Opinion
School & District Management Opinion

8 Leadership Pitfalls to Avoid in 2024

These traps could jeopardize educators’ goals if they aren’t navigated skillfully
By Brandi Chin — January 12, 2024 4 min read
Illustration of hand and walking figures.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

In an era when leader and teacher turnover has been increasing since the start of the pandemic, the importance of effective leadership has never been more evident. Many district and school leaders have been inundated with compounding responsibilities that have made it ever more challenging to best serve their schools. By anticipating and planning for common pitfalls in leadership, administrators will be empowered to overcome challenges and cultivate innovative solutions.

I have observed, coached, and guided hundreds of education leaders to improve their leadership skills to better support their schools for years, and the facts are resoundingly clear: Leadership pitfalls are not mere stumbling blocks but dangers that can derail teams from creating stability and long-term success for their school communities.

Here are eight traps school and district leaders must avoid that, if not navigated skillfully, can jeopardize their goals.

  1. Don’t lead without a blueprint. A common leadership pitfall is telling your team what to do but not how to do it. Not establishing concrete, detailed, actionable steps often results in outcomes that miss the mark. Ensure that you’ve set up the “how” so that your team meets your vision for execution.
  2. Don’t take on too much at once. If you have more than three big priorities, you have too many, and they will likely pull you and your team in multiple directions. At best, this can lead to mediocre results and, at worst, a complete derailment of your school’s or district’s goals. Resist the allure of constant diversion. Concentrate on the highest leverage strategies (again, three, but no more) and ensure everything is connected to these priorities. Doing so will help you stay focused instead of getting distracted by the latest initiatives.
  3. Don’t try to be a superhero. Do you try to take on everything or are you empowering others? Trying to do it all in lieu of delegating and trusting others to do the work leads to lackluster results and eventual burnout. Instead, ask for feedback from your team, build the capacity of others, identify the best individuals for each task, and have faith in your team. It’s imperative to take advantage of the talent on your team and to also be vigilant of staff members who are interested in joining the team.
  4. Don’t neglect developing your leaders. Brief check-in meetings with members of your team are simply not enough. You must actively develop and coach your leadership team, emerging leaders, and direct reports to achieve success in your schools. Intentionally develop their skill set by regularly analyzing and referencing artifacts, conducting observations of their work, and reviewing data related to their performance. Everyone is different, so regularly ask members of your team for feedback on how to best develop their skills. Leverage your teams’ gifts and talents by providing time for collaboration and peer feedback.
  5. Don’t forgo creating a healthy school culture. Almost all school and district leaders—whether they are superintendents, principals, or assistant principals—have goals and priority areas, but your strategic approach won’t matter much if it doesn’t exist within a strong organizational culture. Planning around your school/district community’s values, beliefs, and behaviors is paramount. Make sure to display symbolic leadership, which models the behavior and expectations you wish to see in others, to create the foundation for a strong, healthy culture.

    New administrators can start by making a list of the core values and aligned behaviors you want to see in your community, then brainstorm one to two ways you will make these values come to life with input from your team. Revisit these values and behaviors often and create plans and rituals to celebrate those who demonstrate your community’s values.

  6. Don’t forget to manage your calendar. Are you managing your time, or is time managing you? The latter is a recipe for failure. Use effective time management and an accurate and strategic calendar to cancel out the noise and focus on what’s important throughout the day.
    • Pro tip #1: Set calendar expectations for you and your team and schedule periodic calendar reviews to ensure success.
    • Pro tip #2: Ensure alignment between how you spend your time and your priorities and monitor progress toward your goals by regularly reviewing data on where and how to spend your time.
  7. Don’t forget to clock out. Lacking self-care and working around the clock creates an illusion of success. It also creates burnout, mental and physical health issues, and sets a bad example for your team. The success you achieve from this approach is temporary, limited, and unsustainable. Instead, focus and limit your priorities and create boundaries for yourself and your team.
  8. Don’t use hope as a strategy. The notion that “inputs” equal “outcomes” is an illusion. Just because you lead professional development on academic monitoring doesn’t mean it is happening consistently and effectively in all classrooms or schools. Instead of leveraging hope as a strategy, inspect what you expect. Support your team with effective implementation, leveraging observation and real-time feedback to ensure success.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the latest technologies or initiatives while also handling day-to-day workloads and major crises. Keeping with the fundamentals of effective leadership is critical. But doing so requires discipline and steady focus alongside innovative approaches.

Now more than ever, school and district leaders must proactively address the aforementioned traps and lead with foresight, resilience, and strategic vision to help build a stronger, healthier school community and district that your staff and students will thrive in.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
(Re)Focus on Dyslexia: Moving Beyond Diagnosis & Toward Transformation
Move beyond dyslexia diagnoses & focus on effective literacy instruction for ALL students. Join us to learn research-based strategies that benefit learners in PreK-8.
Content provided by EPS Learning
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Cohesive Instruction, Connected Schools: Scale Excellence District-Wide with the Right Technology
Ensure all students receive high-quality instruction with a cohesive educational framework. Learn how to empower teachers and leverage technology.
Content provided by Instructure
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
How to Use Data to Combat Bullying and Enhance School Safety
Join our webinar to learn how data can help identify bullying, implement effective interventions, & foster student well-being.
Content provided by Panorama Education

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Download Navigating Tense Conversations at Work: A Guide for Educators (Downloadable)
A downloadable guide to help educators navigate polarizing conflicts.
3 min read
Polar opposite hands hold u a triangular flag. Teamwork, resolution, truce.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management Opinion Education Leaders, You Can't Do Your Job in Isolation
An unusual way to begin a leadership team retreat leads to a deeper understanding of why teachers and leaders need to work together.
5 min read
Screen Shot 2024 10 01 at 7.05.34 AM
Shutterstock
School & District Management Educators Rush to Get Food and Shelter to Their Students After Hurricane Helene
Districts slammed by an unprecedented natural disaster have become shelter zones for their communities.
7 min read
A passerby checks the water depth of a flooded road, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Morganton, N.C. Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene left many area streets flooded. In addition, traffic lights are inoperable due to no power, with downed power lines and trees.
A passerby checks the water depth of a flooded road, Sept. 28, 2024, in Morganton, N.C. Torrential rain from Hurricane Helene left area streets flooded, and strong winds downed power lines and trees. Schools have become hubs to support their communities as recovery begins.
Kathy Kmonicek/AP
School & District Management This State Is Bucking Gender and Race Trends in School Leadership
A 12-year study in one state shows a major uptick in the diversity of school leaders.
8 min read
principal diversity 1423165395
kali9/E+