Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Principal Principle
I was running on the treadmill yesterday, reading Newsweek. I came across the article "The Principal Principle," which describes the importance of school principals in creating outstanding schools.
It's that leadership thing again, and the roles are as varied for principals at schools as in corporations and large institutions. The article states:
"Principals also have to be politicians, crisis managers, cheerleaders, legal experts, disciplinarians, entertainers, coaches and persuasive evangelists for their school's educational mission."
Indulge me in a little exploration of these terms.
Politicians. Those skilled in the administration of government, active in politics and policy-making, and able to make things work out to their advantage.
Crisis managers. Those able to conceive of and take appropriate measures required to resolve hostile situations.
Cheerleaders. Those who are professional enthusiasts, both vocal and very public in supporting their teams.
Legal experts. Those who know the boundaries created by law (and how close to get to the edges when pursuing change of any kind).
Disciplinarians. Those who seek to produce specific character and behaviors through training and self-control (interestingly, the word "discipline" comes from the word "disciple" and the concept is inherently linked to teaching).
Entertainers. Those who can hold the attention of others in satisfying ways.
Coaches. Those who give instruction and helps others develop new competencies.
Persuasive evangelists. Those whose zeal for their causes convince others to reconsider their own perspectives.
There are a lot of good (and bad) leadership books out there, with the (3, 6, 9, 24) secrets of leadership in untold numbers of pages of text. The list above has its merits, even if I might tend to refer my clients to sources like Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership by the EQ gang.
Regardless, good principals, good leaders, they're all very much the same -- committed, somewhat complex, and able to effectively shift into different roles depending on circumstances.
It's that leadership thing again, and the roles are as varied for principals at schools as in corporations and large institutions. The article states:
"Principals also have to be politicians, crisis managers, cheerleaders, legal experts, disciplinarians, entertainers, coaches and persuasive evangelists for their school's educational mission."
Indulge me in a little exploration of these terms.
Politicians. Those skilled in the administration of government, active in politics and policy-making, and able to make things work out to their advantage.
Crisis managers. Those able to conceive of and take appropriate measures required to resolve hostile situations.
Cheerleaders. Those who are professional enthusiasts, both vocal and very public in supporting their teams.
Legal experts. Those who know the boundaries created by law (and how close to get to the edges when pursuing change of any kind).
Disciplinarians. Those who seek to produce specific character and behaviors through training and self-control (interestingly, the word "discipline" comes from the word "disciple" and the concept is inherently linked to teaching).
Entertainers. Those who can hold the attention of others in satisfying ways.
Coaches. Those who give instruction and helps others develop new competencies.
Persuasive evangelists. Those whose zeal for their causes convince others to reconsider their own perspectives.
There are a lot of good (and bad) leadership books out there, with the (3, 6, 9, 24) secrets of leadership in untold numbers of pages of text. The list above has its merits, even if I might tend to refer my clients to sources like Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership by the EQ gang.
Regardless, good principals, good leaders, they're all very much the same -- committed, somewhat complex, and able to effectively shift into different roles depending on circumstances.
# posted by Cindy Marteney @ 5:17 PM 
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