How to Find More Fulfillment as a Principal
16 More Fufillment as a principal
===
[00:00:00] In today's episode, I'm going to share how you can start loving your job as a principal again and find more fulfillment. That's all coming up next right here on the Confident Principal Podcast. Stay tuned. Welcome to the Confident Principal Podcast. I'm your host, Barb Flowers, a principal and life coach. This podcast is your guide to enhancing confidence, not just in your role as a principal, but in every facet of your life. Join me on this journey of growth, self assurance, and unlocking your full potential. Together, we'll explore how to become your best self. Let's get started.
Welcome back. This is episode number 16, and today we're talking about how to find more fulfillment as a principal. The job of a principal can be such a stressful job, but it can also be very fulfilling. And there's no better feeling when you feel satisfied and happy in your job. When I'm [00:01:00] feeling fulfilled, I feel like there's a good balance between my professional and personal life.
Not a 50 50 time balance, but a balance in the fact that I feel like I'm completely present at my job and I'm completely present when I'm at home. So it also feels like I'm being my authentic self in both my personal and professional lives. So that brings me to our topic today and what we're going to be talking about, which is how to find fulfillment in your job as a principal.
And the biggest issue that I see that gets in the way of trying to find fulfillment is being so busy that you're going through the motions each day and you aren't being present or as intentional as you would like to be. Many times we lose fulfillment in what we're doing when we get stuck in just the day to day motions and we forget to zoom out and look at the big picture of our job.
We forget why we became a principal in the first place and what we love about our role. When we are constantly dealing with the fires of being a principal, then we are focusing on the [00:02:00] stressful parts of the job, and we forget to focus on the good stuff that happens every day. There is good stuff all over your school right in front of you, but we are involved in every single fire that is happening throughout the day.
So it's hard to shift our focus to that, especially when our mind is trained to go to the negative. So, many times when we're feeling unfulfilled, we think we need to search for new initiatives or changes we can make to help us feel fulfilled or like we're doing enough. What if instead you focused on the great things that are already happening in your building?
What if you focused on things that you're doing well and your staff's doing well? What if you built on the good instead of always focusing on what's not working? And let me be clear, I'm not saying that we don't need to focus on improvement because we always need to be looking at areas of improvement and reflecting on that and creating goals and working towards improving.
However, sometimes I think we get so caught up in looking [00:03:00] at what we need to improve in education. that we forget to focus on the things that are going well. And I know this because I'm guilty of this myself. I am always so busy focused on what I need to change instead of thinking about what's already going well.
one of the best principles that I ever worked with As a teacher, he was so good about always looking at what we were doing that was positive, and he would always bring us back to focusing on what we were doing that was working, and our building was one of the most successful buildings, so I always look at that as a good lesson for myself to, instead of focusing all the time on what I need to improve, start by focusing on what's going well.
So today, I'm going to give you four ways to help you feel more fulfilled in your job. So number one is Connect to your purpose. So really think about your purpose and what made you want to be a principal? How do you connect with that each day? Do you go into work even thinking about what your purpose is?
I mean, this is something we typically do when we're [00:04:00] in grad school to be a principal, but do you do that now? Do you reflect on what motivated you to take on a leadership position? How can you have reminders of what your purpose is incorporated into your daily routine? And this could be having your purpose posted on your desk or in a space that you see at the start of the day.
But really thinking about your purpose each day can be helpful in driving your why and why you're there. I like to think about my purpose as I'm coming into the building with my staff. We've even done activities where we write a one sentence line of what our purpose is. I've done this with All the staff, teachers, custodians, um, cafeteria staff, because connecting to our purpose makes us feel more fulfilled.
When you have a purpose, you know what you're working towards and why it matters. It also helps keep you motivated and focused. So even when you have a challenge or setback, it doesn't matter because you're so focused on that purpose that you still have that sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, and you [00:05:00] know you're contributing to something bigger than yourself.
And also, having a purpose can lead to a greater sense of happiness and well being inside and outside of work. If you're working within your purpose, you're going to be happier all around. And without a purpose, work can really start to feel mundane. It can feel unfulfilling. It can feel like what you're doing is meaningless, which leads to poor performance and eventually can even lead to burnout.
So purpose is so important in your work, and having that will help you feel fulfilled in what you do. My second tip is to continue to grow and challenge yourself. We find fulfillment when we are continuing to grow both personally and professionally. This challenges us to think differently and to try new things.
