What Effective Principals Do?

Being a school principal is rewarding but equally challenging and that is why at least some of them are finding it difficult to be successful in their career.

A principal should be collaborative, confident and sincere with amazing time-management, analytical, problem solving and communication skills. He/she should be able to set the tone for tough learners and be a good leader, excellent listener with an awesome vision.

Here let us have a detailed look at what does an effective principal does to overcome challenges and be successful in their career.

Be a Good Leader

A good principal should obviously be a good leader who takes up ownership of successes and failures that happen in his/her school.

He/she must develop a mindset to value the needs of others around.

One needs to always look for ideas to improve the school, and think of ways to implement these improvements.

Be Proficient at Building Relationships with People

You will come across many types of people daily. A good principal should be able to connect with them without any inhibitions.

Moreover, He/she should learn to earn the trust of people as only teamwork can make anything successful.

Whether they come across teachers, support staff, students, parents or community members, everybody will be unique in their thoughts and attitude.

A principal should be patient enough to consider them and make fair decisions on related matters.

Balance organization with Leadership

Being a school principal gives you enough leadership opportunities; but it is really important not to miss out management duties.

Nobody will listen to a leader who is unable to perform his/her management duties efficiently. So, manage everything without mistakes and set a good example and then lead from the front.

Be Fair and Consistent

It is really important to handle similar cases in a more or less similar way as the thought of being inconsistent and unfair can take away the credibility you have built over time.

Especially, students will look for your past decisions and judge you based on your present decisions.

So, it is vital to scan your previous decisions and document your reasoning and never rush to a final decision on sensitive matters.

Foresee the Ideal and Aim on the Doable

An effective principal should have a proper vision about how the school should look like.

By foreseeing the results, they can systematically aim to create a culture they are looking for.

There is no point in rushing towards it but be reasonable and practical by setting step by step goals towards bigger goals.

The incremental changes that you make towards the goal is more important than meeting the actual goal.

Stay Organized and Prepared

Every new school day comes with a unique set of challenges and it is important to stay organized and prepared to handle them tactfully.

No days are predictable. Being prepared is the best you can do to handle any situation.

Policies and procedures should be ready in place to deal with any tough situations that may come in future to avoid stress and anxiety and do the necessary.

Act as a Spokesperson for the Missing voice

Being a school administrator, there will often be situations when one needs to solve conflicts.

Teachers complaining about students or parents complaining about teachers or kids complaining about teachers are common in a school.

Rather than taking a decision by listening to the initial part of the conflict, it is ideal to represent the missing voice of the other person to have a fair settlement.

Be an Effective Communicator

Being approachable is very important to be a successful principal and the foremost step towards this is to be a good communicator.

You should be able to listen, understand, interrelate, and bond with teachers and students in the best way to offer helping, productive and healing ways.

Reducing the negative attitude within the staff community and building strong positive members to work towards a common goal is vital.

Always Listen and Interpret

Irrespective of their stature, people often mean more than what they convey when raising a problem.

A good principal should listen to it carefully to understand their actual concerns and give the correct solution to their problems.

They can apply communication techniques such as paraphrasing and frank discussions before providing a proper learning feedback.

Reflect Constantly

It is important to reflect on what has been done constantly to make the actions complete.

Following a decision, interaction or action, it is good to ask questions like how this could have been done better or whether the actions were transparent to all.

A constant reflection on the work enables them to enhance their practice on a daily basis.

Be an Amazing Contributor

Rather than pushing others to act wisely towards the success goals and sitting in the comfort zone, it is important to be an amazing contributor and set an example.

Pay attention to the needs and feelings of teachers and do the needful to foster their productivity and satisfaction.

Making a notable contribution to the success of others is what one can do the best to stay successful and inspire others.

Plan for your own Departure

The ultimate goal of an effective administrator is to build enough capacity within the organization rather than thinking themselves as indispensable.

You have to ensure that not a single important task that impacts the running of the school is confined to a set of people.

Setting up redundancy into the structure is an essential part of framing a healthy and sustainable leadership configuration.

Once you join as a school principal, understand the importance of team work in building and meeting the vision.

A good nurturing school atmosphere enables students and teachers to give their best. More than managing just data and processes, it is vital to manage people efficiently to foster improvement in school system.

It is even more important to cultivate leadership in others within the institution. This enables them to assume their roles in recognizing the school vision.

Also Read: 5 illegal things teachers can’t do

Are you looking to take up a career as a school principal? Then definitely consider these important characteristics to be successful in your career.

Start developing your skills and spend some dedicated time to do enough research on how to practice these skills and make it a habit. The best thing you can do for your school is to create an optimal learning climate.