Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals
From Good to Great Performance
- Elaine K. McEwan - The McEwan-Adkins Group
Highly effective headteachers have strong communication skills, high levels of knowledge about teaching and learning, and the ability to provide instructional leadership. This excellent, new resource provides headteachers, senior management teams and teachers with the resources to hone these skills and traits.
Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals contains ideas, reflections, behaviours, habits and stories from the trenches to guide and inspire as you seek to increase your own effectiveness. Each chapter in this resource describes an essential component of personal effectiveness. A highly effective headteacher is:
A communicator—listen, empathize, and connect
An educator—with a depth of knowledge; motivates intellectual growth
An envisioner—focused on the vision of what schools can be
A facilitator—building strong relationships
A change master—flexible, futuristic, and realistic, and can motivate change
A culture builder—communicating and modeling a strong, viable vision
An activator—with motivation, energy, and enthusiasm to spare
A producer— building intellectual development and academic achievement
A character builder—whose values are trustworthiness, respect, and integrity
A contributor—whose priority is making contributions to the success of others
Transform your school into a community of learners, set high academic and behavioural expectations, and create a culture where children feel special and safe.
This is a powerful guidebook for new principals. More than that, it also contains valuable insight and examples to assist veteran principals in growing and improving professionally.
I feel that this is a book principals will be interested in purchasing and reading. It has practical advice and relevant examples of how the advice can and has been implemented.
I could hear the voices of some of the principals who were interviewed speaking to me. The author clearly knows how to gather information and present it in a meaningful way.
It is a valuable resource, a must-read, for current and prospective principals who wish to become exemplars in school leadership and management.
The usefulness of this book clearly lies in the author's treatment of the traits and in the resource guide and facilitator's guide at the end. The content is rich with stimulating ideas that would inspire even the most seasoned administrator.
10 Traits of Highly Effective Principals is a 'must-read' for any practitioner or aspiring principal needing direction, mental stimulation, or self-renewal.
"In all of the books I have read, this is far and away the best. Finally, a book where someone gets it! And wrapping up the book with a discussion of servant leadership is brilliant. I put these books in the hands of all of our principals, and each month at our district admin meetings, one of us presents on a chapter and opens it up for discussion. Everyone loves it and is on board. I have always been proud of the culture of our school, but this book is really helping all of us get on the same page and get the true purpose of our daily lives in education."