Key takeaways
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Successful school management involves creating an environment where your team gets it right together.
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Trust, clear communication, and focusing on your mission simplify and improve daily decision-making.
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The best decisions come when leaders rely on staff expertise and prioritize students’ needs.
“We don’t need to be right — we need to get it right.”
How to manage a school successfully is less about control and more about collaboration. As educational leaders, we don’t always have to be right—but we do have to create the environment where our school community can get it right together.
These eight tips reflect the approaches that consistently help leaders manage their schools well.
8 Tips for Managing a School Successfully
1. Start with Trust: The Foundation of Every Successful School
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to be a part of four school districts, each with its own distinct culture and identity. While they were each unique in their own ways, they shared one common trait —the level of trust within each organization determined its success.
When trust was strong, our schools thrived, communication was open, and our students benefited. On the other hand, when trust was weak, even the simplest of ideas struggled to get off the ground—often to the detriment of student success.
As a school leader, establishing a trusting, supportive environment starts with you. Be visible, genuine, and listen more than you speak. Admit mistakes quickly. Every interaction builds trust and forms the foundation of effective school management.
2. Lead with the Mission and Vision
When challenges arise — as they often do in school management— return to your district’s mission and vision. They keep your decisions aligned with the values and goals that define your district.
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day — student issues, minor staff complaints, and emails that feel urgent but aren’t — but effective school leaders stay focused by continually asking whether their decisions advance the school’s goals for students.
Consistently bringing discussions back to your district’s core purpose creates clarity, reduces distractions, and reminds your team that every decision must align with the district’s mission and reflect a shared vision for student success.
3. Keep Your Superintendent and Board Informed
This tip may sound simple, but it’s one of the most important—and often overlooked—responsibilities of school leaders. Education relies on communication. Whether reporting to a superintendent, Board, or both, keep them informed.
Clear, consistent updates about potential issues, school-based concerns, or upcoming decisions build confidence and trust. I’ve always tried to anticipate what my superintendent or Board would want to know before they ask. By keeping them in the loop – even when the news is bad – you take steps toward building a stronger, more collaborative working environment.
The rule is simple: no surprises – ever.
4. The Answer Is Already in the Building
Effective school management means recognizing that the people doing the work every day often have the best insight. Teachers, office staff, custodians, coaches, and support staff understand how the school really runs. They know what’s working, what isn’t, and where simple changes could make a big difference.
Include them in conversations. Ask for their input. Listen to what they’re seeing and experiencing.
When you rely on the expertise already in the building, you position yourself to make better decisions and create a school environment where people feel respected and valued.
5. Clarify Roles: Advisory vs. Decision-Making
A common source of frustration in schools isn’t disagreement but confusion, often from miscommunication.
When committees or task forces are formed, people need to understand whether they are the ones providing advice or making the decision. Being explicit from the start strengthens relationships and keeps the focus where it belongs: on the work we’re doing to support our students.
6. Do Your Homework Before Acting
Effective school leaders make thoughtful, informed decisions — and that starts with preparation. Before you introduce a new K–12 online learning platform, revise the master schedule, or move forward with any significant initiative, take the time to understand the “why” behind it. Look into the history, learn what’s been tried before, and think through the possible impacts and challenges.
Preparation shows respect for the organization and people, and increases the likelihood that decisions are practical, lasting, and supported.
7. Use Data to Drive Decisions
Data shifts conversations from opinions to facts. Looking at things readily available like attendance, achievement trends, behavior patterns, climate surveys, and feedback from staff, students, and families gives you a clearer picture of what’s actually happening in your school.
Data also supports your professional judgment. It gives you the information you need to make informed, practical decisions.
Using data openly and consistently builds trust, keeps discussions focused, and helps ensure that decisions align with the needs of students and staff.
8. Keep Perspective: Find Balance Between the Headwinds and Tailwinds
Every school leader encounters resistance (headwinds) and support (tailwinds). The key to successful school management is to make sure neither of these defines your direction.
Focus on long-term progress, not short-term distractions. One issue doesn’t define your school.
Maintaining perspective helps you remain calm, objective, and focused — especially when difficult decisions need to be made.
Leading Schools Successfully: The Takeaway
Figuring out how to run a school successfully is never simple — it requires humility, clarity, courage, and collaboration. However, when school leaders build trust, communicate openly, empower their teams, and anchor decisions in data and mission, they create schools where students and staff can thrive.
Educational leadership isn’t about being right; it’s about getting it right through shared expertise and collective commitment. With these eight practices guiding their work, school leaders are well-positioned to strengthen their culture, support their staff, and move their districts forward.
