Public school administrators are the relentless unsung heroes of our school systems. They have had to face the re-opening of schools while managing the difficulty and fear of COVID-19, the health and safety of all stakeholders- at times to the compromise of their own wellness, and have sort ways to restore and reclaim the art of teaching and learning after many students and families struggled to engage successfully in remote learning. As we face the inevitable truth that we will return to school, whether via online opportunities or in a physical building. It is imperative that school leaders know that they are the keepers of hope in their respective communities. Their messaging coupled with their thinking and their actions will enact belief and trust or disdain and fear among their school family and constituents. Despite the instability of this season of schooling, administrators remain the champions of their school communities. They inspire, cast vision, and empower their teams to embark on the journey of “impossible” to “I’m possible”. Their approach, presence, and execution matters more now than ever. Knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it can make or break a school administrator’s leadership this school year. Therefore, choosing to be strategic and lead via the following 7 Pathways to Effective School Leadership in a Crisis will foster the safety, security, and courageous leadership that is wanted and needed at this time. The 7 Pathways to Effective School Leadership in a Crisis are:
1. Begin with and model gratitude. In this season of leading and mobilizing schools with looming concerns and uncertainty due to COVID-19 and the possible resurgence of the disease in Phase 2, saying “thank you”, “I appreciate you”, and “I acknowledge you for…” cannot be stated enough. Also, it is important to note that gratitude goes beyond words. Gratitude is demonstrated in the leader’s actions and alignment between their words and behaviors. Gratitude is revealed via a leader’s integrity. It’s a noun that gets to be a verb as a leader’s actions tells the story of their verbal “thank you”. This means being a model of your gratitude and positioning your school stakeholders in win/win situations. The latter requires listening, at times being uncomfortable, and negotiating to a point of allied compromise where both parties can hear each other and walk forward on their respective paths feeling a sense of satisfaction, if not victory.
2. Acknowledge the brutal truth. The experience of existing and sustaining during this uncommon season of working and living during a pandemic has been arduous for everyone. Some of your school staff and community members have fallen ill, passed away, lost loved ones as a result of COVID-19 and/or other calamities. Be sure to offer and extend condolences as many people are facing battles that are not obviously recognizable or shared.
3. Be a stand for wellness. Encourage your school community to take stock of and nurture their self-wellness. When your teachers, leaders, and families are well, safety, security, and good health are elevated to support an empowered school culture. Self-care should be discussed often as it is a lever to ensure that other systems and structures in your respective schools are well. It will be hard to get to quality instruction if your teachers are anxious and fearful of the current paradigm. Also consider the fact that many leaders and some teachers have not had a vacation or a break. Creating opportunities for mindfulness, yoga breaks, power and inspirational talks, as well connection and communication structures that highlight wellness as valuable will also assist in lifting up good physical and mental health practices for your school community at this time.
4. Be in communication. Offering clarity and attentive presence in writing, speaking, and listening in this season of leading schools is one of the most kind and responsible gestures a leader can offer his/her community. Therefore, be clear in communication. This means people understand your message, and intentions will not have to be explained later. To compliment this action, make requests that are actionable and time bound (if needed), and lastly, ensure that your community understands how to reach out and communicate with you as the leader. Creating opportunities for talk such as office hours, an open door policy, or a breakfast zoom with the principal for families will set clear communication guidelines in order. It also gives the leader boundaries that ensure that they are not pulled in every direction in support of their desire to be seen and engage with stakeholders.
5. Choose narratives that serve and assume the best intentions. Leaders are the creators and visionaries of their school communities and therefore, they get to help stakeholders see and hold the best possible outcome for all constituents in their school family. Using language in alignment with action builds a culture of integrity. In this space, school community members can choose narratives about their experiences that serve and compliment the desired state of the school as opposed to creating degrading or disparaging stories about decisions, tasks, or requests. Leaders get to be responsible and help their stakeholders craft the story that builds, supports, and nurtures teaching and learning. Assuming best intentions is a choice and school communities that don’t, often fall prey to toxicity and negativity that degrades the people and the work that they do. Therefore, it is recommended that leaders foster and demonstrate the sentiment of “assume best intentions” as they are the authors who narrate integrity in their schools.
6. Balance change and urgency with flexibility, compassion, and grace. Educators are facing a school opening and school year like never before. Directives, answers, and solutions are changing within seconds of being delivered. It is important for leaders to remember the frailty of the human condition, the fragility embedded in change as a constant experience, and fears that are generated from a public health scare that is impacting the world. Navigating school leadership during COVID-19 has highlighted the truth that we are each other’s greatest resource. As leaders, we get to responsibly adjust, revise, monitor, and support from a place of “we know our schools best, therefore we…”. It through communing, collaboration, and lifting the interpersonal trait that we are able to thrive and get the job done well. Extending flexibility, compassion, and grace to match the urgency and change demand in school communities will provide leverage and support in spite of resource inaccessibility or depletion. Our humanity and the power of maximizing human capital are the intrinsic gifts that will energize school communities during this time.
7. Be the possibility. A possibility is a thing that may happen, occur, or be the case. A school leader that chooses possibility as the lens to lead through offers their school community an infinite amount of choices, options, answers, and solutions. Possibilities are endless. Leadership and followership that embraces “be the possibility”, effortlessly takes the journey from good to great and from great to extraordinary because there is always an opportunity for increase, expansion, the presence of abundance, and the opportunity to reside in the best of intentions and wellness. Being the possibility means that school communities will face the most amazingly inspiring school opening in the history of their respective districts. Being the possibility means that leaders, teachers, and supportive stakeholders hold space for schools to open with all needed health and safety supplies in place as well as curricular materials. Being the possibility means that the needs of all learners are met via instruction whether they are taught in person or remotely. Being the possibility means that teachers are safe, well, and prepared for teaching and learning. Being the possibility opens the door for parents to have agency, advocacy, and options for their children that leave them feeling empowered and heard. All stakeholders hold “possibility” in their hands. Therefore, before words like “no”, “impossible”, and “can’t be done” are used, it is imperative that school leaders ask, “What’s possible?” This question lifts and shifts former ideas, thoughts, and actions to a realm where a new vision can be created and applied. So be the possibility and get new results for your deserving school community.
As school administrators consider the application of these pathways and how they maximize their leadership, know that these pathways exist distinctly as well as in co-existence with one another. However leaders choose to apply them, they will act as lever of connection and community building in a time where being communally responsible for one another is the most extraordinary possibility that is possible.
