The Big Three:  Integrity, Credibility, Trust

    A school year has a life, a cycle, it ebbs and flows. Those who work in the “real world” don’t understand this. We educators have a beginning, a middle and an end to our cycle.  We have rebirth every year. There is a sense, or a feel about a school in the fall that is very different then the feel in February and in late spring. There is a pattern to our jobs that we know and have come to expect.

For a variety of reasons, this cycle, this year, has been exceedingly difficult.  We would be remiss if we didn’t take time as this year winds down, to self-reflect. As news of reorganization and changes in our support systems make its way out of central office and infiltrates the school house, we need to consider what lessons we have learned this year. We need to know our history, to help guide our future.

Recently, I read a professional book, The Principal, Traversing the High Wire with No Net Below by Dr. Don Sternberg.  It is a practical guide to the principalship. As I read, I was able to reflect on my year, starting in a new school and immediately confronted with a curriculum crisis as well as some pretty challenging issues with Synergy, complicated by my husband’s diagnosis of cancer. This was not a typical school year cycle. As Dr. Sternberg accurately describes, being a principal is frequently like being on a tightrope and there are “grease spots” along the way.   The basis for a successful walk on the tight rope and, therefore, a career as a principal begins and ends with the BIG 3, Integrity, Credibility and Trust. Dr. Sternberg discusses these character traits as the corner stones for a principal.    Reading this section of the book, reinforced for me the importance of spending the time to develop trusting relationships with my staff, to never lose sight of the  my own credibility and to provide a safe environment in my school, where students, teachers and the community trusts me and each other. The BIG 3 takes time to developed, but can be wiped away in a moment. Protect these 3 in all of your choices and decisions.  You cannot lead in a crisis or any other time if you do not possess these essential qualities.

Spend time during the rebirth and renew part of our cycle to reflect on your own year.  How did you do as a principal this year?  Is the Big 3 solidly in place in your school and the culture? Will you look at curriculum differently this fall? What grease spots are on your wire?

It has been a pleasure serving as your President this year.