What makes an effective school leader?

The role of the school leader is crucial for the efficient operation of a school. A school leader may be the school owner or principal, who makes decisions related to the way the school operates. They usually interact closely with other school stakeholders like teachers and parents to make these decisions.

In the current situation, school leaders are dealing with a variety of post-lockdown issues that significantly impact school operations, such as student learning loss, student attrition, teacher attrition, and so on.

School leaders should adopt the following skills that would help make an impact to their school and establish them as influential school leaders:

1. Risk Management

School leaders must balance the costs and rewards in split seconds. They must estimate many options and outcomes. Successful school leaders are constantly looking for challenges and opportunities that may affect and impact their schools.

2. Active Listening

Active listening implies being able to hear/see things from a different perspective and double-checking your knowledge of things. Successful school leaders deliberately focus on listening and understanding things from others’ perspective. Active listening is one of the most valuable talents a school leader can develop and employ.

3. Priority Management

Having clear priorities makes it easy to save time and energy for necessary things. The better a school leader prioritizes tasks, the more effectively they may direct their efforts toward the most critical issues pertaining to their students and faculty.

4. Empower Others

Successful principals recognize greatness in others and do everything they can to bring it out of them. When faculty and staff take ownership of their judgments, hold themselves accountable for their decisions and outcomes, and have personal experience with the consequences of their actions, they grow as leaders. A firm school leader will tell you that helping their personnel develop into top achievers is part of their duty as a leader.

5. Delegate More Tasks

Strong leaders, by nature, tend to lead by example, with a desire to do everything themselves, but it is critical to learn how to delegate. Delegating allows you to handle your workload better, enhance your teacher’s key talents, let your team fulfill their goals faster, provide the most remarkable outcomes, and help you achieve much more than you would on your own.

6. Act Decisively

Effective principals take the time to ensure they fully understand their difficulties and respond by taking robust and decisive action without second-guessing themselves. School leaders can attain this skill by balancing a) impatient impulses (reacting without thinking) and b) overthinking and delaying action.

7. Motivate Change

The quickest approach to establishing a school with stagnant professors and staff is to foster an environment that believes in the mantra “If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it”. A significant part of a school leader’s life is to be persistent in promoting change. This approach implies a shift for the school, professors, students, parents, and surrounding communities.

Also Read: Simple guidelines to improve teaching quality and effectiveness in the classroom

8. Communicate Clearly

Nothing hinders performance more than unclear communication. It doesn’t matter if it’s a staff member, teacher, parent, or student; if they don’t understand what you’re saying, they won’t be able to help you. Effective communication is one of the essential core factors of being a great school leader.

9. Promote Your Vision

A school leader has unique abilities. Make your vision apparent to your teachers, parents, and students, as well as to yourself. Create and promote a clear vision for where you want your school to go, and make it available to your staff daily. When this is accomplished, everyone is more motivated and successful because their responsibilities remain aligned with your strategic goals and vision.

10. Educator First / Administrator Second

Getting caught up in work aspirations, day-to-day duties, school budgets, and so on is easy. You are accountable for many things as a school leader, but remember that you are, first and foremost, an educator. Successful principals maintain their focus on student achievement. Students rely on you, as do their parents; the community (inside and outside the school) depends on you. You can only develop into a firm administrator if you focus on your kids.

School leaders can develop these essential skills, practice daily and become influential personalities. They should start focusing on student learning outcomes and established goals and simultaneously deal with the stakeholder, communicate, and motivate them; in sum, school leaders should act as impactful leaders while running the school.