School Leadership

Before becoming a full-time entrepreneur, I spent 15 years in teaching and leadership positions in K-12 and higher education. One of the things that I wished I had of done a better job of was demonstrating my leadership ability. If you are struggling with the same issue, keep reading, because I have some tips to share. In this piece, I will discuss how you can demonstrate your education leadership potential.

Be passionate about what you do. As an education leader, if you want to show your leadership potential, be passionate about what you do. From the time that you step in the school building until the time you leave, let your love for teaching and learning be evident. Display an energetic passion for your employees and students and make them feel as though you have their best interest at heart. If you are faking, believe me, most people will be able to see right through you. There may be some days when you are feeling burned out, and you can’t wait until the weekend or until the next holiday break. That’s fine, but never let them see you fret. This is difficult, so you better brush up on your acting skills. Don’t worry, it will all pay off, and your higher-ups will clearly see your unbridled passion for education as a sign of leadership potential.

Be a voracious reader. Knowledge is power, and this maxim is certainly true in the education field. As an education leader, you need to be an expert in the teaching and learning process. So be sure to read up on new edtech tools, education trends, etc. As a rule of thumb, an aspiring education leader should be reading at least 4 books per month and at least 20-30 articles per month. Also, you need to have general knowledge about politics, sports, fashion, pop culture, etc. Basically, you need to be able to garner a respectable score if you were playing a game of Jeopardy. Why? Because running a school requires knowledge about a wide variety of topics and most don’t center around the field of education. Also, when attending meetings with your boss, you want them to get the impression that you are a cultured, intelligent person with talents and expertise that go beyond education. For some reason people are impressed by that sort of thing.

Listen. If you want to demonstrate your potential as a potential education leader, make sure you listen at least twice as much more than you talk. Not only does this allow you to fully understand a situation or problem before speaking, but it also gives other people the impression that you are measured, intelligent, caring, thoughtful, patient, etc. Nothing frustrates people more than someone who dominates a conversation without actually listening to what others are saying.

Be selfless. Let’s face it, no one likes a selfish person. When the going gets rough, you can always count on them to do what’s in their own self-interest, even if it means that other people are negatively affected by their actions. Because of this, no one trusts a selfish person either. We don’t confide in them or let them in on secrets because we don’t believe that our conversation will remain private. To the contrary, we know that if it helps them achieve their goals, they will spill our most intimate thoughts, and in effect, sell us out. Of course, higher-ups are no different. Why would they hire an education leader that only looks out for themselves, and in effect, doesn’t know how to be a team player. At the end of the day, selfish leaders are not very reliable, and so when see a potential education leader who displays traits of selfishness, we tend to pass over them when its time to make promotions.

Earn it. At the end of the day, if you want something in this world, you have to earn it. We know that there are exceptions to the rule. You know, nepotism, the good ole boy system, the buddy/buddy system, etc. However, if you go out and work your butt off to land an education leadership position, you won’t have to rely on brownnosing or sucking up to land a position. Also, if you decide to leave your state or country for that matter, you can be sure that your skills and level of expertise will travel.

What did I miss?

During my seven years as a teacher, I worked in one school district that was in utter disarray. The principal was kind and intelligent, but they just did not have what it takes to be an effective education leader. I just couldn’t take the incompetence, and after one year I moved on. I really liked the principal on a personal level, but on a professional level, I was not growing, and neither were my colleagues or the students. If she were more effective, the school could have been a Blue Ribbon School. That begs the question, what happens to a school when an effective education leader shows up. I have some thoughts.

