Hala Al -Jowder
In the momentum of the educational scene and amid the ramifications of the leadership role, school administrators face an endless torrent of tasks, demands and urgent positions, and they may fall into the trap of preoccupation with daily tasks, details and administrative at the expense of major goals, and here the importance of “work according to priorities” emerge as a pivotal leadership skill that is indispensable to every director who seeks to create a real difference within his school.
Leadership with priorities does not mean accomplishing more tasks. Rather, it means accomplishing what is more influential is the art of concentration management, as the leader differentiates between urgent and important tasks between what can be delegated and what he must lead himself.
Work according to priorities starts from the clarity of the vision: What do we seek to achieve as a school? What outputs do we want to achieve? When the leader has an accurate answer to these questions, his decisions become more aware and distribute his effort more rational. Time and resources are limited energy, and it is wise to direct them towards what achieves the results, not what fills the tables.
Whenever the vision is clear, the leader becomes more able to distinguish what is worth focusing and what can be overcome, and whoever leads priorities realizes that some tasks – despite their smallness – have a great impact .. as a class visit or a motivational conversation with a teacher or a qualitative meeting with the team of improvement and development, while some administrative details may consume a longer time, without leaving a clear impact on the learning environment and here the conscious leadership that sees the effect of the effect does not Noise.
To apply this thought, the principal must build an internal system that helps him continuously sorting the tasks in his hands through a weekly review of the tasks and linking it to the school goals and organizing time about the most influential spaces “such as: the quality of teaching and learning operations, the development of the team, the planned field tours” and that liberation is from the false idealism that leads to an attempt to accomplish everything even if it does not have a clear impact or a real added value is a necessity, in addition to building a team that participates Responsibility; Which free the leader from the details, and gives him space for strategic thinking.
The essence of this type of leadership is highlighted in the manager’s ability to distinguish between what is consistent with the goals and what it disperses and take conscious decisions to postpone or apologize for what does not serve the course of school excellence. Growth and take responsibility and from here, the consolidation of the culture of leadership with priorities is not in a random way, but rather with a conscious and continuous practice, as it is not built in a day, but it is formed with every decision, and every analytical view of the reality of the school, the principal who walks behind every voice without sifting, and opens every door without guidance who finds himself steeped in reactions more than the conscious act, while whoever masters the art of priority gives his team clear in the direction and confidence in the path And because leadership in priorities is not complete without the team’s involvement, the conscious leader with his priorities is the one who makes his team a partner in those priorities. When the teacher is aware that improving learning outcomes is the priority of the school and when everyone realizes that sustainable professional development is a real investment that transforms priorities from an individual decision to a collective culture and here only the school becomes an educational institution that is self -capable of continuous improvement.
* Advisor to the quality of discrimination for educational consultations
Hala Al -Jowder
