What Great Principals Do Differently: Fifteen Things that Matter most

Citation

Mons, W.J. (2010), "What Great Principals Do Differently: Fifteen Things that Matter most", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 272-275. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231011027923

Good principals consistently put in long hours of work each day in order to help their students and staff members succeed. But, given all of the challenges that any principal faces being relatively equal amongst them, how is it that some principals get very different results than some of their counterparts at the end of those long days? The answer is that it is the quality of work, not the quantity of work that distinguishes “great” principals from good principals. As iterated by Todd Whitaker (2003) in his book What Great Principals Do Differently: Fifteen Things That Matter Most, (p. 1) “The difference between more effective principals and their less effective colleagues is not what they know. It is what they do”.

Whitaker shares fifteen things that he believes great principals do differently from other less effective principals. These “things” are actions taken and skills practiced by “great” principals in order to achieve extraordinary results and happen to coincide with some of the most basic, fundamental and pressing challenges that every principal faces on a daily basis. He highlights what he believes to be proven practices and strategies that great principals engage in to resolve issues and come up with unique solutions related to their own personal challenges, staff effectiveness and overall student achievement. He shares many firsthand personal experiences, onsite field observations and extensive research to support his points‐of‐view that will cause any reader to at least pause, and may send some into mild shock. His ideas are well thought out in terms of relevancy to today's modern educational environments and will surely resonate with any novice administrator as well as the more seasoned, introspective administrator alike. Todd Whitaker is a (p. v) Professor of Educational Leadership at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He has served as a middle school and high school principal and has published numerous books in the areas of principal effectiveness, teacher leadership, change, staff motivation, instructional improvement and middle‐level practices. He is a highly sought after presenter and has made hundreds of state, national, and international presentations.

The approach taken by Whitaker in presenting his ideas is very straightforward, to the point and often laced with a little comical relief. Armed with a set of strongly held core values and beliefs, he is plain spoken and does not hold back definitive opinions about issues that are often viewed as “delicate matters” by other professionals inside teacher lounges and within the halls of academia. His extensive practical examples and often humorous anecdotes will ring true in the ears of all educators while simultaneously causing involuntary visceral reactions and an alarming sensation as if you had suddenly just lost your breathe. His thoughts will uplift progressive educational idealists yearning to hear from an outspoken leader on many chronic institutional challenges, and they will provoke some malleable “fence sitters” and inflame some rigid guardians of the status quo. For example, one of his strongest arguments for getting great results as a principal is (p. 43) “to hire great teachers at every opportunity” (p. 43). He proceeds to qualify his statements in his typical poignant way that often takes the reader aback. He writes (p. 43) that “Some principals look for candidates that are a good match ‐ teachers who will fit in and become like their school … Great principals have a different goal: to have the school become more like the new teacher”. Finally, I found it exceptionally exhilarating, refreshing and risky to read (p. 43), “It's simply impossible to improve a school by hiring people who fit right in with its average teachers”. The book is filled with many less controversial issues too that revolve around things like an administrator's personal style and organizational relationships. For example, in chapter 4, Dr Whitaker talks about “treating everyone with respect, everyday, all the time” (p. 21). And, in chapter 9, entitled “Focus on behavior, then focus on beliefs”, Dr Whitaker states, “effective principals believe in the power of praise … Once teachers begin to praise students, two things happen: The students improve their behavior, and the teachers feel better too (p. 60). In any case, the courage displayed by Whitaker throughout the book in saying the things that many others fear to say on a variety of issues sets him apart from your average outspoken leader.

The book itself is easy to read and relatively well‐organized around 15 chapters. Each chapter is devoted to what Whitaker considers one of the fifteen things that matter most to school leaders with the exception of the Introduction and closing remarks. The chapters do not seem to follow any particular sequential order that proves to have any significance and the titles are a mixture of simple recognizable captions and puzzling catch phrases. Consequently, it was a bit troubling trying to gain a sense of continuity from one chapter to the next. Despite this minor inconvenience very little is lost in deciphering the substance of each chapter's meaning and message once the reading is complete. Some of the titles include; “It's people, not programs”, “Who is the variable?”, “The principal is the filter”, “Teach the teachers”, “Hire great teachers”, “Loyal to whom?” and “Make it cool to care”.

