Empowering School Leaders
​to Thrive

Lessons Learned from School Leaders on 
What They Need to Cultivate Well-Being
 in Themselves & Others

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Through this whitepaper, we hope to: 

1. Elevate the voices of principals to illuminate the challenges they face preventing them from prioritizing their well-being
2. Share the enabling conditions emerging within our own programming that leaders need to effectively manage their well-being
3. Provide actionable recommendations for district and preparation programs to advance leader well-being without compromising results

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Who do we see as the single most important linchpin
to creating a dynamic equilibrium between student and adult needs in schools?

The school principal.  

Through our research and focus groups with school leaders, the following five key challenges emerged that prevent leaders from prioritizing their well-being:

1. ​The meaning of “well-being” is inconsistent, lacking a common framework and language, across individuals and organizations
2. The complex, people-centered nature of the principalship creates an element of ambiguity, leading to “firefighting” and leaving principals feeling exacerbated, alienated, and burnt out
3. The “Super-Hero” personification of a principal puts well-being and achieving outcomes at odds
4. Many well-being supports tend to be misaligned to principal needs or lack followthrough, which leads to principals feeling undervalued or condescended
5. Lack of differentiated & responsive supports for Black and Brown principals leaves them to bear an even greater emotional burden and pressure to perform

Our work in this area has also led us to identify five key enabling conditions leaders need in order to effectively manage their well-being:

1. ​Well-being should be defined as more than “self-care” and should acknowledge the holistic picture of what adults need to thrive
2. Supporting principal well-being is more effective when it is embedded in broader leadership development
3. Creating intentional time & emotionally safe spaces for principals to focus on their well-being allows them to do so purposefully and without guilt
4. Developing adults’ capacity to manage their well-being takes time and positive reinforcement
5. Well-being is not “one-size-fits all” and requires a customized approach that honors personal identity and lived experiences

Lastly, we propose five recommendations for districts and preparation programs in order to prioritize school leader well-being in their organizations:

1. ​Acknowledge the tension between prioritizing principal well-being and campus outcomes, then work intentionally to create a more integrated vision and definition of success
2. Collect and include principal climate and well-being data in program evaluation and accountability systems
3. Develop mentorship and principal-coaching frameworks that explicitly include well-being 
   
4. Create space for principals to “focus on the tough stuff”
5. Provide differentiated development opportunities, particularly on the basis of​ intersectional identity