Advice for new Principals

It is said that all new school principals enjoy a honeymoon period.  If that is so, then mine may have set a record for its brevity.

I will never forget the first day of first term of my first headship. Less than an hour after I arrived at school, just as the first students began returning after the summer break, I received a phone call from the headmaster at my former school to tell me that a student I had known very well, a member of my tutor group for several years, had taken his own life a couple of days previously. He had received a severe spinal injury in a Rugby match some time before and been rendered quadriplegic, but he had not been able to come to grips with his situation and had driven his wheelchair into a swimming pool.

Within half an hour of receiving that news, one of my Heads of Department (who was also the Board Chair’s brother-in-law) handed me his written letter of resignation over a long-standing issue to do with how his subject was to be taught in the integrated Year 7 Core.  I accepted his resignation reluctantly on the principle that written letters reflect a well-considered action.  As a result, he became wildly angry, even phoning the Board Chair (who he knew very well, of course!), claiming that he wanted his position returned to him because never expected me to accept his resignation – his (unstated) intention had been for me to refuse to accept his resignation and then back down over the Year 7 Core program.

My initial idealism to transform the world through education was starting to dissipate well before lunch time on that first day. By the time I drove home that afternoon, I was close to being shell-shocked!

In hindsight, I can see that my experiences on that first day were crucially important in my formation as a Principal. That day helped me understand why I was occupying the Principal’s Office – I was there to be the solution to the students’ and the school’s Big Problems.  My dependence on God rather than my own resources was thrown sharply into focus that day, and it shaped all my subsequent work as a School Principal.

I spent 25 years as a School Principal.  During that period, I came to lead five schools in four different countries.  I agree with many of my fellow Principals that leading a school is the best job in the world.  It can also be one of the loneliest and most challenging jobs in the world.

Given that background, what general advice might I offer now to a new Principal who is about to commence?  Hundreds of thoughts spring to mind, but I think a few stand out as being applicable to almost any school – large or small, primary or secondary, single-sex or co-educational, international or national, faith-based or secular, day or boarding, and so on.

• Carry around a notepad, at least for the first couple of months.  You will see things that irritate you in your new school, and these are probably things that irritate students, staff and visitors as well.  After a couple of months, you may no longer notice these irritations because you become so used to them.  That is why it is a good idea to make notes when you first arrive and get the irritations fixed while you remain sensitive to them.
• Never hesitate to phone your predecessor to get background information regarding situations that arise in the school.  Institutional memory does not have to evaporate when a new Principal arrives to lead a school, and the insights gleaned from background information is invariably helpful.  I have never known a former Principal to be reluctant to share whatever insights might be helpful to a successor.
• Make it a priority to meet each staff member for a one-on-one conversation.  Staff are the means through which almost all the school’s work is performed, and a strong, positive working relationship with every teacher, administrator and member of the grounds staff is essential to your effectiveness as a Principal.
• It follows from this that you should not make any changes until you learn at least one strength of every staff member.  New principals are often under pressure from their board to make significant changes that “everyone thinks are overdue” or which “are essential to the school’s survival”.  It is more important to make changes effective and sustainable than be reactive or hasty.
• Make people the priority.  As a young Principal I was often frustrated that I struggled to get my paperwork completed because of all the interruptions with people coming to my office door – which I admit I always left open when not in a meeting so I would be as open and accessible as possible. With help from a elderly colleague, I came to realise that people – not paperwork - were my real work, and paperwork was how I filled in my time when no people were demanding my attention.
• Schedule a regular ‘open door’ time each day.  Gaining easy access to the Principal is often a challenge for staff.  However, this can be partially addressed by scheduling a regular daily ‘open door’ time when any staff can come to discuss a matter that takes five minutes or less without making an appointment.  For more substantial matters that take more than five minutes, it is reasonable to schedule an appointment with the Principal’s PA.
• Meet key personnel on a weekly basis.  It is important to address situations before they escalate, so having regularly scheduled meeting times for key personnel such as the Deputy, Head of the Primary Section, Boarding Supervisor, Chaplain, and of course the Board Chair, are essential for maintaining communication.  Needless to say, urgent matters affecting these people (and indeed, anyone) will be handled with more immediate conversations.
• Spend as little time in the office as possible.  It is important for you as Principal to see the school in everyday action and “sniff the mood”.  Moreover, staff and students appreciate your presence and the easy accessibility it offers to them.  I always made a point of taking one or two walks through every part of my schools while I was Principal, and I invariably gained insights in doing so.  It also helped me to overcome the lack of fitness that can come to afflict office-bound Principals.
• Make an effort to get to know the students.  Schools exist for their students.  Building relations with students can be a challenge, especially in larger schools where putting a name to every face can present a major headache to a busy Principal.  In several of my headships, I addressed this challenge by inviting students to my office on their birthdays for a one-on-one chat, during which I gave them a hand-written card and (before sugar became known as ‘white death’) a chocolate frog.  I loved the way this simple gesture removed any stigma about going to the Principal’s office, and it was often the highlight of my (and their) day.
• Share the school’s mission (core values and enduring purpose) as often as possible.  Every school assembly, staff meeting, parents’ gathering and newsletter (and, these days, every blog or social media post) should reflect – and preferably emphasise – the reasons why the school exists, what it is seeking to achieve, and what are its uniquely positive attributes.
• Make “How may I help you?” your mantra.  A Principal is there to serve the school community, not to be served.  This mantra should be repeated almost to the point of irritation – whenever a child is upset or injured, whenever guests gather for a school function, whenever a teacher feels overwhelmed, whenever a parent is angry about something – and whenever the Principal’s spouse inevitably complains that work is dominating life at home with the family.
• Avoid competition with the former Principal.  Although Boards often appoint new Principals to implement a new direction, or a ‘pendulum swing’, away from the former Principal’s direction, it doesn’t follow that an incoming Principal should try to tarnish their predecessor’s reputation.  Indeed, my observations have shown that incoming Principals who try to discredit their predecessor seldom last long in the job.  A new Principal should always focus on the future rather than the immediate past.  In general, new Principals are perceived as statesmanlike when they extend courtesy and respect to predecessors, as opposed to being seen as petty and insecure when they criticise former Principals.

While I hope these few tips may be helpful, it is also important to remember that Murphy’s Law operates strongly in schools – “What can go wrong will go wrong”.  (I have often suspected that Murphy was a School Principal).

When things go wrong – and they will – my final piece of advice is to realise that you can’t make everyone happy, not should you try to do so.  It’s time to make a rational decision about which people it is better to upset and which people it is most important to satisfy.

The answer to this last dilemma will almost always be “it is most important to keep the Board happy”.  This makes sense because the Board has ultimate responsibility for achieving the school’s mission and direction (its ultimate purpose).  This is achieved by the Board through its delegated powers – powers which are delegated to you alone as Principal.  As Principal, you are the one and only person who is directly accountable to the board.

It could be argued that everything you do as a new Principal will either become a mere footnote, or else the essential means, to achieving this central purpose of enhancing the school’s mission and vision.

-Dr Stephen Codrington   

This article should be read in conjunction with my related article “The First Hundred Days” at https://optimalschool.com/the-first-hundred-days.html