Cheryl Lloyd is the current principal of Campbell River Christian school. It his her second year as principal of the school. Cheryl oversees 254 students from K-12 and 40 staff members. While officially she is the lone administrator, Cheryl has worked to change the staff structure to develop a leadership team of lead teachers and key people from different school departments. A team approach to leading is important to her. Cheryl came to formal leadership later in her career completing her Masters degree 10 years before retirement. That’s right, retirement. Perhaps a true leader is never done. Her current post was a call back to service.
As she worked on her Masters degree in 2007, she worked on a curriculum development committee for a Vancouver Island school board. Once graduated, Cheryl and her husband headed overseas, first to Saudi Arabia and then to South Korea before finishing her career back in BC at a First Nations school in Capilano and then back on the island in Port McNeal.
She would name her post in Saudi Arabia as her most challenging role as a woman in leadership. Not only was it a culture shift in general, roles for women were very different there. Starbucks had a men’s and women’s section, banking was done at a women’s only bank. Women were not in leadership anywhere except in the schools. She started as a principal of a 250 student school. She dug in as the leader to do her best. With sensitivity she helped the businessmen who ran the school to understand what would be necessary for it to become more successful. Before long, Cheryl was running two schools.
Within a couple of years Cheryl followed God’s calling to start a brand new BC offshore school in South Korea. It was brand new, they needed supplies, furniture, teachers and students. It opened with 60 students and ran successfully to become officially accredited by the Ministry after the first year.
When Cheryl considered how she faced the challenges encountered along the way, she paused and considered her answer carefully. Cheryl stated that she had always prayed for God to reveal to her how she could use her position in the school to serve in specific ways during that time. Even at her current school, she is the first female principal in the schools 40 year history. She hasn’t been challenged specifically because she is a woman but she notes that her style is definitely different. She says that being a woman hasn’t been a specific issue but it it never far from her radar. Finding opportunities to collaborate and team build in her school and in her greater community have helped her to be a more effective leader. She doesn’t micromanage, she just trusts her team to do what needs to be done.
As words of wisdom for other women in leadership, Cheryl shared three suggestions. First, she said it is important to have belief that you can lead. She also thought it is very important to network and build professional relationships with other female leaders. Finally, she said to team build. Teams need people with a variety of strengths: doers, supporters, analyzers and relationship builders. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Cheryl does not have a social media platform to share but you can read her welcome message for the school community on the school’s website: https://www.crcs.bc.ca/principalswelcome.html
It was definitely my pleasure to interview Cheryl. Professionally I gleaned several gems of wisdom from her stories. Personally, I was challenged to continue to intentionally team build within my school and collaborate with other leaders outside my school. Finally, I have enjoyed reflecting on the unique role women in leadership play on my own staff.
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for sharing Cheryl’s story. It’s inspiring to see all the amazing things she accomplished as a school administrator, especially in a country, like Saudi Arabia, that’s not as tolerant of women in the workforce.
The quality of bravery is one that’s typically associated with men since ancient times when they were required to ride to battles, fight overseas, and face other life-threatening situations. However during times of peace, women are typically left disadvantaged and discriminated on. But rather than allow their voices to be silenced and this gender dominance to continue, women these days choose to overcome their discriminators and establish their rightful presence in society. If we look closely, we can probably find more examples of female bravery than males. For example, women bear children knowing it can disrupt their career and possibly even lose their job, depending on the support their workplace offers for maternity leave. I’ve seen women stand up to men physically even if they obviously have a physical disadvantage. Many women choose to avoid abortion in an unplanned pregnancy and give birth to their child despite the lack of support from a man. Working mothers have to balance their home responsibilities with their career and still find ways to excel in both. It’s in these moments where women choose to face hardships, disadvantages, or difficulties which threaten facets of their personal life that’s the true measure of bravery.
Your friend Cheryl provided another fine example of this bravery by working in a country that’s hostile to women in order to provide a much-needed service to the children there. Because of their biological dispositions, I would argue women are burdened with much more responsibilities than men and should be honored for the everyday hardships they overcome. As men, we need to be more cognisant of these difficulties and do our part to support women, regardless of whether that’s in the workplace, at home, or those within the community.