7 Hats Principals Must Be Prepared to Wear
by William Parker • • 0 Comments
Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of teachers who are interested in becoming school principals.
My task was to summarize some of the principal’s roles and responsibilities.
My task was to summarize some of the principal’s roles and responsibilities.
If you are a principal, I am sure you could add more to my list. If you are thinking of becoming a principal, here are seven hats I believe you should expect to wear:
1. Coach
Someone has to make the final call, and as the principal, that will often be you. Like a good coach, you will need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your team. You will need to listen to input from others. But ultimately, you will be the one who often makes many of the final calls in your building.
Someone has to make the final call, and as the principal, that will often be you. Like a good coach, you will need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your team. You will need to listen to input from others. But ultimately, you will be the one who often makes many of the final calls in your building.
Coaches also set the tone, cast the vision, or help motivate their teams to action. Even if you are not a pep-talk kind of person, it is important that you are clear with direction, consistent with follow-through, and fair-minded in difficulties. Like it or not, others will look to you for direction and follow your lead. So plan to lead in a positive direction.
2. Manager
School leadership is much more than management, but it is still an important part of it.
School leadership is much more than management, but it is still an important part of it.
Some principals are surprised at the amount of work required for supervision, personnel decisions, report generating,