The choice of topics holds an eclectic mix of important issues with an emphasis on teacher quality most notably recognized in the average K‐12 public school settings. On the one hand, Whitaker seems to have chosen to just randomly dive right into a variety of issues from which one can get a taste of a short‐order smorgasbord. On the other hand, he chooses to delve into some topics at great length ‐ many of which glean a lot of insight into issues that he is obviously more passionate about. Although this mix was mostly satisfying at times some of his proposed solutions to the challenges he raised were long on examples of the problems to be addressed but somewhat short on the details and suggestions on how to resolve them. This approach presents an attractive quality because it does not bog down the school leader with excessive information and relies on the school leader to invoke his intuitive senses that ultimately leaves him up to his own devices. Whitaker's boldness of thought shines through and mostly offers the reader a level of comfort, certainty and finality as though the author has just had the last word on the issue.

Some of the major highlights in the book are reminiscent of Whitaker's patented style of dealing with controversial issues head on. His pearls of wisdom are both striking and timeless. One of the major issues in which he devotes an exceptional amount of time is the importance of good teaching. He asserts (p. 7) that: “Outstanding principals know that if they have great teachers, they have a great school”. Several chapters are devoted to addressing teaching as a major variable in the success of a school and Whitaker does not shy away from offering his solutions to a challenge. Furthermore, he respectfully and unapologetically repudiates any teaching practices that he believes do not push a school in the right direction when it comes to teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Whitaker claims that (pp. 7‐8) “There are really two ways to improve a school significantly: (1) Get better teachers. (2) Improve the teachers you have”. In retrospect, as it is quite possible that some administrators would not appreciate this book for its slightly confrontational style and stringent criticism at times. However, on the other hand, any self‐reflecting administrator who is willing to take an honest look at him/herself and his/her organization would benefit significantly from it.

Another striking example of Whitaker's boldness is in the area of personnel management. Although a major emphasis is placed on becoming more of an instructional leader rather than an onsite manager, Whitaker emphasizes the need for school leaders to take care of their best teachers and hope that others will follow their lead. He writes (p. 67) that “The best principals base every decision on their best teachers”. He calls them “superstars” and recommends that leaders must consult with them regularly. These are the few teachers we all know ‐ those who stand up and take leadership roles on every occasion and those who students and parents rave about for years even after the children have moved onto higher grades. As stated by Whitaker (p. 68) “Our superstars are the cream of the crop ‐ the top five to ten percent of our staff members...The most effective principals understand that their school will go as far as their best teachers take it” (p. 68). Whitaker also believes that great principals recognize that there is a risk of over‐managing these particular staff members through instructional leadership and that it is more important to allow them the freedom to do what they already know to do. He writes (p. 71) that “Our superstars will always be effective teachers, but if we do not value their contributions, they will limit their influence to their individual classrooms”. So, the “thing” (i.e. skill) that the great principal should practice in this example is the ability to recognize when over‐managing your superstars can create a problem and that by consulting with them more often than not school leaders are more likely to see great results.

Despite its minor occasional shortcomings in the areas related to the lack of detailed resolution steps and chapter continuity, this book would benefit aspiring and novice school leaders who have been anxiously waiting to hear from a definitive voice that will help lead them out of their impending doldrums. In addition, more experienced, truly introspective school leaders who seem to be struggling with getting the results that they desire, no matter how hard they try, will find solace within these chapters by learning the skills that they need to be more successful in their less effective organizations. Finally, all effective school leaders may be able to elevate their “good” status to “great” some day if they are willing to try what great principals do differently and do the fifteen things that matter most enumerated by Todd Whitaker.