The sentry stood at his post, protecting the troops in the encampment. A movement nearby captured his attention. The dense undergrowth around the encampment hid the source of the noise. The sentry steadied his voice and shouted toward the sound:"Who are you?""Where are you going?""How do you plan to get there?"
Principals beginning the school year resemble that sentry. They are on duty, protecting teachers from external forces that interfere with their primary instructional role. When blinded by conflicting responsibilities—the "dense undergrowth"—the sentry's three questions can help school leaders focus their attention and provide direction.
Who Are You?
A school leader's core values and beliefs will always trump his or her skills, knowledge, roles, and responsibilities. This is more than a principal's résumé. Effective leaders possess integrity, are strong yet compassionate, and have the knowledge and skills needed to do the job. These qualities are fundamental to great leadership. Without them, the effort to improve the school will be superficial at best. Effective principals are reflective, asking themselves what they value and what keeps them going.
Terry's middle school, in an affluent community, places heavy demands on him. An early riser, he often greets the sunrise while jogging. These early morning runs clear his head. Terry uses this time to reflect on who he is as a person and how that applies to his service to children.
Barbara chooses yoga as a way to reflect and recharge. Bill prays. Andre keeps a personal journal. Dana trusts a critical friend who loves her enough to tell her the truth. These principals believe they must tether themselves to their core beliefs to lead effectively.
Where Are You Going?
School leaders must develop, share, and work toward some clear vision of what the school should look like. This sense of a "preferred future" serves as the school's global positioning system, bringing the disparate elements together toward a common goal.
The principal's answer to the question, Where are you going? becomes the driving force behind his or her efforts. Some principals envision a school in which kids and teachers care deeply about one another and are deeply engaged in learning as a community. Others relentlessly pursue high test scores. Some might put their efforts into simply "keeping the ship afloat."
- Money. The budget speaks louder than any words. How much is spent on athletics? The fine arts? Technology? Staff development? Where we spend our money reveals where our heart is.
- Time. Daily planners also offer clues to our real priorities. How much time do you spend in classrooms? On student discipline? On answering e-mails? At district meetings? And what about teacher time? Are faculty meetings a time for effective professional development or just a place to air administrative announcements? Is time carved out for teachers to plan together?
- Learning. When do you, as "head learner," attend workshops simply to learn? Do you provide time for teachers to learn?
How Do You Plan to Get There?
- Organize committees around specific issues. For example, a buildingwide goal to increase cultural literacy may become the responsibility of several teachers who study the issue, create an action plan, present it to staff members, implement the plan, and assess its success.
- Create learning communities of teachers who examine the needs of specific groups of students and develop a plan to meet these needs.
- Form a leadership team of representative teachers and staff. This group can determine the agenda for faculty meetings so they are better focused on teacher needs. This team might also develop a meaningful school improvement plan and assess building needs against that plan.
Max DePree, who writes about servant leadership, tells us that leaders define reality. In struggling with the core questions that schools confront, leaders view the school as what it could be—what it might become. The answers to these three questions become the beacons that direct the daily activity in the school, create priorities amid the whirlwind of each day's activities, and bring focus to the life of the principal and the school.
