Know and Be Known!
BY SUSAN LAIR, Phd - CONSULTANT, Executive Coach
Have you been to a school where students look you in the eye and say hello, where people seem joyful and happy to be there? Chances are their Head of School knows their name, parents, and the year they got their cocker spaniel, Rex. There are many fabulous professions, but none holds a candle to being Head of a School.
The Ten Habits of a Happy Head of School
Show Up!
There are five days in a school week, and most Heads learn early to think about each day and schedule time for what's important. Your daily schedule should include visiting and participating in the school day. Always be on time or a little early! If there is an oral history fair, show up. If there is a special chapel, show up. If you promised to read a book to a group, show up. If there is an athletic competition, show up. You cannot lead a school that you do not know and enjoy.
Know the Students, Employees, and Families in Your School
Before you seek the next head of school position, determine whether you have the capacity to know the members of the community. You should expect a School of 500 students to have about 18 board members, approximately 60 employees, 1000 parents, and more than 4000 grandparents and friends of school. During the first year of your headship, you might want to ask everyone to wear a nametag. You might also want to work in the carpool line each day. Opening doors and greeting students is the quickest way to learn their names. Share that you want to call everyone by name and understand their connections. Your community will appreciate your efforts, and you will be surprised at how quickly you can call the names of every employee, substitute, student, and most parents. You can work at learning grandparents' and friends' school names your second year, and then you're on to the city!
Make Students Your First Concern, Every Moment, Every Meeting, Every Day
Ask yourself and the people attending every meeting, "How does this policy, procedure, decision, or event benefit students?" Don't let the frenzy of school life keep you, the Board, and your leadership team from consistently reviewing, updating, and writing policies, procedures, bylaws, annual reports, pamphlets, newsletters, and blogs. Your school will suffer if everyone must come to you before acting or everyone is making it up as they go. Communities need rules and guidelines. Take the time to consider the impact on students before publishing.
Listen More, Talk Less
One of the hallmarks of the great heads of school is their ability to listen. Make eye contact, smile, and shake your head slightly, yes, as the person speaks. You will send a message to the speaker that you are engaged in the conversation, not just waiting for your turn to speak. Count to three before you answer. This pause gives you time to gather your thoughts and try to say "and" not "but" during your response. If you do this consistently, in a very short time, you will have a reputation as a head of school that listens! In addition, make your conversations real by knowing the people involved and the activities around your school. Do not rush to a decision. It is always appropriate to end the conversation by saying, "Thank you, _____. Give me until tomorrow to consider what you've said, and I will get back to you."
Trust Transparency
Tuition rises. The budgets are tight, and people make mistakes every day. Take the time to write a communication plan that guides you and your leadership team in communicating with your Board, employees, and families. By consistently showing your community that they can trust you to share factually appropriate information, you'll set the tone for everyone to have thoughtful and appropriate transparency that builds trust within your community. Basic Order of Communication 1) Board Chair (if a faith-based school, priest, rector, or minister), 2) Board, 3) Employees, and depending on the topic, 4) Students and Friends of School
Dress For Success, But Be Ready and Willing for Messy
As much as you would like to wear jeans and a school sweatshirt all day, you asked your employees to follow a dress code, and you should set an example. Taking time to shower and dress in appropriate clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident helps your school community know what you expect from them and reminds employees that respect is multifaceted. The way educators carry themselves sends messages to students about their value and stature. Work with your employees to develop an educator dress code and enforce it. Keep those jeans and sweatshirts in your closet for athletic competitions after school or special days throughout the year.
Be on Time, End on Time, Every Time
Number 1 Rule: never have a face-to-face employee meeting that can take place via Zoom, over the phone, or in writing. When you do need a face-to-face meeting, aim for a max of one hour and take the time to write an agenda complete with start and stop times for each presenter. Tweak the agenda with the people participating in the meeting and share it with the individuals attending the meeting. Hold presenters to their allotted time and end the meeting at the posted time. If the discussion gets off track, share the missed information in writing or have a second meeting, but do not go on and on! By consistently holding your meetings to a reasonable length and following the written agenda, you will show your employees they can trust you to respect their time and family life.
Be Thankful and Gracious
Order stationery or note cards with your name and the school address on the envelopes. Make a habit of writing at least two thank you notes by hand each day before you leave school in the afternoon. If you are not used to writing thank-you notes, many books can help you. The key is to make your thank you note personal and genuine. If it's to a donor, copy the thank you note and place it in the development director's office. I learned early to keep a record of my thank you notes on a spreadsheet. A simple spreadsheet that records the person's name, the reason for the thank you or letter, and the date is all you need. The spreadsheet ended my constant worry of, "Did I thank ___?" You will know how many times you write to the same people each year. Your spreadsheet can become part of a larger communication plan, including " Did we send flowers? Did we give a gift, visit the home, or send a card, or did students make cards or a project? Leading a school that is thankful and gracious often starts with a simple handwritten thank you note from you.
Say what You Mean and Mean What You Say
I once had a friend who was an attorney tell me, "The judge may forgive you for being stupid, but he'll never forgive you for not following your policies and procedures." Know and follow your school's policies, procedures, and handbooks, and insist everyone follows them, too. Remember when you were a kid? You knew which parent to ask to go to the movie with friends and which parent to talk to first after you'd made a mistake. Consistency develops trust and results in a community with high regard for their school. Your community will not always agree with your decisions, but if they have faith that you will treat them with respect by consistently following the written documents of the school, they will trust you.
Laugh! Be Joyful!
Children need a host of things like love, faith, stability, care, respect, and kindness, but they also need joy and laughter. When you see something funny, laugh, not at kids but with them. When things go wrong, don't beat people over the head about the mistake; ask what was learned and how we can get the job done, yet make it fun next time.