How to Find a Great Principal During the Great Resignation
(And maybe avoid a bad fit)
Articles like, “How to Deal with a Difficult Boss” are becoming moot in 2022, when the obvious choice for many (many, many) individuals is to quit. While quitting is a privilege some cannot afford, the wide-open job market and financial support from the pandemic (plus our inability to vacation, eat out, or really do anything at all) has offered many individuals a unique opportunity to be choosers, not beggars, on the job market.
We are feeling this acutely in the field of education. On my high school campus, situated in an upper-middle-class-to-affluent neighborhood, we rarely hire new teachers. Cut to the 2021–22 school year, where a revolving door of educators seems to be swapping places every few weeks down the hall from my classroom. One reason for the vacancies is the stress of returning to classrooms with too little support and far too many responsibilities. Other reasons include calls to greener pastures in different districts across the state and country and the hopes of more work-life balance (just this morning a local charter district offered a $10,000 signing bonus for English teachers).
Instead of scrambling for jobs, à la the great recession, educators might be able to choose their employers for the coming fall. What questions should we ask ourselves and our prospective bosses, as we interview? How might we best match our preferences to our leadership? Here are some suggestions based on leadership profiles outlined by Northouse (2016) in his comprehensive text Leadership:
- What role do you see yourself playing in my development as an educator? How involved will you be in my day-to-day practice?
Do you appreciate administrators who walk the halls with clipboards during passing periods? Would you mind having someone present in your class as you teach? How often? Do you want to be assigned a mentor? Some folks thrive with feedback, others find it stressful and off-putting.
2. How do you see the mission statement of the school playing out in classrooms? What areas are you focusing on in professional development/staff meetings/department meetings?
Campuses are re-adjusting their mission statements in light of recent learning from the pandemic. Do you have the same values as the campus as a whole? Will you be comfortable carrying out that mission in your classroom? Also, how well does your admin express the mission statement? If they feel the vision or mission is a dog-and-pony show, whose agenda do they actually follow? Beware of the lone wolf admin who shares values in name only, but never in practice.
3. How do people ask for help? Alternately, if I have suggestions for how I can help improve the campus, who can I approach?
Besides appearing open-minded and proactive, it’s helpful to gauge a leader by how well they delegate tasks. Some of us are more comfortable with a clear organizational flow chart that lists duties beneath names for every employee on campus. Others are more comfortable with a “my door is always open” policy that allows us to be heard but does not guarantee results. Your preference will help decide which answer you hope to hear.
Education is a rewarding and worthwhile career option. Many of us educators now have the agency and power to find a great fit for the next steps in our (often long) careers. We need to be sure we find leaders that can support us as we attempt to do the impossible each day.
