Mentoring Principals

Getting your first principalship or taking on a new challenge at a new school is a invigorating and life-changing experience. Ideas are flowing, new relationships are forming, and you are in the spotlight. You are in charge! Doubt and questions may settle in after a few weeks. Who do you turn to? Your staff leadership? Your supervisor? Your colleagues? More and more school administrators are finding the benefit of a mentor that is none of these. Turning to an outside experienced professional who can assist them in thinking through tough questions and exploring ideas before sharing with staff members is gaining steam. A qualified mentor asks good questions and seeks to build on the strengths of a new principal to find solutions to pressing issues and to look forward with vision for long-term planning. A good mentor is hyper focused on building up the efficacy of their mentee. The best mentors seek to work their way out of the job!

Is mentorship reserved solely for new principals? Not at all. Principals who take on challenging schools and/or principals who are in situations where the school changes rapidly also benefit from added expertise that can be gleaned from a mentor. In more than one situation I have seen schools move from “improvement status” to functioning well after collaborating with a mentor to strengthen their skills.

What to learn more? Contact me.