I recently read a blog by Ron Edmundson entitled the 5 RightWays to Respond to Criticism and have really had an awesome time reflecting on
how this relates to the job of a high school principal. Criticism is inherent
in all jobs, but I would argue that it takes on a different form when it comes
to education because everyone has contextual knowledge on the subject. More
specifically, when it comes to the job of Principal, everyone is an expert
because they all had one at some point in their life that they either loved or
hated.
Over the course of my administrative career, I have taken a
lot of criticism for a number of different things. To be quite honest, the
criticism hurts and I do internalize it. I let it eat away at me and go through
a myriad of emotions trying to process it. At the end of the day, however, it
is how we respond to this criticism that makes us a good leader or a bad
leader.
I’ll be honest, criticism hurts and it hurts BIG TIME. If it
is constructive criticism and it doesn’t hurt, you may be in the wrong
profession. No one is perfect and it is important for people to offer
suggestions on how others can improve in their job, even if it is the boss. With that being said, I
offer of the following to educators who would like to provide constructive
criticism to their principals.
ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK DOESN'T DO ANYONE ANY GOOD
You might think that the only way you can give feedback is anonymously. The truth of the matter is that most people don't put a lot of stock in to anonymous criticism because it is often the most hurtful and they have no idea how to deal with it. Own your criticism and be honest and forthright when presenting it. While giving anonymous criticism might help you get something off of your chest, it will probably result in your principal not making any changes until someone comes forward and owns it and wants to have a real conversation.
DON'T BE MALICIOUS WITH YOUR CRITICISM
Words can be hurtful. You might think that your principal is made of nails, but the fact of the matter is that they are human and have feelings. If you are going to give criticism to them, practice what you are going to say before you say it. Understand that you need to be very specific if you want your criticism to go anywhere. If there is a problem, be prepared to offer solutions to the problem. Remember, there aren't many principals who wake up in the morning thinking to themselves, "What decisions can I make today that will make the lives of teachers and students miserable and will destroy education as we know it in our school." As the picture states above, don't fling doo-doo when you are offering criticism.
BEFORE GIVING CRITICISM, EXPECT TO HAVE A DIALOGUE
Criticism needs to be discussed. Principals are talkers and will more than likely want to dialogue with you about what you are bringing to them. EXPECT A CONVERSATION. In addition, know that you might hear excuses being made, but this is oftentimes a principal's way of processing in the moment what is being said to them. It doesn't make the excuses valid, but they still might show up. For me personally, it would be awesome if the person providing the criticism would tell me, "I can see that you are trying to process this. Please know that I don't expect a response right now. Instead, could we meet again after you have thought about this so we can have an open and honest dialogue?"
DON'T FEAR RETRIBUTION FOR GIVING UNSOLICITED CRITICISM
This is probably the biggest reason that educators give anonymous criticism. They fear that being honest with their principal is somehow going to cause them to be in big trouble. What this tells me is that the principal has not built up a strong enough relationship with the staff. Instead, there seems to be a level of fear among staff to have a conversation with the principal and fear is no way to lead. If this is the case, maybe this is the first piece of criticism that needs to be covered.
IF NEED BE, CRITICIZE IN PAIRS
If you and a colleague share the same concerns, go together and visit with your principal. This does two things. It shows the principal that there is more than one person who has the same concerns and it also allows the staff member to have a support network.
KNOW THAT YOUR CRITICISM IS VALUED/HEARD.
Any principal that is worth their salt values hearing what issues are in their building. They may not agree with the criticism, but they want to know what is being said in the "teacher's lounge." Additionally, I think that most principals would value staff members who feel comfortable talking to them about concerns they have. If they don't value this, they might have a distorted view about how things are going in their buildings and this is no way to build a positive culture.
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