible, no matter where they are found.
Right now, on 91原创 Island and B.C.鈥檚 Lower Mainland, that鈥檚 all but out of reach.
Too often, the best people available 颅simply can鈥檛 afford to move here.
To begin with, at least as far as school 颅districts are concerned, excellent candidates for senior leadership are well into their careers, have all but paid off a mortgage and are not interested in moving from where they can afford to live into a high-priced, extremely competitive real estate market.
A version of the same applies to other organizations looking for leadership 颅expertise that may bring a fresh perspective to their business.
The problem is that for highly qualified and experienced candidates, real estate prices here make finding an affordable place to live extremely difficult or even financially perilous for anyone moving here from elsewhere in B.C., let alone the rest of Canada.
So how big is the difference between house prices elsewhere in B.C. (or other provinces) and here on the Island and in the Lower Mainland?
According to Royal LePage, during the third quarter of 2019, the median home price in Kelowna dropped 3.9 per cent year-over-year to $617,899. In Kamloops, house prices average between $550,000 to $750,000.
The average house price in 91原创 is $1,175,500, with many going for as much as $200,000 or more over the asking price.
In fact, the price of a single-family home here and in the Lower Mainland has increased by 22% since September 2020.
On 91原创 Island, especially south 91原创 Island, quite ordinary houses are going for as much as $250,000 over 颅asking price 鈥� and that鈥檚 with asking prices for standard houses often starting at just around $1 million.
As one 91原创 Island real estate agent explained: 鈥淲e are seeing multiple offers on almost every reasonably priced detached listing. There simply isn鈥檛 enough inventory to meet the demand.鈥�
According to another agent with whom I聽spoke, people who moved here from 颅outside the province when prices were down are now cashing out in today鈥檚 hot market and taking their profits back to their home provinces.
A second influence on house prices, alien to people of my generation, is that many younger folks have been willing to incur mortgages they never intend to fully pay out and are willing to go 鈥渁ll in鈥� on a mortgage no matter what happens with interest rates.
Thirdly, real estate inventory here was down nearly 30% in the early months of 2021 compared to the previous year. There just weren鈥檛 enough houses for sale over the year to meet buyer demand.
It鈥檚 a sellers鈥� market.
That automatically eliminates any thought for most mid-career people of 颅moving to the Island or 91原创.
Why is any of this problematic for the future of business organizations and school districts on the Island and in the Lower Mainland?
First, there is the business of picking up the pieces after COVID is eventually defeated by a combination of persistent epidemiologists and a population willing to make some sacrifices for the greater good.
The post-pandemic era will require organizations, especially school districts, to embrace new definitions of leadership 鈥攁nd apply new approaches to teaching and 颅learning.
The COVID pandemic has also had an effect on other institutions 鈥� banks, the hospitality and tourism industries that are central to our economic system and communities are all having trouble attracting experienced leadership.
The unanswered question is about what kinds of leadership skills will be needed in order to navigate complex organizations through the post-COVID world successfully.
Sounds like time for government, the real estate industry, the affected unions and business organizations, and especially school districts, to close the meeting room door, get their heads together and address what could become a problem that redefines their mutual futures.
Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools.
