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This past school year was my second in the role of principal. During this time I have asked for help in creating a schedule, asked for advice on repairing a professional relationship with a colleague, looked for support on planning for the upcoming school year as well as sought council on how to support a staff member and friend who didn’t get a leadership role in my building. As I reflect there is one thing that has been driven home during these first two years as school principal; collaboration is key.
Collaboration has made me easily ten times better than I would be if I was trying to figure things out on my own. At times I have been unable to sleep as problems and solutions chase each other in my mind like a crazed dog chasing its tail. Each time I collaborate with a mentor, a colleague and/or in a Facebook group the decision making processes smooths and ideas that I couldn’t have thought of on my own are revealed. All the successes that have occurred within the school this year are based on collaboration. Below are two simple ways I bookended the school year using collaboration as a tool to 10x my leadership. Beginning of the Year Collaboration is a team concept and obviously begins even before the official start of school. It’s something that we all know intuitively but sometimes we get so caught up trying to get something done that we forget. Gathering the advice and listening to the point of view of those on your staff is important in building a strong culture and helps lead to successes. Treating your entire staff as integral parts of a whole, not only highlights your integrity as a leader but also creates the opportunity for more wins. Each of these first two years I’ve brought the staff together early to plan out the first day and the first two weeks. This has brought energy, enthusiasm and accountability as each person understands their role and sees their input implemented End of year Not only does collaboration bring accountability it is also useful as a strategic evaluative tool. Collaborating is a great way to eliminate, diffuse, or at least mitigate anxiety over things like the evaluation. Instead of just dropping our evaluative conclusions on staff, like a ton of wordy bricks, we need to work with them and let them self-evaluate using the district tool. In addition have them create an online portfolio where they can upload evidence of their success. Balance that with your walk through and formal observation data. Make sure to leave opinions out and stick to observed evidence. Once both of you have worked separately to “rate” the year or a specific lesson come together and discuss your findings. I’ve found that this type of collaborative process eliminates a lot of push back and helps give the teacher/staff member a sense of control over the process. Working together will build a partnership where both parties are striving towards the same goal. Collaboration leverages multiple perspectives and will 10x your leadership. It is also one of the many tools principals and education leaders need when driving a school towards success. What are some other tools that are necessary for a strong building leader. Share your thoughts in the comment section below. If you found this entertaining, educational or cause for reflection, please follow me and click share so your friends and colleagues can benefit as well. For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the www.howtobeagreatprincpal.com and/or order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. You can also get a monthly email that delivers the most valuable blogs as voted by readers by joining the Principals’ Prep Minute. You can register right on the website. If you’re interested in principal swag that speaks to our #principallife you can take a look here. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, on itunes and podomatic, episodes replayed weekly. If you’re interested in sharing your experience as an edleader please email me at jonathanroyce@theprincipalentrepreneur.com. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group. #theprincipalentrepreneur #leadership #principal #secondaryprincipals #nassp #massp #maesp #edchat #educhat #edadmin #sharedleadership #howtobeagreatprincipal #jonathanroyce #principallife
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Learning never stops. Finding time to do it on consistent basis is one of the challenges we face as principles. That’s why I listen to books.
Depending on the platform from which you download the material you can listen up to 3X normal speed. It takes some getting used to, but if you start gradually at 1.5, then to 2X and even faster at 2.5X speed your brain adapts to the quickness. When you need to take notes you can either pause or rewind until you can jot down the information. Below are the 10 best books I consumed this past school year. Each one influenced how I thought about leadership and education. This list of 10 are a combination of both digital and audio books. I’ve included a short summary from Amazon for convenience. 1. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle A New York Times bestselling author explores cutting-edge brain science to learn where talent comes from, how it grows-and how we can make ourselves smarter. 2. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman|with Greg McKeown A thought-provoking, accessible, and essential exploration of why some leaders (“Diminishers”) drain capability and intelligence from their teams, while others (“Multipliers”) amplify it to produce better results. 3. Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations - whether in the boardroom or at home. 4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell [John C. Maxwell] has combined insights learned from his thirty-plus years of leadership successes and mistakes with observations from the worlds of business, politics, sports, religion, and military conflict. 5. Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio Ray Dalio, one of the world's most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he's developed, refined, and used over the past 40 years to create unique results in both life and business - and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals. 6. Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S Grover Fore more than two decades, legendary trainer Tim Grover has taken the greats—Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and dozens more—and made them greater. Now, for the first time ever, he reveals what it takes to get those results, showing you how to be relentless and achieve whatever you desire. 7. The Leading Brain by Hans W. hagemann, Friederike Fabritius A cutting-edge guide to applying the latest research in brain science to leadership - to sharpen performance, encourage innovation, and enhance job satisfaction. 8. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable by Seth Godin There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there's a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there's no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art. 9. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek Start with Why shows that the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way - and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. 10. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done In 12 Weeks Than Others Do In 12 Months by Brian P Moran, Michael Lennington The 12 Week Year creates focus and clarity on what matters most and a sense of urgency to do it now. In the end more of the important stuff gets done and the impact on results is profound. What are your top leadership books? Share some from your library in the comment section below. If you found this entertaining, educational or cause for reflection, please follow me and click share so your friends and colleagues can benefit as well. For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the www.howtobeagreatprincpal.com and/or order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. You can also get a monthly email that delivers the most valuable blogs as voted by readers by joining the Principals’ Prep Minute. You can register right on the website. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, on itunes and podomatic, episodes updated weekly. If you’re interested in sharing your experience as an edleader please email me at jonathanroyce@theprincipalentrepreneur.com. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group. #theprincipalentrepreneur #leadership #principal #secondaryprincipals #nassp #massp #maesp #edchat #educhat #edadmin #sharedleadership #howtobeagreatprincipal #jonathanroyce #principallife
You’ve probably got at least one staff member cheating on you and it’s probably your fault. It’s that time of year when administrative teams are getting together and looking to shake things up. If we’ve done our job at least one staff member isn’t comfortable and is looking to find a better match.
