The new principal

The effective
and reflective
principal
A longtime principal says the best, and perhaps only, aim is always to work
toward the best possible environment, support, and standards for teaching
and learning.
By John M. Ritchie
Reflecting on a long career in education, most of it spent as a high school principal, some as a superintendent, Im struck now by how often I was sustained in my work by a simple line that I read long ago in
an Emily Dickinson letter: The Sailor cannot see the North but knows the Needle can.
On countless occasions, I felt lost in a sea of complex challenges, conflicting expectations, and vexing
problems compounded by expectations that the principal always knows what to do. I came to rely more
than anything else on my own compass to guide me. It took time probably three years at least to develop a set of core beliefs, or principles, that served as a steadying and even buoying grounding for all my
endeavors. These principles, this compass, didnt give me answers; rather they provided guideposts that
gave me confidence that I was on a right path, even if the path was through deep woods or over open water.
Knowing your core beliefs and having reliable operating principles ends up being critical when negotiating the tricky waters of school leadership in a manner that is consistent and purposeful.
I have notebooks full of advice that Ive collected over the years: tips, mantras, cautions, and quotations
appropriate for any occasion. I sometimes share bits of this list with principals Im coaching or mentoring.
For example, the always useful reminder that When youre the principal, theres no such thing as a casual
comment. But specific advice is of limited and usually only particular value. Any new principals main goal
should be to build or develop a reliable compass (and any veteran principals main goal should be not to
lose it). This process takes time and patience, and benefits tremendously, if painfully, from the flinty lessons of mistakes and missteps.
My own principles of operation my own compass had less to do with educational vision than with
attitudes, behaviors, and modes of operation. I learned to focus less on strategies for solving problems than
on habitually consistent and thoughtful ways of approaching them. Many of my main principles involved
how I conceived of the school and the people in it, rather than how to reach particular goals or resolve
specific dilemmas how always to treat the people I worked with and served with respect; the reciprocal
JOHN M. RITCHIE (ritchiejohn115@gmail.com) is a consultant and a former teacher, principal and superintendent living in Newton, Mass.
18

Kappan

May 2013

Comments?
Like PDK at www.
facebook.com/pdkintl

The Sailor cannot see the North but knows the Needle can.
Emily Dickinson

value of trying to be an engaged listener, even when (or especially when) confronted with
anger and unhappiness; a steady practice of noticing and appreciating others when they do
well, in authentic rather than contrived ways.
I tried also to be guided by the recognition that school is a time when students are supposed to make and learn from mistakes and that, while consistent discipline is important,
punishment alone doesnt lead to learning and rarely leads to behavior change. The principal
is stereotypically seen (and judged) as the disciplinarian-in-chief. But he or she must also
occasionally be the chief dispenser of mercy and kindness, which is a difficult and sometimes
risky balance to strike.
Many constituencies

Following ones compass headings is the best way to avoid one of the most common traps
that invariably tempts or distracts leaders of any organization: The tendency to believe that
success is measured by the ability to meet everyones expectations. Principals simultaneously serve many constituencies: parents, students, teachers, the community, central office.
Each has its own needs and expectations, and they often collide. Trying to meet everyones
expectations is a fools errand, and it takes a great deal of fortitude not to forget it. Paradoxically and thankfully, one often meets the most valuable and important expectations by
not trying to meet all of them.

Thinkstock/Hemera

V94 N8

kappanmagazine.org

19

Being a principal was an immensely rewarding, enjoyable, and entertaining career, though it is
a cold fact that every principal will face dark and
tough times, deal with tragedy, make painful decisions about cutting valuable programs, and conduct
difficult conversations with students, teachers, or
parents. The principalship is often a draining job,
and there is always the danger of psychic exhaustion that results from being at the center point of a
school, where the No. 1 requirement seems to be to
do more, listen better, and be more places than any
person could ever do or be.

Hire the best teachers you can find, support them

in every way possible, help them grow, evaluate them
fairly, set and exemplify high expectations for everyone,
and create and insist on a climate and culture where
students feel safe, known, and challenged.
Thats the only vision a principal needs.
But when times were good, or at least calm, working in the uniquely zany world of a school was a treat.
There was always something unexpected, hilarious,
unbelievable, or quirky going on. To me, the best
schools welcome the possibility of some merriment
breaking out, they dont squelch it. Schools are, after
all, filled with people who are by definition young at
heart. I have a mental catalogue of memorable conversations or amusing events that were just small bits
of a daily drama when they happened, but now stick
in my memory. I remember the earnest student who
dutifully made an appointment to see me, then informed me (with great pride) that he had built a small
cold fusion reactor in his basement and wanted to
know if he would be breaking any rules if he brought
it to school. Perhaps the most common sentence uttered at meetings of principals is that, People just
wouldnt believe the things we hear and deal with.
One of the items in my advice notebook is Write
things down. Youll be glad you did. Humor actually
is good medicine.
The pastoral principal

Above all, I found or felt that the most deeply

rewarding aspect of being a principal was how the
job affords privileged glimpses into human affairs in
nearly all their variety. The tide of visitors that washes
into a principals office almost any week brings with it
an astonishing array of human stories of pain, frustration, pride, loneliness, or hope the overtly angry
and aggressive parents who in reality are simply ter20

