Leaders have a thousand things flying at them every day. Each and every one is the most important thing ever in the world and must be dealt with right now — or so it feels. For example, a school principal’s day is a perfect example. There are angry parents calling about what a teacher said about their child on a report card or who assigned an unreasonable grade. There are office referrals for kids who told their teachers where they could stick it; there is morning bus duty, lice checks, lunch duty (a particularly inglorious task), meetings to develop individualized special education programs, calls from the district office on where that report is that was due last Tuesday, a team of teachers who want to meet about their desperate need for funding for new materials, and the team from the PTA who needs your ear for just a few minutes to plan the Spring Fling.
Then there are teacher observations and evaluations and, oh yes, making daily rounds to each classroom to check in to be a good instructional leader. That is not to mention playground duty, fire drills, principals’ meetings, writing school newsletters, planning staff meetings and professional development, and about a bazillion other things that all must be dealt with — right now. While you’re at it, do it all calmly, professionally, and sensitively or the task you just checked off the list has turned into a series of new priorities and deliverables for damage control.
In moments of craziness, when the incoming shrapnel is headed straight for a leader, she has to learn the Great Balancing Act of triage and doing the things that matter first, while keeping one eye ever trained on the end game, their North Star, their “why.” When leaders let their eyes drift off of that proverbial ball, there is a nasty bruise coming when that ball hits them.
What is your North Star, your "Why"? Checking in with it from time to time helps leaders stay focused and to master The Great Balancing Act so that the main thing stays the main thing!