Sometimes a staff member may be cheating on us with one of our administrative colleagues. For whatever reason we just might not mesh and they find satisfaction and belonging in the building of another. These 5 behaviors are dead giveaways that your staff member is actively searching or already being courted by another. They never have time to meet You may have been trying the last three weeks to meet with your staff member and they continue to blow you off. They always have an excuse why they can’t make it down to your office. Or when you stop by their room, they’ve always got a doctor’s appointment. Most staff members that are sticking by you know it’s in their best interest to meet and don’t mind having conversations with you. Those that are on the way out. Don’t care if they’re burning bridges. If you notice this avoidance behavior chances are they’re looking to get out. Misty Eyes and Far away looks As teachers begin to contemplate leaving they may begin to display some of this type of behavior. You might catch them looking fondly at a kid they were furious with just a few days or weeks earlier. You might see them shake their heads and smile and say things like “That’s just Blankty Blank.” instead of correcting the behavior. As our staff members decide to leave, behaviors that once got on their nerves no longer do because they know there is an end in sight for them. Brilliant Students Another sign of teachers getting ready to leave may be a sudden uptick in classroom grades. Teachers may begin to take less time grading the papers that are being turned in as they prepare for another assignment. Perhaps there is less focus on the correct usage of a comma, capital city or congruence of a triangle. Or another indicator could be a sudden adherence to grades being turned in on time and the grade book updated. These changes in behavior could be signs that your staff has found another prospect. They avoid making commitments As the year comes to the end we start planning for the following school year. This is the time we tap staff with leadership potential to take on larger roles. Staff that plans on leaving are non committal about future plans. When you ask them if they’d like to lead they might respond with, “Oh that’s interesting, let me get back to you on that.” Staff who expect to be with you make commitments to the future. If a teacher puts off future commitments, they might not plan on having one with you. Mopey Colleagues More than likely your entire staff will know before you do that one of their members has found another. You may hear more expressions of black humor or innuendo as you’re walking through the halls. There may be awkward silence as you walk into a room where three or four teachers are gathered. You may also notice hugs and the giving away of valuables like staplers, rulers or lined paper. Or suddenly, teachers who never got along are now cordial as they realize they won't be seeing each other anymore. If you notice this type of behavior a staff member may be leaving. As principals we are often the last to know that one of our valued staff members is leaving. It’s not even us, it’s them. The other district just might have more to offer. However, if you see misty eyes, an increase in grades, depressed staff members, have limited face to face time, and or a lack of commitment, be prepared to swipe right and find someone that you really connect with. What are other ways staff members behave when they’re cheating on you? Share an observation in the comment section below. If you found this entertaining, educational or cause for reflection, please follow me and click share so your friends and colleagues can benefit as well. For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the www.howtobeagreatprincpal.com and/or order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. You can also get a monthly email that delivers the most valuable blogs as voted by readers by joining the Principals’ Prep Minute. You can register right on the website. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, on itunes and podomatic, episodes replayed weekly. If you’re interested in sharing your experience as an edleader please email me at jonathanroyce@theprincipalentrepreneur.com. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group. #theprincipalentrepreneur #leadership #principal #secondaryprincipals #nassp #massp #maesp #edchat #educhat #edadmin #sharedleadership #howtobeagreatprincipal #jonathanroyce #principallife
If I had an emoji for how I’m feeling right now at the end of the school year, it’s some combo of the puke face, the head exploding and crying laughing. You wouldn’t think that it’s time already to start planning for the following school year, but it is. That’s how fast the time goes when you’re grinding and living the #principallife.
