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Are you feeling swamped by the demands of being a principal? From juggling emails, calls, and decisions to boosting test scores and wading through endless paperwork, the pressure is real.
But imagine a scenario where you no longer feel this overwhelming stress. Picture yourself as a more resilient leader, concentrating on enhancing your school rather than merely coping with the daily tasks that currently consume your time.
I‘m Barb Flowers. Drawing upon my eight-year experience as an elementary principal, with a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and certification as a life coach, Along the way, I've mentored and coached school leaders, guiding them to change their mindset, set boundaries and focus on their own well-being while navigating their roles.
Each episode offers practical insights on time management, communication, overcoming overwhelm, boosting confidence, and fostering a positive mindset. We'll also discuss topics like working with stakeholders, implementing new initiatives, and managing discipline. Let's set boundaries, focus on well-being, and reignite your passion for being a principal. Welcome to "The Principal's Handbook."
I firmly believe that to be an impactful educator, you must first become a confident and well-rounded individual. Join us in this journey to empower and enhance your confidence as a school leader.
# Bonus Episode: The Power of Group Coaching for Principals
Today, I’m doing a bonus episode for all of you, and I’m talking about the power of group coaching for principals.
This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately as I’m launching my group coaching program. I’ve been thinking about why I decided to go this route and create a group coaching program.
Principals have access to more information than ever before.
There are podcasts. There are courses. There’s social media. You can get on TikTok or Instagram, watch a reel, and get great information. There are free resources everywhere.
And yet, so many principals still feel stuck.
Not because they don’t know enough, but because knowing what to do and actually doing it in the middle of a busy school year are two different things.
I actually think we have so much information available to us that sometimes we get stuck trying to figure out what to do.
I know I did this a lot as a new principal. I tried to do too much. I was constantly implementing new things because I would see something cool on Instagram or TikTok and think, “I should try that.”
But what I noticed was that I wasn’t leading very well because I had so many initiatives.
And when you have too many initiatives, you really have no initiatives.
There’s no clarity around what needs to be happening. There’s no consistency. And it’s not clear to your staff what the most important thing is for your building.
That’s why I’ve been thinking a lot about how to best support principals.
And I don’t think it always comes down to giving you more information.
I think it comes down to giving you space to think and reflect. Space to figure out what information actually matters and how you can apply it.
But it first starts with awareness.
That’s what I love about coaching. Coaching is all about creating awareness.
It’s not just gathering more information. It’s helping you become aware of what the actual problem is.
Because when you know what your actual problem is, you can start coming up with a solution.
You can ask yourself:
What do I need to focus on right now?
What am I going to start doing differently?
Who do I want to be as a leader?
That’s another thing I love about coaching. You get time to think about your identity.
A big part of coaching is thinking about who you want to be. What thoughts are you having? What emotions are those thoughts creating? What actions are you taking as a result?
Coaching gives you space to think about the type of leader you want to be.
It gives you space to think.
Space to reflect.
Space to think about your future self.
So often, we get caught up in the present moment and all of the information coming at us. We don’t get space to ask:
“Okay, where am I right now? Where do I want to go? And who do I want to be?”
That’s what coaching does.
It helps you look inside yourself for the answer.
As a coach, I can’t give you all of the answers. I can share my experiences. I can share stories about things that have happened to me.
But what I’ve really learned from coaching principals is that sometimes you just need space to hear yourself think.
One principal I coached said:
“Barb really creates space for principals to slow down and think intentionally about systems, which is hard to do in the day-to-day.”
That’s exactly it.
You need time to slow down and think:
Where am I being reactive?
Where could I be more proactive?
Where do I need better systems?
When you’re leading a school, you’re constantly answering questions, solving problems, making decisions, and responding to other people.
You don’t always get time to think and process the way you want to.
And that’s where coaching is so powerful.
It gives you that space.
It gives you time to reflect.
But there’s another layer that I’ve discovered as I’ve coached principals.
I love one-on-one coaching, and I think there’s absolutely a place for it. When I’m working with someone who has individual goals they really want to focus on, one-on-one coaching is a great space for that.
But I have also found group coaching to be incredibly powerful.
There’s something unique about it because not only are you reflecting on your own leadership, but you’re also learning from other people.
