Principal Matters!

Yet another topic on which the key point is clarity. The relationship between Principal and Assistant Principal is critical for any school’s success. So often, there remains a lack of clarity of what the principal wants from the AP? Sure, you pass out duty rosters, but have you clarified how much autonomy you are offering to your Assistant Principal?

What are your AP’s rules of engagement?

• Paint-by-Numbers You have communicated to your Assistant Principal that you want them to follow the script. Don’t get out of the box… don’t get out of the lines. You’ve given them specific tasks AND specific instructions on what’s in and out of bounds. Why this choice? APs come to their principal with a wide range of experience and abilities. Often a principal wants an AP to keep close to the script not only for the good of the moment but for the AP’s future endeavors. An overly-enthusiastic new AP may need more guidelines. It also is a matter of preference for the principal on how she wants to operate the organization… centralized or more decentrailized.
• Blank Canvas. You have made it clear to your AP that you want her to figure things out. You have given her tools… the canvas, the paints, the pallette… and you’ve even given her an object but you are leaving the interpretation, the design up to her. It’s not paint by number, but it’s also not without direction either. You don’t want your AP to come to you for every single thing. You want her to have some autonomy AND some accountability but to still be working on specific work.
• Splatter Paint. Out of the box? There IS no box! Your AP knows that as long as it’s ethical, legal, safe, and doesn’t get you on Channel 2, the local paper or the superintendent’s office, let’s go! Okay, you may give her a little more boundary than that, but… you get the idea. Some principals deploy the “Frizzle Corollary” (take chances, make mistakes, get messy) to provide their APs ample opportunity to learn within their safe space. This isn’t to imply that it’s an invitation to be reckless… only to be creative, to do it their way, and to try things.
• Let’s Watch Bob Ross Instead. Well, sometimes you aren’t ready to cut your AP loose. Not only do they not get their own canvas, you aren’t ready to give them paint-by-numbers quite yet either. You really want them to learn some more. Watch and learn. You may give them some things to do as time goes forward but, they aren’t ready for their own brush quite yet.

The Most Important Take Away.

Clarity.

Don’t sit in your frustration. Rise in your communication instead. I’ve worked with principals who are frustrated with their assistant principals. (Note: in most relationships, if one person is frustrated, both people are frustrated. And frustrated school administrators aren’t as effective as those who are simpatico.)

Different principals have different frustrations (with different APs), but here are some categories of common frustration.

• They want their AP to slow down and stay in their lane.
• They want their AP to speed up and not wait to be told everything to do.
• They want their AP to anticipate what needs to be done and do it.
• They want their AP to check before going ahead.
• They want their AP to talk to them more.
• They want their AP to make decisions on their own without having to come to them so often.
• They want their AP to be more confident.
• They want their AP to be more humble.

Notice a pattern? Here’s what to focus on, please. Most everyone is out here doing their best with what they know. So much of the distance between Ps and APs could be narrowed with better communication.

Even that needs more detail. We say communication; we mean clarity. But before you can get there, you are going to have to have trust. You HAVE to be able to talk real with each other without fear of hurt feelings. Not rudely or with a mean spirit, but with candor and honesty so we can have clarity.

A critical step you can take? Set up regular times to chat, Principal to Assistant Principal. Every other week at the least; weekly at the beginning. You need to get on the same page and that can only be done by talking about it. Don’t just hope your AP figures it out. Let them know what your construct is… which sort of painting you’re willing to engage them in at this moment. It may change, it may not, but regular communication about it will take away the guessing and much of the frustration. Do it for them, do it for you, and do it for the good of your school.