It’s time to simultaneously think of ourselves and how our school will look next year. The two are inextricably (that’s my big word for the day :-D lol) intertwined.. We need to think of ourselves because our schools are a reflection of our beliefs and vision. Complete the paperwork. If you’re like me, you’ve probably already started working on your school improvement plan (SIP) and looking at ways to enhance what you’ve already done this school year. While the SIP is a great place to start and really identify your needs, for me, it also leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to connecting viscerally with what I should be doing for next year. That’s because the SIP is a poor translation of what I feel a school should be. The SIP are the pieces that are put in place that try to encapsulate the feeling. Regardless, the SIP is just one of the things that needs to be completed. Meet with the Superintendent This should be an additional meeting outside of your year end review. The scheduled meeting doesn’t need to be longer than about ½ hour. The twist here is this meeting isn’t necessarily about you. Ask the superintendent what her/his goals and visions are for the district and your school in particular. As you listen think of ways your own ideas fall in line with that larger vision. In doing so if you have an “ask” you can frame it in a way that supports the district’s overall direction. This is also the perfect time to ask what she believes it takes for a school like yours to be successful. By eliciting a response to this question you can tailor your goals to fall in line with hers. By doing this you can create a bond where your success is tied to hers. Goal Setting Speaking of goals, your School Improvement Plan for the following year has goals written into it. Take those goals and rewrite them in common everyday language that actually means something to you. The following is an example of SIP goal setting language: “All students will apply various reading strategies to comprehend, analyze, interpret, and evaluate text.” We aren’t in a classroom teaching the reading strategies so our impact comes from ensuring that teachers are instructing students in the various strategies. A goal for us based off the SIP goal could be something like this: “I’ll monitor ELA teacher’s lesson plans weekly with a focus on identifying reading strategies being taught.” This goal is measurable and it impacts the overall SIP goal. A goal written like this is something that you’ll remember. Student Meetings This is an important foundational piece for the upcoming school year. Set up a schedule where you can meet with a cross section of students that will return. Talk with them about their experience. Find out from them the things that worked and those that didn’t. Take notes and find the common thread. If you have planning time where your staff is preparing for the following year give students opportunities to give their input. Give them ownership. The more students that buy in the smoother the first few weeks of school will go. Staff Meeting Yes, another one. This one is specifically planned to create buy-in for the following year. During my meeting I created the following categories: What did we do well What needs a tweak One thing +/- One thing +/- was one thing you absolutely thought we should keep or one thing you think we should absolutely get rid of. Staff took stickies, filled them out and placed them under individual categories of need a tweak and One Thing +/-. . Once they were done we did a gallery walk. It’s purpose was to put a check mark next to just one of the items of each category. Once that part was done I cleared out the sticky notes that had no checks and then grouped the remaining stickies into thematic groups. Those groups are what we will work on as we continue to move into next year. This particular staff meeting is important because it gives everyone a chance to have a voice. The selection of the most important ideas on the stickies creates an “idea meritocracy” (a term I first heard in Ray Dalio’s book Principles) where the best ideas get the team’s collective attention. The end is coming and it’s already time to turn our gaze towards the future. These five tips will help us set up for success in 2018-19. That’s it for now. Share your practices in the comment section below. If you found this entertaining, educational or cause for reflection please follow me and click share so your friends and colleagues can benefit as well. For more short articles and tips that support educational leaders check out my blog at the www.howtobeagreatprincpal.com and/or order my newest book How To Be A Great Principal: 36 Shared Leadership Success Strategies. You can also get a monthly email that delivers the most valuable blogs as voted by readers by joining the Principals’ Prep Minute. You can register right on the website. If you’re an auditory learner you can download my podcast The Principal Entrepreneur, on itunes and podomatic, episodes replayed weekly. If you’re interested in sharing your experience as an edleader please email me at jonathanroyce@theprincipalentrepreneur.com. Finally, I’m part of a community of supportive principals please join our private FB group. #theprincipalentrepreneur #leadership #principal #secondaryprincipals #nassp #massp #maesp #edchat #educhat #edadmin #sharedleadership #howtobeagreatprincipal #jonathanroyce #principallife |
AuthorI'm a Principal and an Entrepreneur. I'm the former owner of a food venture Hustling Hoagies, the author of the children's picture books Detective Dwayne Drake and the Alphabet Thief, Detective Dwayne Drake and The Case of the Mathematical Misfit and the ebook Making it as a Male Model in Michigan. I've worked professionally as a model and commercial actor...... Archives
May 2020
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