The Principal's Handbook

Mini-Series Part #2: How I’m Preparing to Support Staff During a Big Transition
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Principal's Handbook. In this episode, we're talking about how I'm preparing to support staff during a big transition. That's all coming up next, right here on the Principal's Handbook.
Speaker: Welcome to the Principal's Handbook, your go-to resource for principals looking to revamp their leadership approach and prioritize self-care. I'm Barb Flowers, a certified life coach with eight years of experience as an elementary principal. Tune in each week as we delve into strategies for boosting mental resilience, managing time effectively, and nurturing overall wellness.
From tackling daily challenges to maintaining a healthy work life balance. We'll navigate the complexities of school leadership together. Join me in fostering your sense of purpose as a principal and reigniting your passion for the job. Welcome to a podcast where your wellbeing is the top priority.
Well, welcome back everyone today we are doing part two of a miniseries where we're talking about how I'm preparing to [00:01:00] support staff during a big transition. And just to give you a little bit of background, I am transitioning. I was in a K to five building and actually the last year I've just been coaching principals and I am transitioning now to a k to two elementary school.
And the interesting thing about this K to two building is it was a. First and second grade building that now kindergarten is joining. So there is a big transition for all staff, not just from having a new principal, but also just a general transition there. , and if you didn't listen to part one of our series, I was talking about planning for student behavior so that you would have less behavior.
So go back and listen to that episode if you didn't. But today I'm talking about how I'm planning to support staff, and so this episode is perfect for any principal stepping into a new building, whether you're a new principal or a returning principal in a new building. If you're merging schools or if you just want to start off the school year strong with your staff and try something different.
This episode is for you. So we're going to dive [00:02:00] right in and talk about the first thing I'm doing to support staff. And the first thing is when I sent an introduction email about myself, I sent a staff survey. So I really want to take time to get to know staff. So as I'm taking over the building merging schools, I wanna hear from the people who have been there.
I wanna hear what has been going well and what has not been going well. I want them to know that I'm somebody who cares about their opinion, what they have to say. I want them to feel heard, and so this is the first step towards making them feel that way. So some questions I asked on the survey , one, what are you most looking forward to in the 25 26 school year?
What concerns or worries do you have about the upcoming year? How can I best support you during the transition between the two buildings? What is the most important thing you need from me as a principal this year? If you could make one change from previous years, what would it be? And what is something you feel should stay the same?
. Those questions can pretty much be used for any building except for the transition between the [00:03:00] two buildings. So you could use those. But basically what I'm doing here is I'm looking for common themes. I'm seeing what are teachers excited about and what are they worried about?
And that's going to shape my opening meeting. It's going to shape the priorities that I work on. It's going to shape the communication that I have with teachers, which I'll talk about here in the second part. . But it really is going to help build that connection with them because I already know what they're excited about and what they're concerned about.
The other thing I'm going to be doing, which is a little bit more informal, is just trying to have as many conversations with teachers as possible. I always like to start by meeting with people one-on-one meeting with teams. , but none of that can happen until teachers are back to school. And so right now this is.
Just a way that I could gather quick information from teachers to kind of get a sense of the building and, , understand what's on their minds. So that is the first thing I'm doing to support staff. The second thing I'm doing is I'm already anticipating emotions and planning to lead with empathy. So I already know that there's a [00:04:00] huge transition happening for these teachers.
Okay. They're merging schools. They're going to have new colleagues, they're going to have a new principal. So there's a lot happening. And I know that when change happens, , people can be resistant, they can be negative. They might avoid things because it often just mask fear, grief, uncertainty, insecurities,
like it's completely normal. As humans to show up resistant and negative when there's change. And so I'm just planning that could happen and I wanna make sure that I address that with staff so that they know I completely understand. So I, one thing I'm planning to do in the first staff meeting,
is acknowledging all of these emotions upfront. I think it's really important to acknowledge with the teachers how hard it is to have a new principal. Maybe your transition is you have a new curriculum. Acknowledge that with the staff, be vulnerable with them. Have those conversations that, , this is hard.
I always say a new principal, new expectations, and new person observing you. [00:05:00] Any of that can be really hard. It's change. You're not sure what to expect. It brings up uncertainty that people get worried about. So think about that. Also, think about how you can create space for connections and trust, and I think about that through being visible.
