Don’t Fumble Feedback!

Principals must provide teachers and staff with feedback … but there are good ways and bad ways to approach this vital task. When feedback is delivered in the right way, it generates positive outcomes. But unfortunately, the opposite is true as well! That’s why mastering the art of good feedback is so important.

This article from the business world offers four tips for effective feedback. It emphasizes the importance of making feedback actionable, timely, sensitive and conversational. As Steven Levitt once said, “The key to learning is feedback. It is nearly impossible to learn anything without it.” 

Focusing on Feedback

Soliciting feedback can play a vital role in creating a highly-effective school. Asking for and implementing advice from your teachers demonstrates and models a willingness to learn, and is an important part of a principal’s professional growth.

This article shares five specific benefits of receiving and implementing feedback, including gaining self-awareness and creating a culture of respect. In the words of the author (a high school principal), “I can tell you from experience that being vulnerable and asking about your leadership, or lack thereof, is frightening. It’s also completely worth it.”