Principal Pointers
Coping Strategies
The principalship can be a lonely and difficult job which speaks to why the shelf life of a principal in any one school is often not exceedingly long.
Executive or Emotional
As school leaders, we know that we arise each morning with the best intentions of being in our best leadership state of mind, initiating, motivating, and solving the issues of the day with the wisdom and experience of a seasoned educator.
Growth Leadership Management
One of the frequently discussed topics amongst school leaders and, indeed, bosses in all industries, is the difference between leadership and management.
Listening Meetings
Most of the meetings scheduled by principals with others is for the purpose of transmitting information or news, asking questions, or reviewing lessons and students.However, one of the essential types of meetings that successful principals have are one on one Listening Meetings.
MBWA:
A Principal’s All-Purpose Strategy
The plate of a principal is forever overflowing. The scope of his responsibilities are virtually endless. There may be students waiting at the door, teacher meetings that cannot be postponed, one or two irate parents fuming in the lobby, several orders to make, prepping for that assembly this afternoon…
Receptive Feedback
The question goes, “if a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody around to hear it, does it make a noise?” As instructional leaders and mentors, we can ask ourselves a similar question.
Stillness
I recently heard an interview with Ryan Holiday, author of a New York Times bestselling book, Stillness is the Key. It is not often that interviews of this type give me cause to pause...but this interview did!
Taking Extreme Ownership of Our Leadership
There are hundreds of books and thousands of articles that have been written on the subject of leadership in general, and on school leadership specifically. It is often confusing to consume these books and then to filter out the critical, useful nuggets that we can integrate into our school leadership.
The Difficult Conversation
Anyone who has been a principal for any length of time has had the unique pleasure of being on the receiving end of a difficult conversation. Well, it’s not usually a “conversation” as the other person seems to do all the talking (really, yelling)…
Your Weakest Link
As a school leader, you are responsible to put together and manage the strongest team of teachers and support staff as possible. What skills you look for in a team member can vary somewhat based on the specific school culture and job description. What is critical to understand, is that the strength and quality of your school is only as good as your weakest link.
What is your Grading Recipe?
I remember the first time I realized that our grading system was a problem. It was a faculty meeting and we got into a discussion about grades