Edendale Primary School – Southland
Running a school is not a solo expedition. There are simply too many different roles bearing down on the one position for anyone to be able to do everything, flawlessly, on their own. We lead our staff, manage a breadth of physical and financial resources and through our membership on a BOT, have the charge of strategic oversight. To have the perfect collection of skills and understandings to navigate the complexity of each realm flawlessly is rare, if not impossible. It can only sustainably be achieved in genuine concert with others. It requires a collection of the right people, positioned in the right place, surrounded by a culture conducive to growth. Running a school is not a science. There is no Newton’s law for this, or Einstein’s calculations for that. What we do as principals is based on the information that we have at the time, with the resources available to us, combined with the collective input of those around us. Then, on top of that, we have external forces being applied to us from shifts in Government policy and changes to Ministry of Education regulations. This is where a genuine altruistic judgement, discernment and wisdom comes in. When things are done with transparent sincerity, the stick of ‘hindsight’ that can beat us up sometimes, is less harsh. It’s a complex role, with a host of expectations, coming from many different directions, some even mutually exclusive. With that in mind, here are eight principles for principals, that can help straighten the crooked path that we often face. Mine mistakes, to grow excellence. Mistakes aren’t pleasant. They are errors, mini-failures, and defeats. They come from the fact that we are human, have limited insight, constrained resources, and inadequate skills. There are variables beyond our influence and circumstances that occur beyond our understanding. When bad stuff happens we can feel vulnerable and exposed. We have to be very careful at that moment of weakness in how we react. Avoid the short term ‘out’ which is to lie, blame shift, or run away. These are understandable reactions because we feel inadequate, but they are detrimental to our reputation and unhelpful in building our credibility. They put a veneer over the problem allowing us to carry on as if nothing has happened. Yet, we are only fooling ourselves, everyone else around us can see it, see our reaction, and wish that we would simply acknowledge it and move on. A principal faces up to the fallible, acknowledges the issue at hand, and looks for solutions. It takes an excellence mindset, that allows mistakes, to sharpen the focus to bring about positive change. Over time, mistakes improve us, failures strengthen us and defeats empower us. An excellence mindset mines failures for the gems of progress. ■■ Listen, to improve. Many people think a leader is the one with the biggest mouth, saying the most, filling up the empty silence with their own words. Sure, there are times that we do open our mouths and speak clearly and precisely, and at times ■■
forcefully, but that should not be our only modus operandi. It is hard to listen with your mouth open all the time. It is also hard to listen when you are framing a response, looking for the ‘one-up’ story or having a deficit listening mentality trying to find what is wrong with what the person said. Professional principalship requires the mouth to be shut at least in equal measure to it being open. In fact, the more mature a principal, the more time they will spend listening. A discerning principal listens for what is being said and also what is not being said that could have been. Both what is voiced and not voiced, contains a message. School improvements come from seeking advice, sounding out others, inviting input and welcoming feedback. ■■ Step out, to grow others. Just two little words, ‘ego’ and ‘glory’, can keep us from becoming good leaders. Ego always wants to be the centre of attention and glory always wants to be admired and acknowledged. Both can cause poor behaviour called ‘glory-stealing’ where the credit is stolen from someone else and claimed to ourselves. Both ego and glory, can cause us to hold tight to power, and turn leadership into a political power play as we compete for the worship of our subjects. Such egotistical selfishness destroys morale, ferments frustration, divides staff and creates a toxicity in the school culture that drives away the very people we want to stay. Empowered principalship reigns in our ego and unplugs itself from the elixir of glory. This is done in private, with very few ever being smart and discerning enough to know the important transition that you made deep within you, to step out to allow others in so that they can flourish and grow. Principalship creates space for others to step into. When staff step up they see that they are trusted, this sparks initiative, ownership, and increases discretionary input. Staff begin to contribute more and more. Once that occurs it is our role to encourage and acknowledge their growth. This is a very powerful cycle that strengthens our schools. The ‘me’ becomes ‘we’. To adapt an ancient Chinese proverb – A principal is at their pinnacle when people barely know they exist, that when the work of school is done, the aim of a year fulfilled, the staff they lead will say, ‘We did it ourselves.’ ■■ Do less, to achieve more. With so many ‘good’ projects, initiatives, and latest trends it is very easy to get swept up in keeping up with Jones Street School. This can come from our own or a shared sense of insecurity and lack of confidence. Yet, we do not have to be mirrors of each other. Difference is enriching. By chasing the trend from down the road we can end up being tossed from one thing to the next, with the net result being, we’ve done nothing significant ourselves. Experienced principals become sharper and sharper, doing less and doing it well, to the point that it defines them and the schools that they lead. The clarity of focus and the intensity of direction, provides security for those around us, defining what is acceptable and what is not. This focus has an ear towards our community and an eye on the future. It balances the now
with the not yet. Strategic plans become less wordy and less cumbersome as they become more focused and defined. There is less and less of an attempt to do everything to try and please as many people as possible, but rather the realisation that quality comes from doing fewer things very well. ■■ Bed in, to mature. There are times and circumstances when principals shift too much and too early. Changing a principal is significant for a school. It thrusts a school into a state of uncertainty that takes around one whole year to settle. Schools find it hard. If they are changing principals too much, it is hard for that school to grow. Shifting too much as a principal stunts our growth as well, where we can run away from the pressure that can grow us. The first year is ‘The Honeymoon’, the second year is ‘I’ve-GotThis’, the third year is ‘The Beginning of Pushback’. Push back is not fun. It can unsettle our confidence and belief in our ability. Our natural reaction is to get away from it so we tidy up the CV and look elsewhere. A focused principal beds in for the long haul, knowing that true character growth is not in retreating from the challenge but in being courageous and reflective enough to weather the storm and go through the fire. They push through the push back. This pressure and heat do not destroy us, they refine us. Out of this comes a depth of maturity that jumping ship could never bring. We begin to know ourselves better, which enables us to know other people better. We explore the depths of ourselves that few people are prepared to journey into, but by doing so, we learn to break unhelpful habits, celebrate what we can do and reach out for support from others who can do things we can not. We begin to lead more from a point of gratitude and graciousness knowing ourselves and valuing others.
