Tips for new school administrators and school leaders | EduCeleb
Nancy Ekpezu
7th August 2019
It’s no news that we are currently in the long vacation in manycountries of the world, while it is also the start of a new school year orsession in many other countries. And of course, we all know that this periodcomes with resignations and change of jobs for some school administrators andleaders, while others are promoted to get their first taste of a schoolleadership position.
Whether it is your first experience as a school administrator, or ifit’s a change of job, one thing that is certain is that you would definitelywant to make a good first impression on your new team. You’ll also most likelywant to provide value that will make your employers and boss, as well as the schoolcommunity, pleased with you.
To be candid, starting out as a new school administrator could be bothexciting and challenging. I remember too well a few of the mistakes I made onmy first-time school administrator position in 2005, and that is why I’musually very understanding and readily willing to help new school leaders andadministrators.
So here are about ten or eleven tips which I have put together, and Ireally believe you’ll find them immensely useful as you assume your new schoolleadership role.
1. Ensure you build confidence and trust in the teachers, admin team,students and parents. It’s good to be reminded that they have their fears aboutseeing a new face as their school administrator or head of school, and they maybe wondering what it will be like to work with you. Calm them down, andreassure them that you quite understand their concerns and fears. So spend timegetting to learn and understand the school’s mission, vision, values and pastachievements. Work hard at earning their trust. This is very important!
2. No matter how much you know, or how much you’re bringing in in to theteam, ensure you acknowledge the achievements of your predecessors. No matterthe challenges or problems you observe, refrain from running down or downplayingwhat was achieved before you arrived on the scene.
3. Know it like you know your name that henceforth, you are nowresponsible for everything that happens in the school. Don’t play the blamegame on anyone. Rather, ask yourself what you can do to solve the problems andchallenges you have observed. Do not murmur or complain. You do not get anymedals for complaining as a leader. Besides, you do not need any special talentto observe there are problems. Everyone knows there are problems; what theyneed would be the problem solvers. And that is why you have been hired for therole in the first place.
4. Ensure every staff member has a properly documented job description,and that they understand their role. If you have issues with this, please reachout to me and I’ll definitely help out here. There’s nothing as confusing asrunning a team where each member does not have or understand their jobdescriptions. They cannot deliver where there are no proper expectations.
5. Ensure the school’s policies and procedures as well as the missionand vision are clearly understood by everyone on your team. You want to be sureyou are all heading in the right direction, don’t you?.
6. Never think you can do it alone. You definitely cannot! So, develop ahigh performing team. Look out for unseen talents in your teachers and theadministrative staff. Learn to delegate on time or you’ll soon have a burn out. Believe me, school administration is a lot of work! Ask me about it, and I’lltell you about my experience without holding back. As you delegate, train yourstaff and begin to stretch them gradually to increase their capacity and nudgethem out of their comfort zone. It will definitely save you from gettingoverwhelmed on the long run.
7. Encourage professional development and learning, and make usefulresources available to develop the team members. Also exemplify learning. Yourteam must see that you constantly learn.
8. Establish proper boundaries while keeping a very open door policy.Make yourself very accessible and make time to listen to everyone, but watchout for those who come in to gossip to you. Start taking note of the ones whomay want to take on the role of sycophants. Hear less from them eventuallywithout sounding harsh, but listen attentively to the ones who bring inmeaningful contributions and make these ones part of your inner circle (notnecessarily your favourites!).
9. Surround yourself deliberately with positive-minded staff, whobelieve the work can be done and demonstrate it in their actions and bodylanguage.
10. As the academic session commences, ensure to set propergoals/performance objectives for each staff member including the teachers,admin staff, management staff, school bursar or accountant. There should beclear KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for each goal or objective. These goalsshould be reviewed at the middle of the academic session and at the end of theschool year. If you do not know what KPIs are, reach out to me personally orcheck this up on the internet.
11. You seriously need to consider enlisting the support andprofessional services of a coach or a mentor you admire and trust. Believe me,leadership can be a pretty lonely path! You may reach out to me on theWhatsapp-enabled number 08035880367, if you need me to mentor or coach you onschool leadership and administration.
12. Did I forget to mention that that you need to hold several meetings,to introduce yourself and make sure everyone understands the goals you’ve setout to achieve? Do a lot of listening at these meetings; and document them.
13. Work with the team to develop a school development or improvement plan (SIP) which will help you focus on the key areas that need to be improved in the school. Send me a message if you need assistance with this.
Wishing you a successful leadership tenure.