Kappan

May 2013

rified by not knowing how to handle their child; the

teacher who has lost a loved one and is struggling just
to stay afloat, let alone teach; the student whose troublesome behavior is a mask for sadness, fear, anxiety,
and for whom school is a daily nightmare.
The pastoral nature of the job is something that
every principal has to figure out how to manage.
This is a deeply humbling and uplifting part of the
role, but it is almost inevitably exhausting. At times,
I felt almost overwhelmed and weighted down by the
amount of information that I, and I alone, seemed
to have about the people around me: parents, teachers, students, custodians, members of the community. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone wants
their story to be heard, and one of the principals
responsibilities is to hear and respond meaningfully
to these stories. The pastoral aspects of the principalship are not to be ignored or taken lightly, and
require practice and patience. Playing the role in a
way that advances the goals and enhances the quality of the school is hard, and it is humbling in a way
that, ironically, requires great confidence.
The public and pastoral parts of the job led me
throughout my career to alternately revel in and
wrestle with what I see as the fundamental paradox
of the principalship. On the one hand, a principal is
an exceedingly visible figure. If youre the principal,
youre the principal not only at school, but at the dry
cleaner, the town dump, the school dance, and the
soccer field. Your constituents and colleagues all have
a tremendous emotional investment in the school
you run, and the principal, like it or not, cant help
but be its public face and at its beck and call at all
hours. Almost every principal Ive ever known has
accepted this part of the job, and many find it enjoyable and rewarding. But being a public figure is
also a weighty responsibility and can drain anyone
of time and energy.
Simultaneously, being a principal is a solitary position. No one else in a school has exactly the same
job as the principal, knows the daily demands of the
job or the many directions in which one is constantly
pulled. No one knows about all the information that
must be kept confidential, the tough decisions, the
emotionally charged conversations. Since theres
only one principal, there really isnt anyone else in
the school available to share what it is like being
principal, which is inevitably isolating.
Solitariness is not the same as loneliness, but it
can easily turn into loneliness, especially when paired
with the tiring public demands of the job. A critical
factor in maintaining equilibrium and energy is to
make a steady effort to meet with, talk to, consult
with, and share stories with other principals. Telling ones own stories is affirming and reduces stress.
However vexing or challenging the story or situation

you present to another principal, he or she is almost

certain to know just what youre talking about.
The best vision

The customary expectation of a principal is that he

or she will have vision, with the implication that the
school should be supplied with a picture, or image of
success, that is articulated and implemented in such
a way that everyone will join in its pursuit. Where
do you want to take the school? is a question common to most interviews. My experience was that this
conventional concept of vision turns out to be limiting rather than energizing and can even distract a
school from its real mission. The fundamental work
of a school leader is simple: engender and sustain the
best possible environment for teaching and learning.
The only vision for a school worth its salt is one
that aims to work relentlessly and creatively toward
the single goal of creating and nourishing the best
possible environment for teaching and learning.
When a principal is expected to or is judged by an
ability to imagine and articulate a vision beyond that,
it almost always leads to unmet expectations and unrealized goals. Hire the best teachers you can find,
support them in every way possible, help them grow,
evaluate them fairly, set and exemplify high expectations for everyone, and create and insist on a climate
and culture where students feel safe, known, and
challenged. Thats the only vision a principal needs.
In addition to having vision, the main attribute
typically expected of and admired in principals is
the ability to be decisive. Being decisive is equated
with boldness, lack of equivocation, the courage
to make tough decisions quickly, and deal with the
consequences without flinching. But this version of
decisiveness more often impedes rather than advances the discovery of good solutions or directions.
Schools are complex and ambiguous. A school, unlike a business, is engaged in process as much as production. Students who are both the customer and
the product are partners, or at least participants
in their own education. And students, by definition,
are in a continual state of flux and growth during
their school years.
As a result, and quite wonderfully, ambiguity is
part of the landscape of any school. Because schools
arent and cant be precise, well-ordered ecologies,
where the right answers are easy and obvious, decisiveness in the conventional sense seems as though
it would be an especially valuable trait. The conventional thinking is that the principal should efficiently
make tough decisions in complicated circumstances.
But because schools are so much about process,
a very different type of decisiveness is often better
suited to meet goals or solve problems. An effective principal has a mindset that embraces ambiguity

rather than struggles to resolve or settle it. Being

decisive isnt only or mainly about acting. Being decisive is about approaching problems or decisions with
a clear head and open mind, a willingness to examine
all sides of an issue, and an ability to contemplate the
possible unintended consequences of any choice. In
this conception, being decisive often means having
the courage not to make a decision until a problem has been thoroughly examined and understood.
Therefore, in reality, a principals most valuable role
often is not deciding on and implementing solutions,
but helping groups wrestle with and elucidate the
true nature of the problems to be solved.
The principal has the most important position in
the school only to the extent that he or she serves and
supports the faculty and students. Humility, rather
than self-importance, power, or authority is the key
to a successful principalship.

Trying to meet everyones expectations is a

fools errand, and it takes a great deal of fortitude
not to forget it.
Thankfully, I was reminded of this frequently
throughout my time as a principal, but never so
pointedly as when, on the first day on the job at the
school where I spent most of my career. I was wandering the halls and ran into a lone student leaving
the building. I struck up a conversation, and he asked
me who I was and what I did. I told him, and he said
Oh yeah? Youre the principal? I think we had one
of those last year, too. That remark, and all that it
implied, turned out to be a tremendously useful thing
to remember and, occasionally, ponder on the drive
home after a particularly rough day.
K

Due to budget cuts we wont be passing out diplomas

just stickers.
V94 N8

kappanmagazine.org

21

Copyright of Phi Delta Kappan is the property of Phi Delta Kappa International and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.