1. School stakeholders begin to embrace failure as the path to victory. Failure can be the pathway to success, and great leaders know this. But knowing that failure is the pathway to success is not the same as accepting it. When a real leader shows up to your school building, when you fail, they will pick you up, and help you chart a course to victory. They know that continuing after failures is the key to success. This will be one of the most critical aspects of your school’s turnaround from bad to good to great. Everyone in the building will believe that they can achieve anything. Student growth will go through the roof, and your school will suddenly be looked at as a national model.
2. Everyone learns the fundamentals. When a coach teaches someone how to play basketball, they focus on the fundamentals first. You know, things like dribbling, passing, proper shooting form, layups, free throws, and the rules. Once players master this, they can begin to practice on plays and then scrimmaging. Well, a good education leader is no different. They know that good teaching is all about the fundamentals. Once teachers master the foundational stuff, the rest comes easy. Because of this, great education leaders make sure that their educators and staff know the foundations of education and are up to date on the newest trends and methods in teaching and learning. From that point, student success can take care of itself.
3. A permanent and perhaps radical change in the school environment and culture takes place. When education leaders are tasked with turning around an unsuccessful school, many focus on changing the school culture and environment. How do they do this? They use Invitational leadership, which is a school management model that aims to “invite” all interested stakeholders to succeed. The leadership model utilizes “invitations” as messages communicated to people, which inform them that they are valued, able, responsible, and worthwhile. The messages are sometimes transmitted by interpersonal action but are mostly disseminated through the institution’s policies, programs, practices, and physical environments.
4. A new standard of excellence is introduced. An effective leader models what the optimal performance looks like. They become the living personification of what excellence will look like at their school. As a result, their performance is replicated by everyone in the school, including students. Education leaders are the ultimate bottleneck. Their failure to perform hinders the ability of others to perform. That’s why great leaders are determined to be the best version of themselves.
5. Transparent performance metrics are established to hold everyone accountable. In a school helmed by a successful leader, everyone knows what is expected them and the metrics that will be used to determine if they are successful. That way, educators have clear metrics to measure themselves, so they can keep themselves accountable, and work on areas of weakness.
6. They establish a winning culture before the school starts winning. You may have to read this phrase a couple of times before it makes sense to you. When an education leader takes over a failing school, there is usually a culture of losing, like a high school team that has been 0 and 12 each of the last 5 seasons. To counteract this, they instantly establish a culture of winning, where everyone believes that they will be successful. To help the school realize these aspirations, they provide teachers, parents, and students with the support and resources they need to be successful. What happens is that this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, with performance reflecting the stakeholder’s positive mindsets and hard work that they put in.

We have discussed 6 things that happen when an effective education leader show up? What did we miss?

Every May and June, millions of K-12 teachers quit their jobs, choosing to transfer to another school within their district, teach in another district, or leave the teaching field for good. Nine times out of ten, their decision is related to the effectiveness of the school’s principal. So, what things do principals do to make their teachers quit? Keep reading to find out.

Mistake 1: Setting inconsistent goals or expectations. Consider this scenario: You instruct teachers to have a zero-tolerance approach towards bullying, profanity, and fighting. However, when you become inundated with student referrals, you ask teachers to adopt a more relaxed approach. This will drive teachers crazy and convey the impression that you are unwilling to be tough on discipline. Your inconsistency makes their life a living hell, as it makes it harder for them to maintain order in their classroom. When they start burning out, they move on.

How can you avoid this situation? When you set expectations or goals for teachers, be sure to follow through. Being transparent and consistent with your expectations will make your employees feel secure. This will make your school building a more pleasant place to work.

Mistake 2: Putting people in the wrong roles. Let’s say you interview a teacher who was trained as a lower elementary school teacher. If you hire them to work in that capacity, and they make it known that the K-3 grade level is the area where they feel most comfortable, believe them. Don’t try to move them to upper-elementary because you did a poor job during the off-season hiring period. If you do, you will find that at the end of the year, ironically, they will be the ones moving, but they will be moving on.

How can you avoid this situation? Be transparent about the grade level, and subject area you are hiring an educator to teach in. If you think there might be a chance that they end up working in another grade or subject, let that be known. That way if you need to change their roles they will be more open to the idea, as they knew it would be a possibility.

Mistake 3: Failing to create a psychologically, safe school culture. Unfortunately, some schools are hostile environments. So if you notice teachers and staff members being overly agreeable or quiet during staff meetings, that’s a bad sign. When teachers fear that their ideas or constructive criticism will be met with retaliation, they tend to keep their mouths shut, unwilling to make themselves targets. In a psychologically unsafe school, teachers become less effective and fail to grow. Because of this, they move on.

How can you avoid this situation? Create a school culture where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas, opinions or constructive criticisms. This creates a psychologically, safe school culture.

Mistake 4: Creating a school culture that is too safe. In a school environment, a healthy amount of pressure is essential for educator growth. When teachers feel overly pressured to improve standardized exam scores, they lose sight of what is necessary, and are more prone to get results by any means necessary; even if it means cheating. On the other hand, if teachers feel no pressure at all, they may start to become complacent, which will stifle their professional growth. When educators cannot find meaning in their work or don’t feel like they are growing or making a difference, they move on.

