What a Leadership Coach Taught Me About Real Leadership
by Brett Roer
Senior Director of AI Innovation and Professional Development at CITE
Former New York City Bronx Public High School Principal
“Get Tight to Get Loose”
When I became a new teacher in September 2005 at Automotive High School, the best thing that could have happened to me was being paired with a new assistant principal who would later become my leadership coach: Javier Guzman.
I have never met anyone who cared more passionately — then or now — about doing things the right way for students. Javier believed deeply in making learning exciting, engaging, and meaningful, not repeating practices simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.”
As a leadership coach, Javier shaped not only my practice, but the practice of an entire generation of educators. He inspired new teachers at Automotive High School, went on to found a Big Picture Learning school on our campus, and later led transformative work in California schools. Today, his impact continues to grow.
There are tens of thousands of educators and students whose lives have been profoundly shaped — directly and indirectly — by Javier’s coaching, guidance, and belief in children and in humanity.
Years later, when I became a principal, I found myself in the middle of a very real crisis.
We had students interning with Supreme Court justices and members of Congress — yet many were not earning the credits they needed to graduate. The system was not serving students well.
So I called Javier — not just as a mentor, but as a leadership coach.
He said something that changed how I approach leadership to this day:
“You’ve got to get tight to get loose.”
What he meant was simple — and powerful.
If leadership priorities are unclear, distributed leadership turns into confusion.
But when the mission is crystal clear, leadership multiplies.
So I did something that shifted everything:
I told my staff:
“For the next six months, you can ask me for anything.
But the first question I will ask is: how does this align to our mission?”
And our mission was non-negotiable:
100% of seniors supported to graduate — no exceptions.
That clarity didn’t shut leadership down.
It opened it up.
People stopped asking whether they could lead — they knew how to lead.
This is the power of effective leadership coaching:
not telling leaders what to do, but helping them create the conditions where leadership can thrive everywhere.
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How CITE’s Executive Leadership Coaching Supports NYCPS School Leaders
Today, as the Senior Director of AI Innovation and Professional Development at CITE, the most meaningful part of our work is supporting school leaders through executive leadership coaching, mentoring, and implementation support.
CITE’s Professional Development team is comprised of experienced New York City building and district leaders — former principals, assistant principals, and central office leaders — who understand the realities of NYCPS leadership.
Our executive leadership coaching helps principals and assistant principals:
- Clarify leadership priorities
- Translate feedback into focused action
- Build shared leadership cultures beyond titles
- Navigate change with confidence and clarity
- Move from strategy to implementation inside real school contexts
If you are a principal or assistant principal navigating leadership feedback, superintendent priorities, or system-level change, you do not have to do that work alone.
Learn more about CITE Executive Leadership Coaching and implementation support:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0kdmSZIrjPfpKtwzmcqVQE60k2QQOjD6MxFJs-IpgKsiWag/viewform
