My Day...My Desk

"Mom," my oldest daughter asked me after my second month in office...the principal's office, that is. "What do you do all day?"

As she had been away at college, she had not been privy to the day to day obstacles of a new administrator. I chuckled knowingly, looked her in the eye, and ...stopped. I wasn't sure.

Sensing my hesitancy, she clarified, "I mean, you are up here all the time. You must do something...important...for eight hours a day at least." She paused encouragingly.

I sat stunned. "Well, I ...looked at the student handbook." There. That was a hard job, too. It hadn't been revised since ditto machines and parachute pants. I looked at her triumphantly.

"All day? For the past two months?" She asked incredulously.

"It was a hard job!" I shot back defensively.

"Oh!" she politically dropped the subject.

The next day I went into the office and stopped by the secretary's desk.

"Leslie, what do I do all day? I mean, I work, right?"

Leslie knew everything. She could remind me of all I have done.

"Well, you revised the student handbook so that the kids can now wear parachute pants," she consoled.

"No, I have spent hours up here. What do I do?" I was nearing hysteria. Surely they didn't hire me just to proofread the handbook.

I decided then and there that I was going to journal my day. I would see just where my time went.
8:00 - 8:15 - I quietly reflect on the upcoming day and peruse my "To Do" list.
8:15 - 9:00 - The entire coaching staff barges in and demands to take the desk I promised them to the fieldhouse. I clean out all the drawers and watch helplessly as my only barrier is removed leaving my office, like my feelings of inadequacy - open and visible.

9:00 - 9:02 - I attempt to swipe all contents of my drawers into boxes and quickly kick them out of sight.

9:02 - 10:00 - A former student wants a tour of the new building and a talk of the good ol' days.

10:00 - 11:00 - Interview a prospective employee

11:00 - 11:05 - reflect on my feelings of guilt because I liked the applicant but couldn't hire her.

11:05 - 11:15 - Head football coach drops off a box of the stuff I left in the drawer I didn't clean out.

11:15 - 11:17 - I dig through the box hoping no girl stuff was in that drawer.

11:17 - 12:00 - I meet with various groups of people (cheerleaders, recently hired teachers) to answer questions, encourage, hand out keys and textbooks.

12:00 - 1:00 - I eat lunch at my desk and go over the proposed schedule that would turn out to be a flop and realize that the majority of my day is spent talking to people...answering questions...explaining procedures...calling the Chief Financial Officer (new title, same job)...making decisions....looking for leaks (in the ceiling)
I excitedly called my daughter and proudly stated, "I talk to people."

"Hmm..." she replied. "And they give you an office with your own bathroom for that?"
I then realized that something that I needed to examine (I guess that is a simplistic statement of inquiry, and this was before I even knew what that concept was) was that as an administrator, I needed direction on management vs. leadership balances. I have worked under very few principals who were able to balance these two emphases. I was told that I would last no more than five years at the most in this position due to burnout. Could I do something proactively to reduce the chances of burnout that leads to early retirement or career change?

Thus, an innocent, seemingly simple question from my daughter, that I needed to ask myself way before now, set me on a journey of inquiry, research, and reflection. If I am able to learn to balance my duties fairly between managerial duties, that are a must, and leadership duties that can be even more influential, I might be able to create a positive environment for all concerned.

My first duty on the road to a new and improved administrator....finding a desk.