In his latest blog for EdWeek.com, elementary school principal Peter DeWitt poses the question “Why Would Anyone Want To Be a School Leader?” A public school leader himself, he touches on issues public school leaders face. However, some of the basic issues resonate for both public and private school educators.
It’s a matter of trust. As a new or nearly new Division Head, have you gained the trust of your faculty? DeWitt says new leaders will find some staff members who are ready to support them and others who will not trust them at all. Why? It could be because of past history, he notes, such as the behavior of a past supervisor. It could also be merely the fact that you are in the position of responsibility, to supervise those individuals. Trust is something you establish through your actions and conversations.
“Every time a leader acts on an issue and every time they have a conversation with one faculty member or the whole faculty, they are building trust. These conversations go into our emotional bank accounts,” writes DeWitt.
ISM has long advocated “management by walking around.” Getting out of your office and be physically present to students, faculty, and parents on a regular basis to start. You’ll gain a great sense of “what’s going on”—as well as a firsthand feel for what is not understood or what needs to better communicated. When people see you, it’s a trust-builder.
The emotional bank account is from Steven Covey, who says in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that an emotional bank account is “a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship. It’s the feeling of safeness you have with another human being.”
ISM’s research indicates that a positive, healthy faculty culture is a key factor in student performance, enthusiasm, and satisfaction—and has a big impact on student demand and retention. Two key characteristics of a successful school are providing students with a sense of predictability and support within the school and fostering a sense of instructional and administrative fairness. How you function as a division leader directly impacts your faculty culture, and therefore, your students.
DeWitt provides a quick list of things that will impact your leadership in a positive way.
- Understand that humans make mistakes.
- Have the hard conversations in a respectful manner.
- Laughter in your every day practice is more important than ever.
- Surround yourself with good people, people you can forge a good working relationship with.
- Check in with people—don’t disappear into your office or focus only on your own issues. Your job is to lead people.
- Conduct teacher evaluations with integrity, not as a necessary chore.
- Different it good—encourage your teachers to be who they are.
Additional ISM resources of interest
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 9 No. 1 Management by Walking Around, Coaching by Asking Questions, and Other Tips for Division Heads
ISM Private School News Vol. 10 No. 6 Keeping Communications Open and Flowing in Your School
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 7 No. 9 Make Your Faculty Evaluation Meaningful
Additional Resources for ISM Consortium Gold Members
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 37. No. 1 Developing Faculty Through Coaching and Mentoring
ISM Research Outcomes: The ISM Student Experience Study (SES) 2010-11
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 37. No. 1 The Faculty Culture Profile II