How can you avoid this situation? Sure, you want to create a safe school environment, but you don’t want to create a culture where people say whatever is on their mind. Some things should be left unsaid, even if they are correct. Also, people need to feel a moderate amount of pressure to perform. If not, at least half of them will take advantage of the situation, performing at a level that requires the least amount of energy or effort. Teachers need to be held accountable for how their students perform, and only a school culture with high expectations can accomplish this.

What did I miss?

Every once and a while, school district superintendents must consider replacing a principal who is no longer effective. It seems simple enough, but the task is not as clear cut as it seems. To help you decide, let’s discuss seven clear cut signs that its time to make a leadership change at one of your district’s schools.

1. Their leadership style and approach is outdated. When a principal’s leadership style is outdated, teachers and other staff members will stop responding. That means that they are no longer inspired to follow their principal because they have stopped learning and growing. This happens when the leader gets complacent and refuses to reinvent themselves. The most effective school leaders are proactive, changing with the times, and staying up on new trends. If you begin to notice that that one of your principals is operating on auto-pilot, it is time to make a leadership change.
2. They have a sense of entitlement. When one of your principals starts to act like the district owes them something, they may be power-hungry. Sooner or later, they are coming for your job “by hook or crook.”
3. They are rude. When a principal is rude and disrespectful, it means that they feel threatened, and are not confident in their abilities. Competent school leaders show executive presence by treating others fairly and exuding a touch of class.
4. They exude selfishness. Being a school leader is all about helping teachers teach, and students learn. A selfish principal is a dangerous one, as their decisions are based on what is best for them not on what’s best for the students. They are not looking to establish community partnerships for the betterment of the district, they are looking out for themselves.
5. They are disorganized. If you ask one of your principals to discuss the vision that they have for their school, and they fumble the response, chances are they are disorganized. Effective education leaders are always prepared, even for the unexpected. Organization can be taught, but if its couple with other weakness, it may be time to consider a leadership change.
6. They are indecisive. It is frustrating to work for an indecisive principal. Since a school is a fast-paced organization, every second counts. When principals become indecisive, it is a sign that they are losing trust in their own abilities. They can’t handle the pressure anymore and don’t want to be held accountable for making mistakes. In the process, they are losing the respect of their employees and colleagues.
7. They have no strategic focus. When a school leader lacks strategic focus, it is hard for them to realize the vision that they have for their school. They can no longer influence growth and innovation, “and can’t see the forest for the trees.” Because of this, they cannot maximize the resources that they were given and are essentially a dead man or dead woman walking.

What did we miss?

As education leaders, we realize that we are only as good as the leadership team that we have around us. But how do you spot potential education leaders within your organization? We have a few thoughts on the matter. Let’s look at the characteristics of employees who would make great education leaders.

People trust them. As an education leader, you want to create a culture of trust, so you want the members of your leadership team to be trustworthy. Look for people who have the trust of not only people below them in the leadership hierarchy but also those above them. For instance, an effective teacher that avoids gossip, keeps their word, and respects the rules of confidentiality.

They are emotionally intelligent. You need someone who is even-keeled emotionally and can manage their emotions during a crisis or stressful situations. They are in tune with their own feelings and those of others, which leads to healthy working relationships. The ability to be emotionally intelligent and agile is a prerequisite for school leadership positions.

They have a unique skill set. You are looking for individuals who have amazing skills that either you are the rest of your leadership team lack. For instance, if your school is located in a city like Philadelphia, New York, or Los Angeles, having someone on your team that speaks multiple languages would be an asset.

They mentor colleagues. If you see employees mentoring other colleagues simply because they want to see them succeed, that is the sign of a potential leader. Since one of the primary jobs of a leader is to mentor subordinates when they become a part of your leadership team their ability to inspire and empower others will have a positive impact.

They make their boss look good. Potential leaders seek to protect the company’s reputation and work in it’s best interest. Their productivity and informal leadership make their boss look good. If they believe that their boss is about to make a huge mistake, they speak up and offer a better way.

They provide informal leadership during difficult times. You are looking for people who can be positive influences during times of crisis and difficulty. Instead of complaining, they use their expertise and influence to help their bosses right the ship.

They are proactive. The informal leaders that you want to elevate to your leadership team are proactive. When they see a potential problem, they create solutions. They don’t need to be told to do this, it just comes naturally.