If you're in a school where there's not many opportunities for professional growth, then find it outside of school. If you're listening to this podcast, that tells me that you value growth and you're looking for it on your own. So continue to keep finding ways to grow and don't be afraid to challenge your old thoughts.
The more [00:06:00] you learn, the more it can challenge your old ways of thinking. That's why I love to coach educators because I can actually help you change your thinking and become aware of the thoughts that are in your subconscious mind that you don't even know you're thinking. And I can help you grow as a professional.
But Other ways you can do this are through principal groups. I'm part of a principal group in my area and it's amazing. We just bounce ideas off of each other. It's a support group that, you know, we can talk about the stresses of being a principal and everybody in that room understands because We have all been there.
We have all experienced that stress. So having people to grow with and challenge you are so important. Tip number three is to feel like you're making a difference each day. You need to feel like what you're doing matters. You need to feel like you're making a difference in the work you're doing as a principal.
And sometimes it doesn't feel that way in the day to day work. So you need to look for the small things. Did you have a good conversation with one of the teachers in the building? You know, you might've dealt [00:07:00] with a lot of behaviors that day, but are you making small improvements with a student who struggles with behavior?
Maybe it's even one student, or maybe you look at your behavior data from last year and you notice that it's gone down even just a little bit. Take time each day to find little wins. At the end, At the end of the day, I like to find three wins that I had for that day. It shifts my mindset into a more positive state, even when it's a hard day.
I like to do this with my assistant because we'll both look at each other and talk about how difficult the day is and I'll say, give me three wins for the day. And he'll do the same. And we like to talk about what went well, because we want to end the day on a positive note. We want to go home to our families on a positive note, instead of thinking of.
everything that went back. It also makes me appreciate the responsibility I have in my role as a principal when I get to see that little bit of difference I make each day, whether it's with a teacher, a staff member, a student, a parent, anybody. You need to be able to see those [00:08:00] differences that you're making.
And tip number four is to have social connections with others. Connection with people, it refers to that establishment of meaningful relationships with others. where you can get emotional support, that sense of belonging, and just feel understood. That's what I was talking about with that principals group.
You know, we all understood each other because we've all been in the role of principal. Sometimes it's really hard to find people that can relate to you if they have not been in your role before. So finding connection with others is so important. Brene Brown, who I love all of her books and podcasts. In her book, Daring to Lead, she says in the absence of authentic connection, we suffer.
And she's describing an authentic connection where we can be ourselves and are accepted. So not connections where we have to pretend to be other people, but where we can actually come as ourselves. Because our brains are wired for connection, and we do better when we are connected. Humans were never made to be alone.
So, [00:09:00] you have to have people that you're excited to work with each day. People will say, I don't care, I don't need colleagues, I just need to go in and do my job. And that's not accurate. When you do that, you don't feel fulfilled, you don't feel as happy. So, the role of a principal, it can be isolating as it is.
So you need to have people around you supporting you, cheering you on, um, emotional support, and you have to be intentional about having those positive social connections. And it could be teachers that you work with, it could be your office staff, it could be other administrative I'm an elementary principal and I am lucky to have another elementary principal to work with, so that's nice because we're on the same level.
I know not every district has that. Um, but also having central office staff to work with is great. You know, so having people that are there for you that can be your emotional support. Finding fulfillment as a principal involves a conscious effort to appreciate the positive things happening in your building.
Also [00:10:00] connecting with your purpose, prioritizing your growth, celebrating daily wins, and building those meaningful social connections. If you're not currently feeling fulfilled as a principal, I hope you try some of these strategies and let me know how you feel after being consistent with them for a couple of weeks.
Thanks so much for joining us today for another episode of the Confident Principal Podcast. If you want to take the next step in finding more fulfillment in your role as a principal, I would love the opportunity to work with you one on one. I offer free consults to see if we would be a good fit to work together.
And in one on one coaching, I can help you create habits that will help you feel more fulfilled. as well as help you feel less stressed as a principal. So reach out to me on Instagram at Barb Flowers Coaching or at my website at barbflowerscoaching. com. And if you love this show, if you're listening on Apple, scroll down on your app and leave a review.
I hope you have a great week and I'll see you back here next time. [00:11:00]
