Deeds speak louder than words. The educators you work with can tell if you are dedicated and working hard to make your school the best it can be. However, if you are lethargic and do not care, your team will note and mirror your effort. Sooner than later, you will have a culture of lazy educators that see themselves as glorified baby sitters. In the end, your students will not grow academically, and your district’s central office will come through and purge your school of its lethargic leaders and educators and start over. What a sad turn of events.

How to lead by example

Great education leaders always lead by example. They put their nose to the grindstone, and they get things done. In the end, others follow this positive example, and things get done. Unfortunately, many leaders practice what I call death by delegation. Don’t get me wrong, delegation is a good thing, but only if you are doing your fair share of the work. I have listened to a lot of teachers who complain that their principals stay in their offices all day and delegate the heavy lifting to assistant principals, and other members of their leadership team. It doesn’t matter if they are wrong or right, if the optics are bad, the perception will become a reality.

This is not what leadership is all about. Leaders don’t sit in their office all day while others do all the work. Real leaders spend as little time in their office as they can. They spend their hours walking the halls, going from classroom to classroom where the action is. They see themselves as instructional leaders first and take the lead on boosting student achievement. Along the way, they set the tone for classroom conduct, and ensure that students can learn in classrooms that are conducive to learning.