3 Suggestions on Becoming More Efficient in an Educational Leadership Role

As an educator and a leader, you are probably aware that one can never be too prepared for the challenges of leadership. The more you learn and the more relevant skills you gain, the better you become at your job. Stated by some of the most prominent academic leaders of our time, the following suggestions will help you grow even more effective than you are now.

Get Your CAGS in Educational Leadership

A Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Educational Leadership is meant for teachers, principals, administrators, and other educators who already have sufficient teaching experience. There is no better way to improve one’s leadership skills as an educator than to complete a specialized course in educational leadership. The coursework can be crucial for educational leaders who wish to take on an even higher responsibility, but they are not the only ones who stand to benefit.

An educational leadership certificate can be just as useful for experienced educators who are looking to take on their first leadership role. Designed exclusively for professional academics, the CAGS course in Educational Leadership is quite flexible and it can be completed 100% online. However, note that all educators applying for the course must possess a master’s degree.

Trust in Your Delegations

As a leader, you will need to delegate responsibilities often, but you must do so with trust. Ensure that anyone to whom you delegate responsibility is someone you truly trust to get the job done well. Once a responsibility has been delegated, guide them initially if needed, but refrain from interfering after that. It will show that you are sincere in your appointments, and you have faith in the people to whom you delegate responsibility. From the military to the education system, people will almost always act with greater responsibility if they feel entrusted.

Balance Trust with Accountability

It’s true that putting more trust in the teachers and students under your leadership is likely to make them act more responsible. However, that will not always happen as easily, and things can always change after a while. It’s necessary to prevent the people delegated into positions by your power, from growing complacent.

Therefore, the trust you put in your delegations must be balanced through accountability. Make sure that they are fully aware that although you have enough faith in them to not interfere, you will still hold them accountable for significant mistakes and failures. Accountability is not to be confused with punishment, especially in the context of academic responsibilities.

That is not to say punitive measures should never be taken, but it should not be the goal behind holding anyone accountable. For example, a principal may need to change a teacher’s previous class assignments to see if someone else can produce better results with the class. In this case, the principal held the teacher accountable by giving someone else a chance at a role they could not fill. It was a fair and goal-oriented decision meant to produce better results above all else.