Most Important Skills For a Principal at Legacy College Prep Ednovate
Evelyn, a principal at Legacy College Prep, emphasizes emotional intelligence as the most crucial skill, stating it's "number one" for navigating relationships with staff, teachers, and parents. The ability to "set strong visions," create strategic plans, and "influence and motivate" others to achieve shared goals are also highlighted as essential leadership competencies in their role.
Emotional Intelligence, Strategic Planning, Vision Setting, Influencing and Motivating, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Evelyn Castro
Principal
Legacy College Prep- Ednovate Charter Schools
UC Santa Barbara, 2009
Loyola Marymount University- Masters in Administration and Admin Credential
Anthropology, Sociology, Ethnic & Related Studies
Education
Education
Honors Student, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Emotional intelligence is crucial for working effectively with diverse individuals, including staff, teachers, and parents. Managing one's own emotions and understanding others' perspectives are key.
2. The ability to set a strong vision for the future and develop a strategic plan to achieve that vision is essential for school leadership.
3. Influencing and motivating others to work collaboratively towards shared goals is vital for successful implementation of plans and achieving the school's vision.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
I would say the top skills start with emotional intelligence, which I think is number one. You are working with lots of different humans, particularly as I think about working with adults like our stakeholders, staff, teachers, and parents.
You have to be ready to be very aware of your own emotions and how they may show up in certain conversations, meetings, or situations. You also need to know how to manage those emotions.
Then, you have to be ready to take on the emotions of everyone else. You need to ensure that people feel heard and valued while at the same time being able to problem-solve and push their growth. So, emotional intelligence is number one. I've learned that through mistakes and the hard way.
Secondly, I would say having skills around setting strong visions. When you are a school leader, you are responsible for an entire school, an entire building. So, being able to envision possibilities, have a draft of the future, what you want next year or two years from now to look like, and therefore make a strategic plan.
Strategies are also a critical skill: making a strategic plan that will lead the school towards that vision. So, emotional intelligence, strategic skills, and the ability to create a robust vision.
The last one I would say is the ability to influence and motivate. Nothing around our vision can be accomplished or a strategy can be accomplished without rallying people behind you. You have to know how to bring in the different people that are a part of that in a way that makes them feel very involved.
You want them to feel like they have a say in certain decisions or certain plans and be motivated to work towards those goals.