I. And not being in my office all the time as school starts, even as teachers in the are in the building, you know, going around and saying hello, having conversations, but then creating space where people can come talk to me, shut the door at my office, and just have a safe space to talk. Okay. , also I think it's important for you to be vulnerable and share things like why you took the job, what you're passionate about as a leader.
What your mission is, what you wanna build together, have that pep talk with staff. I think that's a really important part of connection, is having a pep talk at the beginning of the year of all the things you're excited about, of how you wanna motivate them. Create this motivating speech that helps everybody feel connected together.
And if you need help working [00:06:00] through challenging teacher dynamics, I have a free quick guide that I'll share in the show notes. This is perfect for helping you lead with empathy and have those conversations when a teacher's resistant, because it's going to give you an exact guide of what to say and what not to say.
, it's also going to give you some scripts for conversations and things that you can do that can really help if a teacher is resistant, and that can be nerve wracking at first. But I think if you can lead with empathy, it really helps change the perspective, which is exactly what that free guide is going to help you do is change your perspective about working with teachers who are resistant or negative. Now I wanna share, the third thing I'm planning to do is set clear expectations. This is an area that I think I see a lot of anxiety for teachers is when they don't know the expectation.
I always say clarity and consistency around expectations. Really does reduce anxiety for people, and so the more clear you can be about what you expect from teachers in the building and continue to be [00:07:00] consistent as the year goes on with that, you're going to make teachers feel more safe and you're going to help them just be less worried about what's going on in the building.
So just a couple things that I like to communicate. I like to communicate that I like to be out the door by four. I like teachers too. If you wanna stay and work extra, that's up to you. But we work really hard when we're here and I am all for teachers setting boundaries in the evening. I. And being home and present with their family.
I always like to tell teachers I'm not emailing you in the evenings and I don't expect you to do the same. If you need me, my email's off, but you can call me. I always like to be very clear about that. Call me in any emergency or anything you need, but I'm not going to be checking my email. Another thing I like to do is make sure I have a clear staff handbook that I'm sharing and being newer, being new to this building, I wanna look at the old staff handbooks and know what expectations might be different.
And really, , make sure I'm clear with the staff about what those are going over. Expectations for [00:08:00] morning, bus duty, afternoon duty. All those things I think can be really important because different principals might have different ideas of what supervision looks like, of what you expect of that. , also, I like to always tell teachers when I'm new to a building about my visibility, I like to get in classrooms every day.
And that might worry teachers who are not used to that. But once I explain why I do it and you know how they can communicate with me at that time, how I'm. Seeing students. I like to see students engaging in the lesson. I like to know what's going on in classrooms, all of that. It usually helps teachers feel more comfortable versus if I just show up in their classroom.
The other thing I like to do is share the behavior matrix for the building if they already have one. Going over that, maybe tweaking one with the PBIS team, but sharing that matrix. Even when I was in my building for a long period of time, we would go over that or I would just remind teachers of.
Where it was so that they would go over that and look at what those office referred behaviors were and classroom managed behaviors. [00:09:00] And then I also like to be really clear about when I communicate with staff and parents. So I always did a weekly newsletter for staff on Fridays and one for parents on Fridays as well.
And I like to talk about how I'm there to support the teachers and give them expectations about what that looks like and when my doors open and just things like that. Making it very clear that I'm there to support teachers, the more that you can reassure them, it's going to help them feel safe.
It's going to help them know what to expect from you. It's going to help honor their own time, and it sets the tone for mutual respect and healthy boundaries in the building. So having those expectations are really important for staff. It really sets you up for success, and it sets them up for success as well.
So just to recap, the three things I'm doing to support staff. I'm gathering staff input with surveys and just conversations at the beginning of the year. I'm anticipating emotions and planning to lead with empathy, and I'm being clear on the [00:10:00] expectations to create safety, trust, clarity in the building.
Tomorrow We are going to have another episode in this miniseries, so check that out. Stay tuned, but make sure you download the free quick guide for Challenging Teacher Dynamics if you need help leading with empathy, knowing the things to say, knowing what not to say, if you want to lead with empathy and build connection with even the most resistant teachers.
Alright, thanks for listening. Share this with a friend and I will see you tomorrow.