As a lover of folk music, I’ve always been drawn to Joni Mitchell’s song “Both Sides Now” where she sings about looking at life and love from both sides. Similarly, just as I’m fascinated by the duality of life and love, I’m also deeply interested in exploring both the challenges and rewards of the principalship.
You might wonder, “What two sides of being a principal are you talking about?” After looking at extensive research and reflecting on lived experience, I believe there are two sides of being an effective principal (or leader): 1) the deliberate, action-oriented side that focuses on doing the right work and 2) the courageous side that emphasizes the skills needed to work effectively with people.
How to master the two sides of principalship like an expert
What’s the difference between these two sides? In order for schools to be successful, principals must lead their organizations in two distinct ways, which are grounded in these essential leadership actions and skills. First, principals need the essential actions to answer the question, “Do I know what I’m doing?” Second, they need the essential skills to answer the question, “Can I lead people to accomplish what I’m doing?”
In order for an organization to succeed, it must meet two key criteria: the organization must be (1) smart and (2) healthy. Being smart means having the technical competence to deal with the critical aspects of the organization. However, Patrick Lencioni (2012), founder and president of the Table Group, a firm dedicated to helping leaders improve their organizational health, writes, “Being smart is only half the equation. Yet somehow it occupies almost all the time, energy, and attention of most executives. The other half of the equation, the one that is largely neglected, is about being healthy.”
“Principals must be aware that they are the essential factor and have enormous power in creating high-achieving schools. And they must also understand what it means to lead.”
— Dr. Rhonda J. Roos
The best school leaders have courage
In healthy school districts and schools, leaders have largely eliminated the politics and confusion. People know what to do, understand clearly their role in the school, have strong morale, and trust in their leaders. The work progresses smoothly, creating a kind and healthy work environment where no one wants to leave. However, organization health is sometimes neglected because leaders mistakenly think it sounds easy. While it may seem simple, it’s not easy to achieve. Building a healthy organization takes discipline. It’s uncomfortable to walk into tense circumstances and address conflict. It’s hard to hold people accountable. It’s challenging to consistently maintain a positive outlook. It’s not easy, and it takes courage.
The root of the word courage is cor, the Latin word for “heart” (Courage, n.d.). In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant to speak one’s mind by sharing all that is in the heart (Brown, 2007). Poet Maya Angelou perhaps captured it best when she said, “Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently” (as cited in Diaz, 2017). When leaders are willing to be courageous enough to devote their energy to the health of their organizations, the results are undeniable.
In my book, The Deliberate and Courageous Principal: Ten Leadership Actions and Skills to Create High-Achieving Schools, you’ll find it divided into two major parts. Part 1 focuses on the five essential actions of principals – actions require leaders to be deliberate. These deliberate actions emphasize the safe and predictable work that most principals have been trained to do as educators and that they feel most comfortable doing.
The best school leaders practice these 5 essential actions:
- Establish a vision focused on learning
- Clarify the essential work
- Create teams to move the work forward
- Take action instead of being busy
- Lead effective meetings
Each action builds upon the previous one, creating a cohesive framework for effective leadership. Each chapter delves deep into the practical steps that need to be taken and includes reproducible resources to help principals reflect on their own school’s needs and determine the next steps.
Part 2 of the book comprises five chapters focusing on five essential skills of principals. These are the healthy, empowering skills of leadership – skills that require courage. Many principals struggle with using and honing these particular skills. Embedding these emotional and compassionate leadership skills is messier than the concrete leadership actions discussed in Part 1. While Part 1 addresses the question, “Do I know what I’m doing?” Part 2 shifts the focus to “Can I lead people to accomplish what I’m doing?
The best school leaders practice these 5 critical skills:
- Build relationships
- Reframe conflict
- Hold people accountable
- Lean into the positive
- Turn inward
Many leaders refer to these skills as “soft skills”, but let’s be clear– these skills are extremely complex and difficult to master, and they are just as essential as the actions outlined in Part 1. They are anything but soft.
These five leadership skills require a high degree of emotional intelligence from school leaders. Effective principals must fully understand that the five essential leadership actions outlined in Part 1 are entry-level components of being a principal— this is only one side of the equation. Part 2 delves deeper, focusing on embedding these five essential leadership skills into daily practice.
While the leadership actions in Part 1 build upon each other as a process, the leadership skills in Part 2 must be integrated consistently into your daily work. They are not simply an add-on to be considered at the end of the day; they are integral to effective leadership. I encourage principals to read about the five skills before beginning the leadership actions in the first five chapters. Leaders in healthy organizations understand that taking action without these skills would be incomplete.
Strengthen each of the skills. Weave each of them into your work. Ensure they have their necessary and deserved place alongside the actions. Allow them to deepen and sustain your leadership in each step.
Effective leadership is the greatest superpower a principal can have
School principals, much like Joni Mitchell’s song about love and life, must consider both sides of effective leadership: the actions and the skills. The principal’s role is about leading, supporting, and uniting the teachers for the work of the school. What happens in teachers’ classrooms is the most important work. Principals have the opportunity to impact all students by effectively supporting their teachers through deliberate actions and essential skills.
The purpose of The Deliberate and Courageous Principal is to help leaders understand that successful principals are able to draw people into meaningful work and accomplish incredible things. But have no doubt; the principal is the essential factor in creating the environment for high-achieving schools. Principals can do this! You can be both deliberate and courageous. Our schools need you to embrace this now more than ever.
Ready to boost your leadership skills? Dive into these blogs for top tips on building a positive work environment and leading a strong team.
References
Brown, B. (2007). I thought it was just me: Women reclaiming power and courage in a culture of shame. New York: Gotham.
Courage. (n.d.). In The American heritage dictionary of the English language. Accessed at https://ahdictionary.com/word/serach.html?q=courage#:~:text=n.,confidence%2C%20and%20 resolution%3B%20braveryon February 15, 2021.
Diaz, C. (2017, December 31). Why Maya Angelou’s lesson on courage is more important than ever [Blog post]. Accessed at https://blog.mindvalley.com/imortance-of-courage on June 17, 2021.
Lencioni, P. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in business. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.