EPISODE 278

Your Job As A School Principal is Not to Solve Problems

Biggest Takeaways You Don't Want to Miss:
  • Your job is not to solve problems. Your job is to find the right problems to solve. 
  • Stop giving teachers more tasks and instead give them good problems to solve. 
  • The main reason more teachers don’t take ownership over their work is that we refuse to give it to them. 
  • The trap of positioning yourself as the chief problem solver is that everyone waits for you to solve their problems instead of solving them on their own. 
  • It’s not up to you to find the solution. You only need to create the conditions in which the right solution can be found.

Most of us were trained that our job as administrators is to be a problem solver. So we dutifully go into work and spend all our time trying to solve problems.

Except, that means…

  • We spend all our time trying to get teachers to implement our solutions “with fidelity.”
  • Everyone comes to us to solve their problems and no one is taking ownership.
  • We feel pressure to always have the answers.
  • The work seems never-ending.

Builders know that being a problem solver is a trap. That’s why Builders don’t worry about solving problems. Instead, Builders focus on finding the right problems to solve and then work with our staff and students to help them solve their own problems. So check out today’s podcast where you’ll discover how to get out of the problem-solving trap and empower others to solve their own problems #LikeABuilder. 

Check out these highlights:

  • Why being a problem-solver is a trap.
  • How Builders help teachers and students solve their own problems.
  • The difference between solving problems and finding the right problems to solve.
  • Why you should stop giving teachers tasks and start giving teachers good problems to solve.

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