Here’s a scary truth that most of us don’t realize until the day after we leave the principalship of a campus.  When it comes to campus performance, the principal is either the accelerator or the brake. And all too often, with the best of intentions, we are the brake.

Two factors drive this. First, like most people, the natural tendency of teachers is to slow down.  This is not a laziness issue, it is a comfort and confidence issue.  We avoid discomfort which means avoiding new practice. And we avoid not feeling confident which, again, means avoiding new practice.

Second, as Principals, we are hypersensitive to not overwhelming our staff.  We know that we are pushing them, but we don’t want to push them so hard they quit.

But here is the thing, good teachers and good teams want to accomplish meaningful things.  Sure, they grumble along the way, but that is just the human condition.

Don’t walk out the door with the realization that your good people wanted to be great, were willing to be great but the only thing holding them back from achieving exceptional things was… you.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Upcoming Conference Presentations: Texas ASCD Summer Conference, Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference; The National Principals Conference; The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
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