The school principal: A powerful influencer

Tshwarelo Hosia | Tuesday August 19, 2025 08:48

Navigating an aeroplane during take-off requires extra caution and meticulous handling. The same caution is applied when landing. And so are the first 12 months of school principalship.

A new school principal, if not careful, can ruin their career in the first year of contact with troops. School principals are drawn from a generation of teachers with an impeccable record in the teaching profession, having a repertoire of skills and knowledge required to navigate the teaching terrain.

Those selected to become school principals are no ordinary mortals.

They would have accumulated experience and proven their leadership mettle in various facets of the teaching profession, ranging from mastery of curricular matters, excellent pedagogical skills, student engagement, to teacher professional development and learning needs. A school principal is a powerful influencer, expected to bring about a positive change intended to encourage students to maximise learning opportunities while supporting teachers to carry out their teaching responsibilities with distinction. Teachers feel motivated and encouraged when conscious of the fact that there is a cover and support from above.

But experience has shown that having the right tools in one’s leadership arsenal does not necessarily translate into soft take and landing. Some contours and potholes should be negotiated if a school principal is to have the desired impact on student learning outcomes. History is littered with so many examples of teachers renowned for their teaching prowess who failed dismally as school principals. Well, this explains why stepping into school grounds for the first time, as a school principal, can be a daunting and harrowing experience. When the biblical Moses had his miraculous encounter with God while stepping into the holy ground for the first time, God instructed him to take off his sandals. He obliged without any resistance.

Removing his sandals meant that Moses accepted his divine assignment with a sense of modesty and humility. Leaders should at all times lead fearlessly while also demonstrating respect for the governed. Sometimes, school principals can make a grave mistake of thinking that the schools they lead belong to them. A school principal owns the school in so far they have authority to govern it, but the truth of the matter is that a school belongs to all who work in it, including the community in which it is built. Lesson number one is that school principals should embrace their charges as human beings deserving a modicum of respect and support.

The humanity of staff should never be a subject of debate and controversy. And so, beginning the work of school principalship can be overwhelmingly challenging. The challenge stems from multiple areas. There could be pressure from within. A principal who believes they have the solution to all problems places a heavy burden on self. No leader, however intelligent, should single-handedly carry the burden of leadership. The road to success begins with accepting the principle of collaboration. It is common for new appointees to try and demonstrate and prove their worthiness by trying to do everything and appearing to be ahead of those they happen to lead. Subjecting oneself to enormous pressure can be dangerous and self-defeating. When those being led feel disengaged and disempowered, they could elect to surrender and watch the game from the touchline.

They do so, waiting for an opportunity to voice their voices of dissent, especially when something could go amiss. Indeed, as fate would have it, something will always go adrift. School leaders who monopolise knowledge and control run the risk of facing all the flak when things don’t go right. It is important to assemble a team and set clear and high expectations. Having a list of non-negotiables is essential.

Of course, new leaders should share whatever novel ideas they may have to break existing patterns of behaviour considered counterproductive. But reforms should be introduced and managed with great care to avoid attracting unnecessary resistance. Those who have been in the school before the arrival of a new principal are wedded to a certain culture, and they have every reason to be alarmed when the culture they used to be under is threatened. To prosper and thrive, leaders, no matter how revolutionary they may be, should learn to develop a give-and-take administration style, leaving everyone feeling involved, loved, and respected. A display of good interpersonal skills in school management can unlock the potential of a school while averting a potential rebellion. It is very easy for a school to ‘ gang up’ against a new principal considered to be a threat to the way of life of a school. A new principal is the most watched and closely monitored creature in a school. Watched by those he or she is working with and members of the community, as well as the external oversight office. Year one in a school can be so unsettling and nerve-wracking. One must therefore win the confidence of staff, students, parents, and the influencers in the community. Once this stage has been accomplished, one can advance reforms with relative ease. Managing relations should not be considered an end in itself. Rather, it is a means to an end.

The principal role of a school principal is to engineer positive change in the classroom and provide support-enabling staff to execute their mandate effectively and efficiently. A school principal should prioritise teaching and learning.

There should be order and discipline- meaning students should be encouraged to fully attach a high premium on their learning responsibilities. Students’ adherence to the agreed code of discipline is of paramount importance. Support from staff and parents is automatic when a positive influence on students is immediately realised and noted. Members of staff tend to reciprocate a positive change. School principals should also display readiness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. No human being is infallible, and accepting one’s shortcomings, being amenable to new ideas, is a sign of maturity and good leadership. School principals should mean what they say and say what they mean. Honesty, fairness, integrity, and justice should be part and parcel of the arsenal of every school principal. Consistency in the application of school rules should be seen and practiced at all times. A school principal should be a father figure to all members of staff and not to a chosen few. All must be treated as ‘ children’ of the school principal with equal access to the head of the school and equal rights. There should be no room for sacred cows.