I get a lot of emails asking about creating the conditions for change and recently was asked, “As a new principal, what is the first step to create a better learning environment in our school?”
Here is my answer…do nothing.
Too many times people walk into buildings and have some great ideas and they start trying to tweak this, and change that, etc., yet that often alienates the people that you want to get better.
What I would strongly suggest is that you sit back, watch, learn, and figure out what people are great at already and build from there. You will build relationships and people will trust that when new initiatives begin popping up in your school that you already value their skills and abilities. Also, this will create a team approach as opposed to the “admin vs. teacher” culture that is prevalent in many schools.
“It takes far less energy to move from first-rate performance to excellence than it does to move from incompetence to mediocrity.” Peter Drucker