Leadership Progression Roadmap Assistant Principal to ... - TNTP

What changes? The Big PictureAs the leader and face of the school, thePrincipal will not only set a high standard forachievement, but will serve as a role modelfor results orientation and continuouslearning. S/he will take a broad view whenplanning and prioritizing, realizing that his/herdecisions will impact all students, teachersand likely others. The Principal must beprepared to take fast and decisive action asissues arise at school, often with minimalinformation and time to analyze. S/he mustalso be adept at delegating certain decisionsto members of the leadership team, such asAPs and GLCs.The Principal is the point person for setting theschool’s direction and inspiring others toembrace the school culture. As a manager ofmanagers, s/he must delegate effectively, andempower the Asst. Principals and/or GLC’s tolead their own teams. The Principal owns theschool’s performance management process.S/he ensures that teachers and staff establishperformance goals, and provides regularfeedback on progress. Organizationally, thePrincipal ensures that the right employees areselected, promoted and retained.Principals work with an even larger number ofstakeholders, now including some outside theschool. As a result, the Principal must beeffective at communicating to many differentaudiences, requiring greater self‐awarenessand sensitivity to his/her tone and style. S/hewill use both direct and indirect influenceapproaches, and will need to build a presenceand establish trust with the local communityserved by the school.For many, the shift to Principal is their firstexperience with active operationalmanagement. The Principal owns budgetaryplanning and decision making for the school.Though the total scope of a Principal’sbusiness management responsibility will varyby region, every KIPP Principal must balancetime and attention between trackingacademic progress and monitoring schoolbusiness operations.2