School Leadership: 5 Tricks for Leading with Joy

School leaders know the importance of modeling mission and setting vision, but with the many demands of the position school leaders all too often find themselves exhausted, distracted or pulled in too many directions. It is essential for leaders to remember that joyful leadership is an essential component of successful leadership. The school community looks to the leader for cues about the health and welfare of the school. A fatigued or reticent leader does not inspire confidence nor does a lackluster leader motivate community engagement. So what is a leader to do to restore enthusiasm and model joyful leadership? Here are 5 tricks for leading with joy–

1. Remember WHY You Chose Education

Very often in school leadership, school and district administrators find themselves increasingly removed from what initially drew them to education– educating! There are many important components to educational leadership, and it is far too common for administrators to see curriculum, instruction, teacher supervision and faculty development wain in the bigger picture of budgets, employee and HR issues, parent demands and student discipline. While no single component is more important than another, school leaders may wake one day wondering how they have arrived so far away from the classroom where they started. While it isn’t practical in many cases for an educational leader to continue to teach a class or run a special program, there are many natural intersections for school and district leaders to consider. Identifying the WHAT will help you reprioritize your schedule (see strategy #3) to ensure that you are seeing these continued connections. Positive self talk and transparency on these intersections are key to joyful leadership. Look to remember what exactly it was about education that motivated you to make it your life’s work and find that in your daily routine… enter strategy #2!

2. Identify WHAT in Your Day Brings You Joy

The days of an educational leader are busy and diverse, but in each day there are likely to be a variety of tasks or responsibilities that bring you joy. Identifying these moments will assist you with seeing the natural sources of joy in your work and will allow you to prioritize these areas during your day. One strategy to identify these sources of joy would be to carry a notebook with you for a week at your job, jotting down those moments that were satisfying and fulfilling. At the end of the week you should have collected a variety of items that you can now categorize to better understand where your job can support your enthusiasm for work. Once you have identified these joyful contributors to your work you can begin to manage your schedule to strategically manage your day to maximize your enjoyment and support your work to model joyful leadership.

3. Manage Your SCHEDULE Strategically

You can identify the parts of your job that bring you natural joy, yet these are often the moments that are too swiftly moved aside to make space for the many pressing business tasks of educational leadership. This is where strategically planning your schedule will be an important strategy to sustain your joyful leadership. In addition to knowing the parts of your job that fulfill you, you are also likely able to identify those tasks and responsibility that exhaust or fatigue you. Considering the way you plan your day will allow you to manage the gratifying and challenging aspects of your work. Depending on your temperament, you may prefer either to be fulfilled before entering difficult situations or to have joyful experiences to look forward to after completing difficult tasks. As an example, consider that joyful children playing is a source of real joy during your day and difficult meetings with your parent leadership group fatigues you. Scheduling this difficult meeting after recess allows you to enjoy the pleasure of playing children immediately before this challenging meeting, filling you up and helping you to frame the joys of your work so you can enter this challenge with a positive spirit. Alternatively, if you prefer to face difficulty first and reward yourself for successful completion, hold your meeting before recess so that you dismiss from this challenge into a context that reminds you why you selected education and what makes your work fulfilling.

4. PRIORITIZE Joy as an Essential Component of Your Job

At the end of the day, joyful leadership is an important administrative quality that should be a priority for every leader. As an educational leader, it is your responsibility to find ways to lead with enthusiasm and serve as an example to your educational community. True leaders know that they cannot depend on others to protect them from the burdens of the job and are aware that they alone are responsible for the way they approach each day. Joyful leadership must be prioritized and leaders must hold themselves accountable for this style and approach to work. However you can find joy and manage your schedule to assist you, taking the time to color your work rosy is an essential quality of educational leaders that should not but underestimated.

5. If You Can’t Find it… Get Out!

Simply put, if your attempt the above strategies and cannot seem to find joy in your work as an educational leader, perhaps it is time to consider whether educational leadership is the best fit for you. Schools and districts are living, breathing organisms that are influenced by the leader. A leader who lacks joy is ultimately not able to provide some essential qualities necessary for the health of the school. Perhaps returning to the classroom would restore your joy. Perhaps a new career altogether will do the trick. Whatever the resolution, no leader should retain a position that is devoid of enjoyment and no educational community should tolerate a leader who doesn’t find joy in their work.

Best of luck on your quest for joyful leadership– and don’t forget to lead with Momentum!