Last week, I introduced the 'Expertise Exercise'—a simple way to soften the isolation of leadership and crowdsource the expertise on a staff. (Quick recap: I grouped all the attendees and gave them topics to discuss. They told stories about what they knew about each topic. We turned those stories into one-liner “quick tips” they can use in their daily work.)
When I was doing the exercise, I realized the real magic wasn't just in the solutions; it was in the honesty of the stories shared.
Not all the stories were positive ones; on the contrary, the attendees got real and honest (“I am really, really bad at budgeting” said one. She described an incident of accidental overspending— which led to a deserved official reprimand. Ugh!).
The group generated over 35 insights. Here are a few standouts— and these are their words, not mine— that apply to the work of a principal:
Culture: It’s important to trust the work of your staff. For real. Nothing kills morale faster than preaching "shared leadership" and then swooping in to micromanage.
Leadership: Not everything is an emergency. Many times, we need to slow way down. Whether you're changing a curriculum or a fire drill protocol, remember that buy-in happens with time, thorough analysis, and communication.
Communication: Speaking of communication… As much as you can, you and your staff should decide how you’ll take charge of your school’s narrative. Communicate proactively. If you don’t tell the story of your school, someone else will—and you might not like their version.
Sustainability: Make sure you don’t burn out. You don’t need to be everything to everyone. Set guardrails, delegate, and allow your team the space to make (and learn from) mistakes.
Hiring: Prioritize the "un-teachables"—optimism, a collaborative mindset, and a calm demeanor. You can teach someone how to do a lot of things, but you can’t teach talent and heart.
Those are just a few quick tips we developed.
But.
There is a bigger point here. Leadership can be a lonely road, but it doesn't have to be. After all, most of the tips we developed are truly universal. We are not alone in this stuff.
The solution is being willing to share what we have done well, what we’ve done poorly, and what we learned from it.
There is big power in simply saying, “Here is what I know.” When we lead with that kind of honesty and share the leadership, we don't just improve our experiences—we sustain each other in doing this work.
That’s all for this week. Quick note, though— as we move into May, I’m going to downshift a bit and publish the newsletter every other week. It’s not that I’m out of ideas or things to say—anyone who knows me will recognize the impossibility of THAT!— but I don’t want to… oversaturate. You’re welcome. ;)
So— stick around! And tell your friends to subscribe. The Principal Problems community continues to grow!
Let’s stay curious—
Jen