My thoughts on school leadership...

As a first year administrator I have had the opportunity to grow tremendously as a professional over the course of the school year. Despite all the learning, I believe there are many things going well at PBJHS, but we will always have room for continued growth and improvement.

Most recently, I have been afforded the opportunity to assume the role of principal for the 2012-2013 school year at PBJHS. I have both graciously and humbly accepted this opportunity, and I look forward to continued success and growth in the years to come.

As I begin the transition from assistant principal to principal, I am already seeing how the roles differ greatly. Furthermore, my interest in leadership has always been there, but I am even more intrigued as a result of these recent changes. By no means do I consider myself to be a proven or reputable voice on leadership, but I do have some observations and thoughts on the topic...

- sometimes the easiest and most straight forward decision becomes the most difficult and controversial in the blink of an eye...

- if your goal is to keep everyone happy and comfortable, you should plan on not getting much accomplished; progress and growth will require pulling and tugging... 

- you are surrounded by people with many strengths and viable attributes; help to create an environment where they can excel and share their strengths with others...

- there is a very fine line between helping and being supportive, and enabling and creating a group of people who are dependent upon others to get anything done; tread this line carefully...

- what you say is fine and dandy, but what you do is all that really matters...

- if you want to prevent and destroy any hope of having positive morale, you will have lots of meetings where nothing really gets accomplished... you will probably also have meetings about future meetings.

- making yourself available is a double edged sword... the more available you are, the easier you are to reach, which is both good and bad. Being available and visible are parts of leadership, and being available will always far outweigh not being available...

- if you don't appreciate and recognize the contributions of others, you will eventually fail, and you will most certainly never become a great leader...

- leadership will always be centered around relationships, and those that are able to master the relationships piece will be best positioned to be great leaders...

- leadership is about commitment, perseverance, self-reflection, and trust; commit yourself to doing whatever it takes, and trust yourself and others to be self-reflective learners who are always looking to grow...   


I am excited for the upcoming school year, and I am very optimistic about what we can continue doing for kids at PBJHS. What are your thoughts on school leadership? What am I missing on this list? What is a "must" for all school leaders?