Anti Micro Manager!

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If you're looking for deep profound thought in a blog posting, this probably isn't the one. I'm just wondering how to accomplish a shift in my leadership for the next school year. Recently I was faced with the possibility of missing a report deadline. As I worked through the process I had previously delegated, I thought back to when I was still in the classroom. Fortunately, I never worked for a principal who was a micro manager. I heard the stories of colleagues who did and they made me grateful that my principals placed a lot of trust in me. I worked hard not to let them down. When it was my turn to sit in the 'big chair', I was excited about the opportunity to 'pay it forward' with those I was honored to lead.

I am not by nature a micro manager and I have always responded favorably to leaders who lacked the need to watch over every step I made. In his article about not becoming a micro manager, Kevin Eikenberry gives six preventative steps to avoid being a micro manager. A part of my leadership reflection this summer will be about how to effectively lead those who need to be managed closely. My need to do everything possible to meet the expectations of those who lead me, should be aligned with those I am charged to lead. It is not my intent to make anyone feel as if I don't trust them or question their dependability. I'm just looking for success with everyone involved - or world peace. Whatever comes first is fine with me. Here's to summer thinking!

Principal – How Did You Do?

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The school year has ended and as principal you very often find yourself faced with the question from your colleagues, “How did you do?” Usually it’s a question asking about standardized test score results. Your answer to a question like this depends on how you as the instructional leader of your campus define success.

On the last day for staff, the last step in our check out system for teachers is my signature on their forms. As teachers came into my office I was able to say goodbye to each of them and wish them well for the summer. As they entered, I looked into their faces and I began to ask questions of them that only I could hear:

• · Did you get everything you needed from me?
• · Was this the best year of your career or the worst?
• · How often did I get into your classroom?
• · How often did we talk about you and your family?
• · Did I remember to acknowledge your birthday?
• · What don’t I know that you wish I did?

One by one the unspoken Q & A in my head with each person helped me to begin assessing my effectiveness as principal. Think back to the type of questions you were asked when interviewing for the position of principal. The questions were used to determine if you were going to be a good instructional leader for staff and students. My questions are answered by my conscious and gut feelings in the most honest way possible to determine success in the areas that are also important. One particular staff member walked into the office to check out and I knew she had a rough time with the passing of her father in the middle of the school year. As I signed her check out sheet I wondered if I had done enough to support her and her students during such a difficult time. Should I have done more after attending the funeral was the question I asked myself? Did she feel supported while grieving?

What questions do you ask yourself that only you can answer? What I know for sure is that the answers aren’t found in test score results but instead in the faces of those who call you principal. So, how did you do?