Building Consensus with Principals

In the TLN discussion group, Bill wrote:

I think the thing that I've learned over the years is that my best strategy for influencing leadership at the school level is to work as hard as I can to make allies with the administration—even if I openly disagree with them. If I can become their "go-to guy" for information about issues, then I have a greater chance of being influential. In every situation where I've worked from the outside, I've been seen as unprofessional and negative--even if my thinking was simply designed to present an alternative point of view. (To be honest, negativity is something I constantly struggle with. I'm not a smiles and candycorn kind of guy by nature. Knowing this, I've worked hard to change my approach to leadership.)

...I agree that administrators sometimes see remediation and PLCs as something that teachers have to do and that teachers will only do under duress. The key to opening their minds to something new is building a foundation of trust with them, so that they are truly willing to work together with teachers to build positive solutions.

Read the entire conversation, which includes a great teacher idea for providing catch-up time for students during the school day.

Comments

[Michael Baker]

I have tried to form alliances with my administration but because I have a reputation in the district of one who raises questions and challenges decisions, I have been marginalized. The fact that I have National Board Certification and perhaps have some valid points of view does not seem to matter to a bureaucracy embedded in tradition and the status quo