Rent a laser machine. Adding a laser machine to your school’s curriculum is easy through Trotec’s machine rental program. Talk to us about our rental and finance options.
www.troteclaser.co.nz 0800 876 832 info@troteclaser.co.nz
Lead, don’t boss. The world thinks that a good leader bosses. The world thinks that this means constant instruction, direction, telling and if the job is not done properly, reprimanding, chastising, micromanaging and punishing. Boss-leadership is always checking up to ensure that things are done right. Boss-leadership is a stickler for compliance and rules. With this fractured belief structure the word ‘boss’ and ‘bully’ can easily connect themselves and the school can be gripped by a climate of fear. An expert principal leads out of a culture of trust and respect. Principalship inducts new staff into the school over a period of time, allowing them to settle in and find their feet. It gives clear structures around position descriptions and curriculum delivery expectations. It provides time for questions and clarifications. It allows for mistakes and has open discussions around such mistakes keeping the topic the issue and not the person. ■■ Have clarity, to establish purpose. All too often a principal’s view of their role in the school is too small. It can become a job, with a whole series of tasks to be completed, in order to get the job done, nothing more and nothing less. The passion dies, overwhelmed by a wave of expectations and tasks, that all needed to be done yesterday. A mature principal goes much deeper and finds a strong inner altruistic motivation. Schools are the receptacle of our communities’ most precious wealth, its young. We take them in and are charged with their nurture, guiding them, in partnership with their family and whānau, towards a future that has their dreams and potential realised. Leading a school is a mission. We are not doing a job, we are changing the world, one child at a time. It is a service, that in giving our talents and skills, we grow others. ■■ Think successionally, to establish a legacy: Even on the first day, we should be thinking about the next person who takes over the role from us. We will be replaced one day. Someone else will ‘sit in the seat’ leading the school. We want them to be successful. I’ll repeat that, we want them to be successful. This is repeated because, sometimes, somewhere, deep down, there is the temptation to hope that they aren’t, so that we then look good. That is not successional thinking, that is selfish thinking. A successful principal is a successional principal. They create a legacy of success that others grow upon. Such an attitude lifts our thinking from the here and now, from our wants and desires, into the long term reputation of the school. We are part of a line of principal’s in the past and into the future who take up the mantle of leadership for the families of the children in our community. We don’t want our successor to inherit a mess. This means we are constantly bringing order to the chaos by simplifying, reducing replication, digitising, rationalising, streamlining, clarifying, modernising, structuring. It means we sort out the problems of today so that they are not the problems of tomorrow. It means we run a financially viable school with money for the future, so that our replacement can continue to run a successful school. Our legacy is that we have spent our time working ‘on’ the school not ‘in’ the school. When we leave things should go from strength to strength. ■■
As principals we hold a privileged position to have an influence over both adults and children, and through them, our communities. It is an important position that we need to handle with the right attitude and understanding. It is challenging. It is stretching. It is demanding. By being principals with principles, we can take the role to a new level and sow positive seeds of hope into our nation.
Playground Surfacing Use your Property Maintena nce Grant • Safe: Cushionfall® playground mulch is specially treated so it’s free from nails and splinters. Many cheaper or imported products aren’t nail-free or splinter-free. • Long-lasting: tests have proven that Cushionfall® playground mulch actually becomes more effective over time. After 5 years it will be in better condition than ever! • Quick-draining: the children can start playing as soon as it stops raining. • Wind-proof: Cushionfall® playground wood chips are shaped in such a way so that they’re not disturbed or blown around by the wind. • Colourful: available in 8 non-toxic, UV-resistant colours, Cushionfall® playground mulch makes playtime fun!
41A Hunua Road, Papakura, Auckland 2110 Phone: (09) 299 3999 • Mob: 0275 299 399 info@reharvest.co.nz • www.reharvest.co.nz