Assistant Principals who are really, really good have options. They have options in terms of the leaders with whom they work and the communities in which they serve. In short, they have options to explore. The great thing about this is folks everywhere—students, staff, families, leadership teams, and communities—need what these Assistant Principals provide. Needs and opportunities exist in every community. Assistant Principals can self-actualize intentionally and do not have “to settle.”
I often suggest to Principals, Superintendents, and Boards of Education that they strive to understand this very point above, and ensure due diligence is provided, in terms of attention to the quality of professional lives Assistant Principals enjoy. When the needs of Assistant Principal are an afterthought or if taken for granted, commentators like me might well suggest they explore other opportunities to do what they do in making that critical difference for schools inside and out.
I don’t want to champion a revolving door for the Assistant Principalship. That would not be good for students and the adults in schools. What I do wish to do, is to have the backs of Assistant Principals who are not being recognized for the powerful differences they make, or those who are not valued or provided ample space to serve, learn, and grow. I wish for all Assistant Principals a certain strength of selffull-ness through the respect we provide, and with recognition that not everyone can do what they do.
So, it is with cautionary mindfulness and hopeful tact that I provide three indicators that Assistant Principals might study if they are not feeling energized at this stage of the school year. I do so because the best circumstances would still foster flywheel energy, and that is what I want for the champions I adore. Following those three indicators are three look for’s Assistant Principals might identify if they are exploring relocation or reinvention.
If the following are taking place, it might be time to explore other venues that will embrace your gifts, both professionally and personally.
First, if you’re feeling your ideas for making the school a better place are finding more and more “can’t do’s,” “probably should wait’s” or “reasons why not,” exploration might be needed. This could be an indicator that either you are out-of-sync through no intended fault of your own (not a judgement), or that the pace that you embrace a new way is at odds with the preferences of those above you. Pragmatically, you’ll not find a flurry of open arms for your ideas soon, not even after the reset of a new school year begins.
Second, if you’re thinking of the demands of your daily plate during the after-hours when you need to recharge, there might be something unsavory lurking behind this seeming overabundance of worry. Considering the Assistant Principalship is a never-ending-state-of-undone-ness, the reality is that each day will leave things on the desk for the next. If you’re not giving yourself permission to let-that-go, then something must be lacking in overall permissions. Often, this is an unreasonable expectation levied or perceived from another. If truly persistent and unwelcome, you are owning too much of the worry, and another venue may be more a fit.
Finally, if you being held to firm and fixed, temporally bound assignment in classrooms, under the notion of moving you more toward instructional leadership, then that is simply an unreasonable expectation. As I note in All Other Duties As Assigned: The Assistant Principal’s Critical Role in Supporting Schools Inside and Out, Assistant Principals each day have goals, including “…positive relationships, prioritization, and efficiency, and they help keep the main thing the main thing,” which is leveraging “conflict as a catalyst for natural, positive energy” (p. 116). This cannot be accomplished if you’re tethered to one location, when needed in another. If this is occurring, you might need another venue where you can visit classrooms just because (also a strategy in my book) and not because someone wants to portray more instructional leadership on the leadership team, when it more practically would reside in teachers.
And let’s say you DO explore and believe another venue could be more befitting of the way you roll leadership and life. Are there some look for’s that can potentially optimize opportunities for the best champions of children? I’d say so. Here are a few things you might take notice.
First, if there’s a healthy governance/leadership balance at the upper levels of your school district, a good bet is your principal will best tee-up their expectations of you. Why’s this? Because stuff won’t then come rolling down hill, as the saying goes. It’s when Boards move from healthy governance into intrusive leadership, or when Superintendents move from healthy leadership into inappropriate governance, that things go awry. This is because the necessary symbiosis among the Board of Education, Board President, and Superintendent is no longer present, adversely affecting trust, deference, assurances, and humility. The Superintendent then loses the necessarily resilience to allow Principals to run their buildings, and many in all levels of leadership begin acting as insecure independent contractors. Be smart, watch those at the top, and if they’re acting a fool in telling you who they are, believe them.
Second, if there’s meaningful community dissent on social media, yet respect for others with divergent views, then it’s probably a good place to explore. No dissent probably means that everyone likes things as they are, and this may bump-up against any good and new ideas you have. Internet posturing and localized, grandstanding drama will probably not play-out-well in how you will be portrayed,when you need to make more difficult decisions in your role. Often, small-minded folks have a big footprint, by virtue of how they influence. If a community seems to be living vicariously through weekly selection of a victim, forego the dance of drama, as it will become difficult to avoid if you become a professional resident. Healthy dissent, however, is an indicator of access (for you and all), inclusiveness, and diversity. That might be a place offering you room to live, learn, and grow.
Finally, if your principal is hoping the leadership team will look more like you, with you in it, than you will eventually look like the leadership team prior to your arrival, it’s probably a great opportunity to explore. Ideally, you’ll be asked how your signature will ink the role—and will be provided the latitude to forge new relationships, do things uniquely within reason, make mistakes, learn from them, take calculated risks, and leverage new opportunities. This is an indicator that you will be able to do All Other Duties As Assigned, while simultaneously actualizing personally and professionally. It will then bring your life and leadership together, with the passion and purpose necessary to do what you’re called to do, in the way you best can do it.