Robert Siegel, who presents on the Exchange VOICES DVD: Building Enrollment, offers this advice to directors on taking care of themselves in his Exchange article, "Have You Hugged Your Director Today?"....
"Don't be a personal therapist for your staff. Not only do we not know what we're doing, but having been supportive and empathetic, how do you revert back to Boss mode when needed?....
"When you need to, say 'NO.' Mean it when you do say 'No.' You get to decide when the conversation ends; it's a benefit of being the boss....
"Find professional support for yourself. You need not only a means of personal support, but professional support as well. Yours is a difficult and exhausting job. Share this burden. There are many ways to accrue this support: choose a buddy and talk often; have lunch with a colleague every other Friday; form or join a Director's Group; get mentored or mentor others."
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Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsCalifornia , United States
I'd like to know about the Director that gossips about her staff to other staff members. One that never compliments her staff, ever. What do you do when you've gone to the next level and all around they just stick their heads in the sand?
I've read the definition of adult bullies and it fits her to a T. She is a master manipulator and divides and conquers her staff. I have never seen anything like it. I teach for the children and parents, I love my job. The working conditions are almost unbearable though.
It breaks my heart to see the school that I have worked at for 20 years going down hill. She does not know child development because her vocabulary doesn't fit. Over half the staff is very concerned yet no one will do a thing about it.
Saddest thing I've had to watch
MA, United States
I strongly agree that a boss shouldn't act as a personal therapist. However I do believe that supportive and empathetic belong in the mode of Boss. I would never want to work for or with someone who didn't have those qualities and I would never want to not have them myself. A boss can be these things and still be able to say no, create boundaries, and supervise as needed. They aren't mutually exclusive.
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