What did we miss? What are some additional ways to spot potential education leaders within your school district?

Back when I was a special education teacher, my principal ended up losing her mother and father in a car accident, all while she was going through chemotherapy and working feverishly to improve our school’s state test scores. Not only did she rise to the occasion, she exceeds expectations, beating cancer, and improving state test scores. Seeing here work 10-12-hour days with all of the challenges that she faced inspired everyone in the school building to dig deep and follow her lead.

My principal had a defining moment in leadership that revealed how resilient she could be. But that’s what effective leaders do. They turn their personal and career challenges into a source of strength and resilience. Therein lies the power of defining moments.

Defining moments help us find our life’s compass, which guides us successfully throughout our lives. Want to learn how to use your defining moments to make you a better school leader? Let’s look at the 3 steps that you need to follow.

Recognize. The first step is recognizing when you are experiencing a defining leadership moment. Start by reflecting on significant milestones that have occurred throughout your life. These include transitions, significant influences, challenges and pivotal events that changed and defined who you are today. Then we can begin to recognize that these major milestones and challenges were defining moments that helped us become resilient and build meaning in our lives.

Transform. Now moving forward, you have to decide how you will use defining moments in the future. Will you use them as an excuse to give up, or will you power through and use them to build resilience? Defining moments can have a positive or negative effect on our lives, but we get to choose. Most people will want to use them to fuel their desire to examine the past and work actively for a better future.

Disseminate. The last step in using defining moments to make you a better leader is by sharing your stories with others. How does that help? Many of your subordinates may find you intimidating, but when you share your defining moments and how you used them to become the person you are today, it will make you more relatable and inspirational. Also, talking our your journey can be cathartic for you, helping you to process the emotions that you felt, and find strength in your ability to stay resilient.

As we have discussed in this article, defining moments are what make school leaders great. If you follow the 3 steps that I outlined in this article, you will be able to use your defining moments to make you the best school leader that you can be. Do you have any tips for using pivotal moments to inspire future success? If so, post them in the comments section below.

American school boards are central to the successful operation of their school districts, but why are so many of them poorly trained and what can be done about this? Before we delve into this question, let’s discuss what a school board is and how it operates.

What is a local school board, and what does it do?

A school board is an administrative body that is responsible for the oversight of its school district, interpreting state regulations and setting similar policies for its district while creating strategic plans for the advancement of education in its district. The local school board represents the state in educational matters as well as advocates for the concerns and rights of the local citizenry.

Local school boards are also directly responsible for hiring school personnel, implementing programs, and evaluating the overall effectiveness of staff performance. They approve final budgets as well as the purchase of capital items. Furthermore, they are charged with the task of informing the public about issues and events that impact schools. Some local school boards even have the authority to increase their revenues by raising the taxes of the residents in their district.

Why are many school boards poorly trained?

As laid out by state law, members of the local school board are typically elected, although they can also be appointed by the mayor or a combination of both. Any interested adult can serve on a local school board: specific educational background or expertise is not a requirement.

Once appointed, members receive an orientation that usually amounts to one or two training sessions. Even if the training sessions were well constructed, members walk away thinking that they understand the PreK-12 education system and all of its nuances, but they do not. It takes most educators 10 years of in-service experience and an advanced degree to truly understand the complexities of the American education system. So why do we think a couple of training sessions will help school board members come up to speed?

Because of our inability to properly train school board members, our students suffer. Our schools are being micromanaged by incompetent school board members who interfere in educational matters best left to the discretion of the professional educators they have themselves hired. Due to a lack of training, their actions tend to be ineffective and hamper the educational progress of the schools and pupils under the board’s charge.

How should we prepare school board members?

The process of training school board members to serve is not as complicated as it seems. The effort school should be spearheaded by the school superintendent, even though the bulk of the work will be done by the director of professional learning and their staff. Here are the steps that you should follow.

1. Form a committee that consists of the superintendent, one or more school board members, the director of professional learning, an education leader, and a teacher.
2. Once you have a committee in place, set up a series of meetings that are meant to develop a professional development plan for school board members. My suggestion is that the curriculum should focus on essential skills, framed by critical questions. For example: How do school boards align mission and goals? How do they lead for performance and results? How do they strengthen governance capacity? Make sure that you develop a plan that provisions for the orientation and continuing education of board members.
3. After the professional development plan is created, have it approved by the school board and then get to work. Now the orientation and continuing education experience will be uniform for all board members you can be sure that they are prepared to lead your school district.

