Explain at least three behavioral traits of your current school leader which you

consider as the most empowering and engaging to the employees in your

organization.

A school principal's job is balanced between being rewarding and challenging. It is a

difficult job, and like any job, there are people who are not able to handle it. There are
certain characteristics of a highly effective principal that some people do not possess.

Besides the obvious professional requirements needed to become a principal, there are
several traits that good principals possess allowing them to do their job successfully. These
are the characteristics or behavioural traits which I consider the most empowering and
engaging to us.

Leadership

The principal is the instructional leader of the building. A good leader has to take
responsibility for the successes and failures of her school. A good leader puts the needs of
others in front of her colleagues. A good leader is always looking to improve her school and
then figures out how to make those improvements regardless of how difficult it might be.
Leadership defines how successful any school is. A school without a strong leader will
likely fail, and a principal who is not a leader will find herself without a job quickly.

Adept at building relationships with people

You have to be able to connect with each person you deal with on a daily basis. You have to
find common ground and earn their trust. There are many groups of people that principals
deal with daily including their superintendent, teachers, support staff, parents, students,
and community members. Every group requires a different approach, and individuals
within a group are unique in their own right.

You never know who is going to walk into your office next. People come in with a variety of
emotions including happiness, sadness, and anger. You have to be able to deal with each of
those situations effectively by connecting with the person and showing him that you care
about his unique situation. He has to believe that you will do whatever you can to make his
situation better.

Fair and Consistent

Nothing can take away your credibility more quickly than being inconsistent in how you
handle similar situations. While no two cases are exactly the same, you have to think about
how you have handled other similar situations and continue on that same track. Students,
in particular, know how you handle student discipline, and they make comparisons from
one case to the next. If you are not fair and consistent, they will call you out on it.
However, it is understandable that history will influence a principal's decision. For
example, if you have a student who has been in multiple fights and compare her to a
student who has only had one fight, then you are justified in giving the student with
multiple fights a longer suspension. Think all your decisions through, document your
reasoning and be prepared when someone questions or disagrees with them.

Organized and Prepared

Each day presents a unique set of challenges and being organized and prepared is essential
to meeting those challenges. You deal with so many variables as a principal that lack of
organization will lead to ineffectiveness. No day is predictable. This makes being organized
and prepared an essential quality. Each day you still have to come in with a plan or a to-do
list with the understanding that you will probably only get about one-third of those things
done.

You also have to be prepared for just about anything. When you are dealing with that many
people, there are so many unplanned things that can occur. Having policies and procedures
in place to deal with situations is part of the necessary planning and preparation to be
effective. Organization and preparation will help reduce stress when you are dealing with
difficult or unique situations.