Rule #9: Take Time to Reflect.

Every week, set aside an hour or two to think. Review the state of the school for the previous week. What stands out in your mind as important (and I don't mean a list of activities)? How do the issues fit together? How are people working together? What was the state of communications during the week? Did all people know what they should have known? What should you be looking for next week? And while you're thinking, write down your thoughts and observations. Keep this in your personal reflections file.

The principal's primary role is to view the school's total operation and its effectiveness every day. No one else will do this. The principal, of necessity, thinks differently from everyone else because s/he is responsible for all school operations all of the time. S/He is the person who must see how all of the systems fit together, how practices and policies align with the values of the school, how different procedures either support or obstruct the goals of the school. The principal is charged with identifying those operations that are out of alignment and need to be addressed.

The principal cannot address the issues alone. So you pose many questions: How do I develop an energetic and committed leadership structure that spreads two-way communications throughout the school? How do I deploy staff so that they can build on their strengths? How broadly can I delegate responsibilities and to whom? How do I develop an organization where people trust and depend on one another to do the right thing? How do I get useful feedback from staff and students on how we're doing?

The principal must have ample time to think ahead, to assess operations analytically, to plan processes that will move the school ahead and focus its people on where they are going next. You will get bogged down in the everyday trivia. You must raise yourself out of that sludge every week in order to think about the future of your school.

So remember Rule #9: Take Time to Reflect. This is the rule that determines greatness in the principalship.