Five Principles of Leadership

"You're not imagining that your jobs feel harder than ever before," says Julie Faulstich of Stony Creek Strategy. With over 25 years of experience in schools, including serving as former Head of Westover School, Julie has seen the pressures mount. Parental needs and requests, political culture wars, and expectations for increasing both enrollment and revenue have auxiliary leaders searching for ways to best manage their responsibilities and the teams who work with them.

The good news is that as we recognize these challenges, we can develop leadership skills and strategies to help both ourselves and our direct reports face them with confidence. Below are Julie's five key principles for auxiliary leaders to use in today's independent schools.

1. Your Authority Has Impact

"We all have some positional authority, and everyone brings their own feelings and experience of authority with them," Julie says. The higher up the ladder we are, the more our authority intensifies.

Many teachers come to independent schools for a more positive experience of authority; but this, Julie states, can lead to conflict avoidance. Problems can be suppressed if there's no skill development or culture of conflict resolution. 

Julie encourages us to "lean into our authority" to resolve conflicts and make major decisions. When we use our authority and power thoughtfully, we can promote security, develop trust, and foster predictability. While it's important to solicit input from out direct reports--making sure everyone feels heard--we are the ones who need to take responsibility for final decision making.

By being thoughtful and "genuinely curious about making connections with people," we enhance our legitimacy as authority figures while still prioritizing empathy and relationships. With practice, we become more skilled and confident and gain trust. As Julie says, "comfort with your authority makes others comfortable."

2. Schools (and Programs) Run on Relationships

Relationships take effort, and even the best collaborations can "wax and wane." This is normal. People can show up differently at different times depending on what is happening in their own lives. The staff member who is a superstar one year may need to take a step back the next, but the upside is that someone else has the opportunity to shine.

While you are doing the important work of building and fostering relationships, Julie recommends taking care not to rely on your staff for emotional support. You can be friendly and share things about your life, but "intimacy is the enemy of authority." Don't rely on your direct reports for advice or support in your personal life.

3. Change is Hard

Change is inevitable, but the uncertainty it brings is challenging. New technology, changes in policies, and changes in staff are disruptive. And change, no matter how positive, always involves a sense of loss. 

The more you use your authority to reduce ambiguity around change, Julie says, the easier it will be for your staff to adapt. Model change for them buy acknowledging that it is hard. Invite direct reports to share what they're finding difficult. When the person in power hears and recognizes concerns and takes them seriously, it positively impacts both staff morale and how change is managed.

When you hear people complaining about or resisting change, recognize that this is a natural part of how they process it. "The long-term effect of your engagement with this is positive," Julie says. "It's a good sign about your leadership if they're complaining in front of you." It means they trust you and know you will validate and help them navigate their concerns. And work to show them that their worst fears are unfounded. "You don't need to take everything to heart, but take it into consideration."

4. Everyone is Conflict Averse

Everyone, in some way, tries to avoid conflict. According to Julie, the more you practice conflict resolution, the more comfortable you'll become with it, gaining "more tolerance for conflict than the average person."

Because avoiding conflict is common, it can feel "uniquely draining" when suppressed conflicts surface and must be confronted. The solution is creating an culture where conflicts can be aired and dealt with, lessening the tension and fear around them. Julie offers this quote from Dr. Kenneth Sole's The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: 

“The resolution of (interpersonal) conflict seems to have the greatest benefit on group cohesion, relationship building, and accelerated development of creativity & growth.”