You hear other principals’ stories and think:
“I’m dealing with that too.”
“I’m not alone.”
Sometimes, as principals, we feel so alone.
But in a group coaching space, you hear other people dealing with similar challenges.
You can relate to their experiences.
We come up with coaching solutions together.
People have reflections, aha moments, and new awareness that they share with the group. And sometimes, hearing someone else’s realization helps you work through a problem of your own.
You start to realize that the things you thought were only hard for you are hard for other principals too.
You get to learn from other leaders and their reflections.
Another principal said:
“I appreciated how Barb brought us together as a community. Being able to connect, reflect, and learn alongside other principals made the experience even more impactful.”
I think principals need more of that.
We need confidential spaces.
That’s another thing I love about group coaching. The groups are smaller, and you’re not sitting with people from your own district or people who know you professionally.
I work with principals from all over the country.
It creates a confidential space where you can share what you need to share without worrying that someone is going to judge you or take what you said back to someone you work with.
That confidentiality is powerful.
It’s also a space where you can bring real problems.
What I love about coaching during the school year is that you’re in it.
You can bring real situations to the group and get feedback on what you’re thinking and how you want to solve the problem—not only from me but from other group members.
That is powerful.
I often hear principals say, “I really want to do coaching in the summer.”
And I do think there’s a benefit to coaching in the summer.
But there’s also something powerful about coaching during the school year because you get real-time feedback.
You can bring the actual situations you’re facing.
The school year can be stressful, and it’s helpful to know that you have a place where you can bring those questions.
There’s also power in simply being around people who get it.
Being a principal is hard.
Often, family members don’t fully understand the job. Other people don’t understand how stressful it can be because being a principal really is a unique position.
Being around other principals who understand that is beneficial.
In group coaching, we’ve even had conversations about spouses and how they can support us as principals.
What does that look like?
How do we support our relationships so that we’re not working all the time and can actually be present when we’re with the people we love?
So many conversations come up that other principals can relate to.
And those conversations help people work through real challenges.
The other reason I believe so strongly in coaching is because information alone doesn’t create change.
Awareness does.
Reflection does.
And accountability does.
You can buy a course or read a book and gain new information.
But what actually helps you create change is implementing that information in a sustainable way.
It’s not about implementing everything at once.
It’s about making small changes.
In a group coaching environment, you can come back and say:
“Okay, this is the one thing I did this week.”
In my group coaching spaces, I often give optional homework. You choose the assignment or action step that you feel you can realistically implement that week.
It has to work for your busy schedule, your building, and your current situation.
Another principal I coached shared:
“Through Barb’s coaching, I’ve gained the confidence to set boundaries, whether that’s closing my office door to protect dedicated thinking time or building proactive discipline systems that better support our school community.
Most importantly, she’s helped me let go of the guilt and create balance, allowing me to be both a strong leader and a present, effective mom.”
I love this because the changes she’s talking about aren’t about doing more.
They’re about leading differently.
Protecting your time.
Creating systems.
Setting boundaries.
Subtracting guilt.
That’s a huge one—letting go of the guilt and subtracting it from the work you do.
And that is why I’m so passionate about bringing principals together through group coaching.
I don’t want to create more resources that are just going to sit on your computer because you bought them and thought, “I really want to do this,” but you never found the time.
I don’t want to give you a hundred strategies and leave you to figure out which one matters.
I want to help principals slow down.
I want to help principals identify what actually matters.
Remove the things getting in the way.
Subtract those things.
And take action.
That is really the heart behind my group coaching program, Leadership by Subtraction.
It’s not about adding more to your plate.
It’s about having a place to bring the real challenges you’re facing as a principal.
A place to think.
A place to get coached.
A place to learn from other principals.
And a place to stay focused on the work that matters most.
Because sometimes the next level of your leadership doesn’t come from learning more.
Sometimes it comes from having the space, the support, and the coaching to finally do what you already know matters.
If that sounds like something you need, I’d love to have you join us inside Leadership by Subtraction.
You can learn more about the program by clicking the link below.
And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at barb@barbflowerscoaching.com. I’m happy to answer any questions you have.
I would love the opportunity to coach you inside Leadership by Subtraction.