They can’t all be Mr Chips

THERE is no formula for a perfect principal. To suggest so is disingenuous in the extreme.

Having spent a teaching career over almost four decades under five principals in one school — and three in a school in England — in the words of Sir James Darling, legendary Headmaster of Geelong Grammar, “All headmasters fall short, some are worse than others.”

What makes a good principal is not necessarily financial savviness or public image.

It is inspirational leadership in a school. You have to take the staff with you and this may mean hard decisions over staffing.

This is where state school principals are stymied by the system that determines staff allocation remote from principal autonomy.

This is the single defining aspect of independent schools. Heads select staff and fire staff. They get it right and they get it wrong.

If there was a formula for finding the perfect principal then this would a huge error to adopt.

The reason is that template principals are simply not going to fit some schools.

I have worked under school heads that have been hollow, vain and facile. They talk the talk but do not make decisions.

They reward staff with dollars and promotions as a means to alleviate conflict.

They are, in short, so lacking in competence to lead a school that over time the school declines. This is a blunt reality. It starts with academic standards.

A principal or head of school has to be a teacher who is outstanding in the classroom., one who can still can walk into a senior or junior class in their chosen subject and teach it with grace and inspiration.

There is no better example of leadership than standing beside staff and showing by doing. There is no formula for this.

Administrators are death to any school. They may do the financials competently, they may speak well in front of parents, they may even sound convincing on curriculum, but it is what they offer their staff that is critical.

The reason is palpably obvious. Expecting the best from staff means that the staff are giving the students — the reason for schools — the best.

Part of this is dependent on results. There is no other expectation on a head of school or principal than preparing students for later life.

I have worked with heads who let the academic standards slip in a school.

The results in two cases were ruinous. Lower ATAR scores, indifferent NAPLAN results and fewer students getting into the premier league universities.

This is not about bragging rights or in fee paying schools, delivering on the investment. Nothing so crass. It is about the way a head leads their staff.

Some fail to sack staff when necessary. This breeds resentment. These were failed heads. They may have been nice guys or nice women but hero worship is not enough.

Staff morale is not dependent on dollars, better bathrooms for staff, creme biscuits or better coffee.

It is about a collective sense that they are being led by someone who understand them, listens and yet will take a tough decision when needed.

Heads know they are doing the job well for when they are over the target they start drawing flak. This can be with staff and indeed parents.

Agents of change always upset people. But a resolute and visionary principal must not blink in the face of a rump of staff who resist. This is leadership.

Unambiguous goal setting, clear-eyed focus and expectations that are consistent and unwavering are the stuff of good principals.

It is not rocket science and no research will make a brilliant principal.

What is mandatory is whether they have the staff to make a great school.

Whether they can inspire the staff to give of themselves for the students.

Whether they can assess a school, take necessary action to remedy ills and lift the morale, expectations of staff and students and bring a sense of cohesion.

Great heads and great principals, and after all we all want them, are not dependent on research or endless professional development.

They are in the classroom, talking to students, in the staffroom talking to staff, in their office talking to parents, and being astute about what matters. This is their staff and students.

There is just too much to do in the education of young people and leadership of staff to bother with fanciful notions or arcane formulaic concoctions of heads or principals.

But as Darling says, some are “worse than others.” And in that he was spot on.