Searching for Support

As I have been traveling this path toward administration, I have found most of my experiences to be fascinating and challenging, frightening and fun. I haven’t done everything perfectly by any means, but I feel good about the choices I’ve made and the manner in which I have conducted myself. So far, I have been able to share these experiences with my family, my cohort members and my coworkers. As a person who functions and thrives on relationships, one of the most disconcerting pieces of information that has been brought forth continually throughout the program is the idea that administrators lead a lonely, isolated life. 

You are no longer the teachers’ friend, you are their boss. Silences will ensue when you walk into the faculty room. As the one who evaluates them, they will never fully be able to trust you again. I’ll admit that this type of admonition has caused me to second guess whether or not this is the right trajectory for me. Rather than give in and accept this isolation as inevitable, I decided to pay very close attention while working at my internship sites to see how the various administrators handle this challenge. I have been encouraged to see that there are apparently many ways in which administrators can build connections and support systems in their leadership roles.

In my district, new administrators are put in a cohort and meet periodically throughout the year to discuss the challenges and victories they experience throughout the year. As my principal was questioning whom to talk to about a particular conundrum, she went first to the junior high director. When she couldn’t reach him, her second go-to person was a fellow administrator and then a cohort member. The fact that most administrators get to work as a part of a team can be immensely helpful. The other administrators can be sounding boards, and can add their strengths to your weaknesses. 

I’ve also noticed that when administrators come together to supervise athletic events, they tend to capitalize on the opportunity to discuss how to handle various issues in school, from budgets to teachers to student achievement and climate. Several of the leaders I have observed have also made allies (if not friends) with several key teacher leaders in their school, and take advantage of their insider knowledge and different perspective when making decisions that affect the school. 

Therefore, I have decided not to let a lack of friendship and support be a concern any more. I think any job can be isolating if you let it. After all, we know that working collaboratively with our colleagues is the ideal way to improve student achievement as well as job satisfaction, yet how many of us know educators who still want to close their door and teach in isolation? This seems to me an area where we can make the choice to reach out until we find a pod to join that will be our sanity supporting refuge.