20 Biggest Mistakes Principals Make and How to Avoid Them
- Marilyn L. Grady - University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA
March 2004 | 144 pages | Corwin
20 Biggest Mistakes Principals Make and How to Avoid them is specifically designed for principals as a means of reflecting on their personal behaviour and experiences as principal. The mistakes reported in this book reflect a collection of conversations with teachers, administrators, and the author's own personal experiences as both a teacher and a principal. The scenarios concern mistakes that a principal can and should avoid, and suggests strategies for avoiding some of the mistakes other principals have made. The book divides these mistakes into six categories: People Skills, People, Principal, Job, Tasks, Personal Issues, and Fatal Attractions. Each of these scenarios is designed to illustrate the mistakes that can occur in each area.
Introduction
Acknowledgments
About the Author
I. The People Skills
II. The People
III. The Principal
IV. The Job
V. Tasks
VI. Personal Issues
VII. Fatal Attractions
VIII. The Leader's Response
Resource A: Building Visibility in the Community
Resource B: Verbal Skills Self-Assessment
Resource C: Principal Access Self-Assessment
Resource D: Principal Self-Assessment
References
"The information presented is true to life; school principals will see themselves on every page. The strategies presented to 'fix' or avoid our mistakes really do work! You don't have to be a new principal to benefit from this one."
Maxwell Municipal Schools, NM
"I wish this book had been written many years ago to help me with my first principal's position. It is an indispensable resource for new and seasoned principals to avoid the pitfall of administration."
Phi Delta Kapp International
“I quickly learned that the situations I faced were similar to other principals’ experiences. The answers to my dilemmas were based on common sense and experience such as the examples in this book.”
St. Philip Neri School, Omaha, NE
"An excellent resource for principals to examine their effectiveness."