When you moved into the role as principal in your school(s), did you at any time wish that you had a mentor who could be used as a sounding board for your ideas and policies, actions or programs and just simply for decisions for which you need input? It should be helpful to have a mentor , but not all principals have this opportunity for assistance when they begin their role in this position. Unfortunately, some school divisions just use handbooks as a mentor “device” for new principals. At times, having an experienced professional educator who you can trust to provide input and advice could help save time and provide assurance of competence for a new principal. As an assistant principal, the guidance and input of the building principal should serve as a mentoring process and be a part of the AP’s leadership development. This relationship, if it is positive, gives the AP the mentoring which is needed to be successful.
It would seem then that for effective school divisions to attract effective administrators, one solution would be to provide mentors. In the case of a new or inexperienced school leader, there are several critical issues that need to be faced and for which a mentor would be helpful.
- Complex job with many responsibilities: You are the Leader, the one person that everyone, from parents to staff to superintendents turn to for decisions. The old phrase, “It’s lonely at the top” is so very true. You will certainly understand this phrase when you face your first overall, encompassing decision that only you can make. A mentor can help with after decision feedback if needed.
- Learning curve: You can certainly use assistance from a mentor to help you learn how to make changes, sometimes fairly quickly. One thought to keep in mind what is tried and true = OPE (Other Person’s Experiences).
- Isolation: When you take this position, you are the position. A mentor can help by lending an ear and the voice of experience when issues arise.
- Skills: There are several skills a mentor can introduce to a new principal: Delegation – you cannot do it alone: Time Management – be sure to eat lunch daily, your body’s stress levels will build if you do not take a break in the middle of the day. Remember, you are not being paid to ruin your health; Ability to see the “Big Picture”- step back and see how a crisis can be handled in light of past/future actions; Dealing with all kinds of people – it is helpful if your mentor knows the school community at large and where the “personalities” come from; Instructional Leadership – a mentor can help you learn how to trust and rely on your staff to get things done for learning. They will do it, just give them a chance.
In smaller school divisions, mentoring may take place with a one to one relationship. In large school divisions where there may be multiple principal vacancies, group mentoring would be a potential source of skill sharing and coaching. One advantage to group mentoring would be the access the prote’ge’es have to listen to each others successes and failures. Again, it helps to know you are not alone.
In the end, mentoring for principals provides stability and creates a support system, either one-on-one experiences or in groups. Knowing that one has a “coach” to speak to in times of uncertainty helps new principals adapt much more quickly to the position and be much more confident in their ability to survive that first year.
