Surviving Leadership in the Age of Corona Virus - What 9/11 Taught Me as a Principal
On September 11, 2001, I was a pretty newly minted principal at an elementary school with 650 students and a staff of 75. The timing of that disaster and the pandemonium that followed began just as the school day was starting. Having never experienced a disaster of those proportions before, I learned some very crucial things to maintain order amid the chaos—much like the panic we are seeing with the corona virus pandemic now. Here are helpful tips from someone who has been there:
1. Be visible, visible, visible—like you never have been before. Now is the most critical time for the building principal and assistants to be on the playground, at the buses, at the pick-up lot, and in general, anywhere you find your community of parents and students. Your authority and sense of calm with a positive outlook will do wonders to help your parents and students believe that all will be well. If you’re not sure you believe that yourself, act it til you are.
2. Allow your staff to do what they need to do to find comfort and be assured that their own families are okay. They won’t be able to comfort their students when they feel uncertain and worried. Find coverage for staff members so that they can make calls to family, see their doctors, and do whatever it is they need to do to make sure that their concerns are abated.
3. Have trusted adults ready to assure scared kids that they are in a safe place. This duty falls on all staff, not just the counselor. Make sure you have talked with your teachers and support staff about what to say when kids express their concerns. A great resource for this conversation is here:
4. Make sure that your school knows that you have a district/community plan and are following it. Publish the link to it to avoid having the same conversation over and over again with your parents. However, be ready to listen, listen, and listen some more as worried parents ask about how the school is addressing their concerns. Know your key points and repeat them like a broken record! This, too, shall pass.
5. Give kids the gift of a normal day—whether online greeting, lesson or a phone call. Unlike 9/11, when students did not know what had happened when they got to school, your children know that the coronavirus is the #1 topic of all media. They can’t get away from it if the television or radio is on unless it is screened diligently by parents. Make sure that they know that it is not a taboo topic at school, but that your school is a safe place where they can feel secure and learning can go on as usual. Just giving them the gift of not talking about the panic for 6-8 hours a day will normalize our children and staff in a way that the 24 hour news cycle cannot.
Most importantly, practice good self-care as a fellow human on the planet during this time. An exhausted, tired, and cranky leader cannot give the community what it needs during a coronavirus pandemic. Much is on your shoulders during a time like this, even more than normal. Make sure you are balancing the never-ending duties of leadership with down time so that you will have enough reserve to meet the demands of a pandemic. A leadership coach can be a confidante, an advisor, and an experienced generator of ideas for times like these.
