3 Building Blocks for a Student Success Culture (Part 3 of 4)

When I was a principal, the demands of the role repeatedly robbed me of my time to focus on instruction. I would be in a leadership team meeting or visiting a classroom, and if something was happening on the campus, I was the one who was pulled out to go take care of it.  

I tried to prioritize instruction over more immediate responsibilities, but the call of the urgent would consistently win. After sharing my frustration with another principal, she said something I finally heard. If wanted to impact results, something had to change. I took it to heart and soon realized that if I wanted to become an instructional leader and make an impact, I needed to lead, prioritize, and delegate.

Becoming an instructional leader requires communicating to all staff that instruction is our number one priority.   This is communicated not only by words but also by actions. These actions included:

• Spending more time in classrooms for informal and walk-through visits.
• Implementing structures and protocols for collaborative learning 
• Being present in collaborative meetings. Lead instructional conversations and ask reflective questions. 
• Developing teacher leaders who would share strong instructional practices with their team.

To make time for instructional priorities, I needed to determine what tasks could be delegated and who I could empower to handle those tasks.  This wasn’t easy because it required me to let go of some items to make room for the important. We really can’t do it all. When I began to let things go, I realized that delegating meaningful work not only built trust with the staff but also improved morale and engagement. 

So where did I begin? I started prioritizing, by looking at 3 types of tasks to determine what to pass on to others.

• Small: Little tasks that seem inconsequential. They are not urgent or important but when completed add up and take time away from your important priorities. Have you ever started out just wanting to take 5 minutes to complete a task and only to find yourself ½ hour later still working through it? Weekly meetings with office staff not only kept me in touch with their needs but also helped me to prioritize and hand off these small tasks.
• Tedious: Weekly/Monthly tasks that are simple that can and should be handled by anyone but you. Administrative tasks such as sorting and prioritizing your inbox, responding to low-level emails/letters and requests, preparing slides and charts for a meeting or report, drafting a newsletter, managing a budget, etc., and facility maintenance tasks.
• Time-Consuming: Tasks that are somewhat complex and do not require you to do the initial 70%-80% of the work. You can easily step in when the task is 80% done and give feedback for the next steps and/or approval. For example, the master schedule, completing sections of reports, pulling data and creating charts/graphs for the data, etc.

How did I determine what to delegate? By looking at small, tedious, and time-consuming tasks and following this rule: If it takes more than 30-45 minutes, it’s worth investing 5-10 minutes with someone empowering them to do the task. The key is investing time with the person vs just handing off your work.  

In addition, I needed to not only train others on how to handle the task, but I also had to train and communicate with teachers and support staff to know when to call me and when to talk to someone else when help was needed. 

I also delegated gatekeepers to monitor low-level tasks and report to me on important and urgent matters without pulling me out of classrooms and instructional meetings. I met with gatekeepers when training was needed to understand the difference between urgent and non-urgent but important tasks.  It was amazing how many urgent tasks were now less urgent because the staff understood what was most important and why it was important. 

Prioritizing instruction and delegating tasks not only helped me meet my instructional goals, but also had an unplanned side effect: a positive impact on the school success culture. Spending time in classrooms beyond evaluation requirements opened doors for positive conversations and interactions with students.  Many staff relationships were built, as I supported teachers and addressed their concerns during my time in their classrooms and meetings. It also increased my visibility with kids which in turn created positive interactions with students. In addition, staff felt empowered, which increased their confidence.

Did I still get pulled out of the classrooms? Yes, the reality is we live in a school full of adults and students where emergencies happen. However, the amount of time being pulled out decreased and only occurred when the situation became more important than our instructional priority.  Leading, communicating, establishing priorities, and delegating made all the difference in my role as an instructional leader.

Next week, I will share more on the last building block of creating a strong student success culture: Organizational Leadership.