I have had this idea stirring around in my head for a few days now, but only now am I able to get it out onto paper. Today I find myself wondering about making decisions. My perception is that a principal needs to make a lot of decisions during the course of their day. Some of these could be termed as mission critical and others as not so much. In envisioning administering a school environment I am wondering specifically about decisions where everyone has made up their mind on the best course of action.
I came into this post through a group project I am doing for a course on organizational decision making to complete my Master’s. Our group has been tasked with examining the decision making process by the Bush administration post-911. As I said, a topic which everyone has some opinion on and middle ground is not so obvious. This got me thinking about the applicability to schools or more specifically; “how does the principal embrace collaborative decision making when the room is split in two?”. I personally find this instance the biggest challenge of becoming an administrator and I think that these discussions are often the points at which administrators “lose the room”. Is it simply a matter of identifying the most timely decision and going from there? In school, we termed this the dissatisfaction phase or the groan zone where pulling the staff out of it was simply a matter of turning the page in the book. As the Great Oz once stated “ignore the man behind the curtain”, but can we. What happens when theory becomes practice and you cannot simply turn the page? I think this is the struggle that goes on in my head especially when I see myself with the bright light shining on me. How can the principal embrace discourse and make people feel that they have been heard, but yet make a decision?
Any thoughts out there for an emerging principal?
February 26th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
My training from NASSP and their assessment center has taught me that decision making is either “yes” or “no”. Judgement however involves “time” and an “information search”. It is therefore easy to make a decision, but exercising good judgement is more involved. Some decisions have to be made quickly, therefore protocols need to be in place for emergengies. Many decisions however do not need to be rushed…we need to find out facts, search for applicable policies, and get input from stakeholders. Then we make decisions based on good judgement , grouded in policy and with input from stakeholders. And, of course, input is just that…you do not give up your responsibility to make the decision.
February 26th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
My training from NASSP and their assessment center has taught me that decision making is either “yes” or “no”. Judgement however involves “time” and an “information search”. It is therefore easy to make a decision, but exercising good judgement is more involved. Some decisions have to be made quickly, therefore protocols need to be in place for emergengies. Many decisions however do not need to be rushed…we need to find out facts, search for applicable policies, and get input from stakeholders. Then we make decisions based on good judgement , grounded in policy and with input from stakeholders. And, of course, input is just that…you do not give up your responsibility to make the decision.