Our schools are going through a period of real chaos right now. Even though we’re in the midst of a crisis, kids still need to learn, your job goes on, and your staff and the parents of your students are still looking to you for direction. And all of this is going on in a very uncertain atmosphere.

As a leader, people are going to look to you for answers. And the truth is, this is the first time you’ve dealt with this too, so you’re not always going to be able to help ease their nerves in that moment. And the sooner you can be comfortable with that, the more you will be able to serve in the ways that you actually are capable of.

 

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I have a guest this week who I just know all of you are going to love. I met Gina at a women educator’s leading and learning workshop, and we have become close professional and personal companions. There are a lot of changes happening in our school system right now, so Gina is here to share her advice for principals during these early stages of this crisis.

Gina Yonts is the associate director of the Association of Washington School Principals. Gina is an experienced teacher and principal, who now works in a principal support role, where she works with school leaders around mentoring and induction, helping principals grow amazing leaders for her local area. Gina has a real overview when it comes to how principals are leading their schools through this pandemic and some great advice on the virtues of remaining calm.

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The first year of being a school leader is undoubtedly a really tough time. You’ve gone from being a respected teacher with bags of experience, and overnight you’re a brand-new principal with a whole new set of expectations on your shoulders. It’s a real challenge and you can feel like nobody understands what you’re going through. Well, my guest this week knows exactly what you’re going through because she’s there as well.

This week on the podcast I have my first interview with one of my very own clients. Jena found me when she started her first year as a principal, and I’ve been with her every step of the way, helping her think through everything the job has thrown at her so she can be an effective leader for her staff and students.

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Trauma-informed leadership is something of a hot topic at the moment. And rightly so. Paying attention to the wellbeing of the children and staff in our schools is the single most empowering thing we can do for them. I’m actually incredibly happy that this conversation has started to appear in our industry.

When something big is happening in your life, you know how difficult it can be to focus on your work. Kids are going through exactly the same thing, and we can’t expect them to learn effectively while they’re going through these consuming distractions. This is a huge difference you can make as a school leader, and this starts with us acknowledging our own trauma.

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We are at the effect of so many illusions in our work as school leaders. Whether it’s time, money, perfectionism, we waste so much brainpower on these illusions. One thing I see most in my clients is that they want to have control over everything. However, the only thing we have control over is ourselves and full control simply isn’t an option.

Because we are in charge of a school, it’s understandable that we would think that this positional authority would lead to and require total control. We think of our boss as having control over us in our job, so why shouldn’t we have control over our teachers, parents, students? However, if you dig deeper, you’ll see that people cannot make you act against your will. And the same is true of the people you lead in your school.

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