One of the things that I enjoy about sharing these old posts I wrote in the past with you all is how I often stumble upon them. I originally wrote this post on the 4 Attributes of a Great Principal in 2013, and it was shared with me just this past week, over ten years after it was written. To think that I am re-reading something I forgot I had written in the first place is one of the reasons I love the blogging process.
As I cleaned up the post below and reviewed the original points, I think they all still hold true today. I often joke that being an assistant principal was one of my favorite roles because you have a lot of authority to make things happen, but if you screw up, everyone blames the principal 🙂
There is some truth to that statement, but I do believe that great principals utilize the assistant principal as a vital part of the leadership team in a school, and their input is crucial to the success of the school community as a whole.
You might think that this post was written specifically for people who were either a) current assistant principals or b) aspiring to the position.
Part of that is true.
But I also wanted to write it for those who were current principals to get them to see differently how vital the AP role can be to a school as a critical advisor and alternate voice for people to speak to and be heard when people might not want to go to the principal. When I was in the principal role, my first hire was an assistant principal, and I looked for someone who was very different than me. We had the same goals, but we had very different approaches in how we saw to get there. I didn’t need another “George”; I already had that. I needed someone who pushed and challenged my thinking so that we could create solutions as a community focused on the best idea, not necessarily my idea. I would have never thought this way if I wasn’t challenged and, honestly, developed by the leaders who mentored me when I was in the role. They made me feel and realize how much my voice was crucial to the success of the school as a whole.
Hopefully, resharing this post will help people currently in or aspiring to the assistant principal role, but more importantly, help current principals bring out the best in those that are in the position in the school.
I hope you enjoy it and perhaps it pushes your thinking.
4 Attributes of a Great Assistant Principal
A good friend of mine has just become an Assistant Principal (Vice Principal), which was probably one of the best jobs that I have ever had. Often, you get to help guide the direction of the school, but you still have many opportunities to be in the classroom and connect with kids, more so than a principal. That being said, I believe a principal can still connect with kids in many ways, but in my experience, they have many more meetings and have to be out of school more often.
I have been blessed to have worked with a fantastic principal who taught me a lot, and even though we would argue (a lot), it was always about figuring out what was best for the school. He encouraged the push-back because he cared more about “what was right” than “being right.” My two years with him were probably one of the best learning experiences I have ever had, and I still connect with him when I need help because he always focuses on what is best for kids.
On the other side, as a school principal, I was blessed to work with fantastic vice principals who pushed me to improve. They challenged me to be better, but they were also sponges. They were always open to learning and developing, from what I would share with them and their experiences with staff, students, and parents. I expect (these are non-negotiables) that administrators focus on building relationships with the entire school community, are approachable, are change agents, and ALWAYS have the idea of “what is best for kids” driving their decision-making. My “administrative team” colleagues have had these qualities in spades.
Thinking about the work I have seen over the years in education as a teacher, administrator, and outside consultant, here are some of the other qualities I noticed the most successful ones have all had.
1. They are self-starters.
There is often a misperception that a principal should be delegating tasks to the leadership team and I guess sometimes this does happen. With that being said, I rarely had to ever ask my leadership team to do anything because they were already jumping on every opportunity to do different things for our school. One of my proudest days as a principal was when our school started “Identity Day“, not only because it was such a great day for our school community, but this was an idea that was started and lead by my assistant principal. Not only did she come up with the idea, but she worked with every single grade to ensure that the day was a success. Being able to be actively lead initiatives and work alongside teachers gave them instant credibility.
They did not only do the “fun” jobs, but my assistant principals jumped up to take on some of the boring stuff to ensure that we would all work together to better their school. Did they love doing that work? Probably not. But they knew what my strengths and weaknesses were and we would do things that would compliment one another as opposed to say “that is a job for the principal.”
2. They are focused and determined to work towards success.
I have always been adverse to say things such as, “I am okay with failure”, because of the people that I have been blessed to work with. I think of Jesse McLean and “Innovation Week“. When he shared his thoughts with me about the week he was determined to make it a success, yet I know there were a lot of challenges that he, his admin team, and his school worked through to make the day a success. When I think of “failure”, I think of it as a step towards success, as opposed to something that determines success. Things may not be perfect, but I know that some of the people I look up to work extremely hard to make whatever they do the best possible.
Failure is not finite, but can be seen as a bump along the way.
3. They are willing to take ownership when things go wrong, but will always gives credit when things go right.
When I think about days that were led in my school such as “Innovation Week” and “Identity Day“, it was humbling to see the people that lead these initiatives gave ALL of the credit to others even though they were the catalysts for the ideas. They repeatedly acknowledge the hard work of the staff and said nothing of their part. On the other hand though, if things would have failed or there would have been trouble, they would have owned that and not blamed others. What that shows me over and over again, is that they are more worried about what is best for kids and the well-being of staff. They carried a lot of weight on their shoulders yet they gave credit so much to others. Not that it wasn’t deserving (because it absolutely was), but their focus was on the team and not themselves. Still, they knew they had to do their part to make sure it was a success.
4. They will challenge authority.
I will never forget my interview to become an Assistant Principal with my soon-to-be boss. We actually got in an argument during the interview and I thought that I would have no chance to get the job. A few days later, he called and offered me the job. What he had told me was that he did not want me to say “yes” to everything that he had said, but to push against him when I disagreed. He did not want to go in front of the staff and say something that was ridiculous while I just simply watched him and disagreed in my head. Again, he focused on what was right, not being right. This did not mean that he agreed with everything that I said when I did challenge him, but he always tweaked his ideas based on my feedback.
When I hired my AP, this was a quality I knew that she had because she had pushed me as a teacher when I was an administrator. I knew she was always focused on what was best and I learned so much from her challenges that I thought there would be no better hire.
If you are looking for someone to just agree with everything you say as an administrator, then you are better off hiring no one.
I was spoiled as both a Principal and Assistant Principal to work with amazing people who helped me succeed. I learned a ton from them, and they were people who were extraordinarily talented and trusting yet were sponges; they always wanted to learn and grow. Those I have worked with have taught me that these qualities they possessed were not only for “administrators” but also something that you should expect from others in your organization. As an administrator, you sometimes have to make some tough calls, but if you are open to working with your administrative team and building trust with your school, those decisions become more manageable.
As I write this, I worry that many people new to administrative teams will think that simply implementing these ideas with their “boss” will lead to success, which is not true at all. Leaders of organizations would have to be open to these things, but in my opinion, if they are, their schools will be much more successful. The collaborative approach to school leadership (not just administrators, but the whole school) is more likely to lead to success for kids than an approach based on the work of only one person. I hope those at the “top” of organizations would think about these qualities I have listed and how they create an environment to ensure they can flourish.
If you are not open to learning from others in your building as “the leader,” will you truly be able to create an environment where students and staff excel?
