As an elementary school principal, you’re not just responsible for your students’ academic growth; you also need to make sure they feel safe and respected at all times. This means encouraging healthy social relationships, setting high expectations and goals, and helping students navigate challenging times and situations. Of course, you can’t possibly do this alone; other adults in the building need to be on board with your leadership strategies and actions as well. Here are some tips to help you develop your leadership mindset so that everyone can work together to provide a positive learning environment every day.
1) Understand What Makes a Leader
When examining individuals who are considered effective leaders, you’ll notice certain trends. The best leader s have vision: they look beyond today and imagine how things will be tomorrow. They have ambition and they’re willing to do what it takes to get there. Finally, they have drive; they’re eager for change and are willing to make sacrifices in order to move forward. How can you develop these leadership traits? Continue reading... There are some that may think that all leaders were born with their talent and never had to work at becoming great at their craft. That’s simply not true! Just like anything else, leadership skills must be developed over time through training and experience. In fact, many of our nation's greatest leaders had mentors or coaches who helped them hone their abilities before taking on bigger roles within an organization or community. Below is a list of 8 tips that may help you develop your own leadership mindset so that you too can become a successful leader!
- Understand What Makes a Leader
- Have Ambition
- Be Willing to Sacrifice
- Be Enthusiastic About Change
- Be Committed
- Think Long Term
- Set Goals & Priorities
- Find Mentors/Coaches
2) Model Strong Leaders in Your Life
The number one tip for developing leadership skills is also one of the easiest: model strong leaders in your life. Be it your parent, favorite teacher, or boss, find someone whose leadership you respect and then analyze their behavior. Don't just look at what they say but how they do things; that's where you'll learn what being a leader really means. Reading books about effective leadership is another great way to figure out which traits and behaviors are most important. After all, if you're going to take on a leadership role, why not get as much help as possible? And don't forget to check out our podcast on becoming an effective principal. We talk with Dr. Ken Roberson about what he looks for when hiring principals and ways principals can develop their own skill sets. (It’s called Becoming an Effective Principal.)
3) Make Time for Professional Development
In any job, making time for professional development can go a long way toward helping you do your job well. But as a principal, it’s even more important because of your role in leading an entire staff. That doesn’t mean that you can get away with being less engaged or knowledgeable than your employees, but it does mean that you need to learn about your organization, plan for its growth and development, and help others grow into their roles. And like with any other leadership opportunity, these things take time—and if you don’t find ways to fit them into each day, they won’t happen at all. Make sure to carve out some time every week for professional development. Even 15 minutes here and there will make a difference over time.
4) Set Goals & Priorities
It’s important to have goals, but setting priorities is also important. Write out your daily, weekly and monthly goals and prioritize them by importance. For example, Walk dog is more important than Update social media. It’s unlikely you can accomplish all of your tasks in one day (or even one week), so be realistic about how much you can accomplish each day and prioritize those that are most critical or exciting to you.
Be sure to schedule time for yourself as well; if you don’t take care of yourself first, it will be difficult to take care of others. Schedule in some me time every day, whether it's 15 minutes after school with a cup of coffee or an hour on Saturday morning for breakfast at your favorite café. If you're struggling to balance work and personal life, find someone who can help make things easier on you—your spouse/partner, another parent at school, etc.—and delegate tasks when possible. As an educator, leadership comes from within! Make good choices today that set up positive habits tomorrow!
5) Communicate Effectively
It's not enough just to be willing to communicate—you must also know how. If you're going up against tight-lipped teachers or administrators, your ability to communicate effectively can give you an edge. Are you able to describe your plans in concrete terms that other people can understand? Do you frame things positively instead of playing defense? Make it a priority to hone your communication skills and use them as often as possible. The more comfortable you are getting across what it is that you're trying do, and why, the better off your efforts will be. For example, make a list of all of your goals for school improvement and share it with others on staff who might benefit from knowing about those goals. Ask for feedback on whether you've communicated those ideas clearly so far.
After all, communication is critical to being effective as a leader. Leaders need to communicate in order to build consensus among team members and convince them that they have something worth contributing. They need good interpersonal skills because they’re working with many different types of people every day – some friendly, some difficult – and some both at once!
6) Listen More Than You Speak
There’s nothing better than celebrating successes with fellow team members. Knowing that your work is appreciated and recognized for going above and beyond will keep you motivated. It’s also a good idea to celebrate successes with students. Be sure to take time throughout your day to acknowledge their progress and make them feel special. However, as a leader, it’s important to listen more than you speak. Whether it be in meetings or one-on-one conversations, listening is key when developing relationships with others. Good leaders know how to communicate effectively without saying too much or too little. This can be difficult at times because there are times when we want to jump in and give our two cents on everything—but remember: A wise man does not argue. Listening helps develop stronger relationships, which can ultimately help build trust within your school community.
7) Work on Yourself First
Learning how to be a leader is not about learning some fancy method for getting other people do what you want them to do. Leading well is about developing your own character, talents, skills and personality. It's about knowing who you are and aligning that with what you want others to do. Become interested in yourself first, then look outward. Understanding yourself enables you to understand others; finding common ground allows more of your talent and potential to shine through. As you grow as a person, you'll naturally become better at leading others.
8) Celebrate Successes
Whether it’s a milestone or just doing something you haven’t done before, take time to acknowledge yourself and your leadership strengths. Asking for help is difficult but if you do, you’ll find support. Being able to listen empathetically is also an important part of being in a leadership role – not only does it demonstrate that you are listening intently and paying attention, but also allows for better communication between teachers and students. To be successful as a principal, celebrate successes, ask for help and be empathetic. These three things will make all leaders stronger.
When facing problems that crop up throughout school year, don’t shut down and walk away. Take a deep breath and think about how you can solve problems rather than walking away from them entirely. If talking to staff members doesn’t solve anything, seek advice from others who have been principals – such as those at The Principal Center – so they can lend their expertise on topics like dealing with difficult parents or conflict resolution. Because every problem won't go away easily by itself; instead addressing them head-on could lead to finding solutions more quickly in future situations.
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