What did we miss? 

As leaders in the education arena, we take a leadership role with many stakeholders: teachers, students, parents, and the community. All of these people feel our presence as a leader in different ways—from the teachers who interact with us in the lounge or through classroom observations, to the students who might give us a high five in the hallway or dread coming to our office. Also, our leadership presence is felt by the parents and community members who see us greeting kids at the doorway or speaking at an assembly. 

I recently heard a leader comment to a teacher, “You may not like it, but you have to respect my position and authority.” This type of comment burns bridges instead of building them and decreases the positive presence of the leader. Instead of expecting respect because of the title or the position, work on increasing your leadership presence and inspire those you wish to lead to follow you regardless of the title. 

• Avoid power trips.

The difference between having a leadership title and having leadership presence is what Baldoni calls earned authority. A mistake that many leaders make is expecting, even demanding, respect because of the title. At the end of the day, the only real authority that you have as a leader is the authority that you earn. So, be humble about that nameplate on the office door. Alone, it is worth very little.

• Work alongside teachers, parents, and students to co-construct a vision for learning.

As leaders, we earn authority and develop presence through our daily interactions.  One of the best ways for a leader to develop presence and begin building authority in a school community is to work collaboratively to develop a vision for the school and set goals for what learning looks like. You aren’t a leader if no one follows you, so from the beginning, use words like “our” school, “our” vision, “our” community, and work with stakeholders to develop a shared vision for the future.

• Listen and talk with, not at, others.

Stephen Covey points out that listening and seeking to understand others is one of the core habits of highly effective individuals.  Listening and dialoguing with stakeholders is an essential skill for leaders in education.  Leaders must be willing to let down their guard, invite open dialogue, and truly listen to other stakeholders who are working toward the same goals for students.

• Prioritize your time and energy around things that matter most.

If you ask a school leader what matters most, the answer will likely have to do with the children—their learning, their growth.  But, many leaders spend more time each day dealing with administrative issues and “adult issues” than focusing on students and their learning.  Want to build respect and a positive presence with teachers who are on the front line in classrooms every day?  Devote more time to focusing on students and learning by being present where students are.  Informal visits to classrooms to engage with students as they learn or daily trips to talk with students in the cafeteria or at recess go a long way.

• Harness the conviction that the work is important.

Do you believe the work that you do every day as a school leader is important?  Is it critical?  Do you believe that what we do in schools has the power to change the trajectory of a life?  If you don’t believe those things, you might be in the wrong profession.  But, if you do believe those things, harness that conviction.  Share that conviction with your staff, with parents, with the community.  Let them all see your heart for kids and your belief in the life-changing power of education.  It is this conviction and heart for the work that will increase your presence.

• Realize the power of asking for input and feedback.

If you believe in building a collective vision and goals for the future, then you realize the importance of asking for input and feedback from stakeholders.  This goes along with seeking to understand.  When you don’t ask stakeholders for input or feedback, you send the message that you don’t understand, or care, about any concerns or ideas that they may have.  While it may seem counter-intuitive to allow your plans as a leader to be influenced by the ideas of others, building collective buy-in and inspiring others to follow begins with being open to their ideas so that you create a vision they will follow.

• Be willing to admit to a mistake.

This is harder for some leaders than others.  Some see admitting to a mistake as a sign of weakness; however, pretending that a mistake did not happen or blaming others when things go wrong is the quickest way to undermine your presence as a leader.  Being the leader is difficult, and at the end of the day, responsibility rests on your shoulders.  The best leaders realize that they build trust and inspire confidence when they can admit that they made a mistake—tried something that did not work, reacted out of emotion in a situation—are willing to apologize for the mistake, and can articulate a clear way forward.  It sends the message that we are human, but our characters are big enough to accept responsibility when we are wrong, and we care enough about our stakeholders to own our choices.

You may think that strong leaders are born, not made. True, some people are just more charismatic than others. But, good leaders know that their presence as a leader is not just about their innate personality. A leader’s presence is built a day at a time, and interaction by interaction. Increase your leadership presence by prioritizing things that matter most, working collaboratively with others, and making sure those around you know that you are more than a nameplate on the door.