Summary of Findings

Data collected from four executive coaching workshops were used to answer three research questions. The participants were primarily principals but also included assistant principals, superintendents and various directors. The two surveys asked 13 questions on current time commitment of administrative tasks performed and eight questions on overall job satisfaction.

Research Question #1. What is the current time commitment of principals on selected administrative tasks?

The research data finds that over 60% of the participants work between 41-50 hours per week and 34% work over 50 hours per week. The work week data in this study is consistent with the findings of other studies, including: Donaldson Jr., Buckingham, and Coladarci (2003), Murphy and Beck (1994), and Vadella and Willower (1990), who all found the majority of principals worked more than 50 hours per week. During the 50 plus hour weeks participants reported in this study, 66.7% of participants spent between 9-15 hours per week on paperwork. 68.2% of participants spent between 3-10 hours per week in off-campus meetings. 88.9% spent between 2-8 hours handling discipline and 34.8% spent between 3-6 hours handling emergencies and crises. Participants were not asked if the time allocation as presented above, which included working 9-15 hours on paperwork, was ideal or whether they believe that is how they should spend their time. One could make an educated guess that principals prefer to spend time in classrooms rather than on paperwork because nowhere in this study did the completion of paperwork appear in the job satisfaction data.

The time commitment data in this study, as well as other indications from the literature, presents the question, “Do principals run their daily schedules or do their daily schedules run them?” Whitaker and Turner (2000), in their study to determine the priorities and practices of principals in Indiana, found that principals ranked getting better control over their own time and schedule as the seventh in a list of 31 items to be ranked in priority for principals. The data from the study reported that the actual rank for time turned out to be 23 of 31 items in terms of priority. This means that although principals see the importance of getting better control over their own use of time, the actual events of the day prevent them from doing it. The need to get control over their own time and schedule is why many principals arrive to school at or before dawn, remain well after the staff leaves for the day, or come to the office on the weekends so they can have an uninterrupted span of time to get the work done. In doing so, principals are adding hours onto the workweek and spending less time with hobbies, families, and friends.

Managing time demands and paperwork are the principal’s greatest frustrations (Lyons, 1999). In a study conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Milken Family Foundation in which 3,359 high school principals were surveyed, it was found that seventy percent of principals reported time as an impediment or very much an impediment in doing their job as a principal and that sixty-nine percent reported paperwork as an impediment or very much an impediment in doing their job as a principal (Schiff, 2001).

To summarize, the current time commitment for the participants of this study is approximately 50 hours per week. During their workweek participants of this study devoted the following approximate time periods for these administrative tasks: two days to deal with paperwork, one day to attend off-campus meetings, one-half to one full day handling discipline and one half day dealing with emergencies. The arrangement means that participants have one day or less for all of the other tasks they are expected to do such as supervision, evaluations, hiring, budgets, committee work, parent issues, social issues, and extra-curricular activities. Perhaps this is why there is a shortage of people applying for jobs as principals.

Research Question #2. What is the overall job satisfaction of principals?

Participants indicated the highest level of job satisfaction in the area of the contribution they were making to their staff, students, and community, with 89.4% reporting medium-high to high job satisfaction. This was followed closely by the
participant’s district/school record of academic achievement during tenure, with 85.9% reporting medium-high to high job satisfaction.

The lowest level response to the question of job satisfaction concerned the amount of energy participants have left at the end of the workweek. 50% reported medium-low to low levels of job satisfaction. The next lowest area was the amount of time participants devoted to personal hobbies, family and friends. 45.4% of participants reported medium-low to low level of job satisfaction. For the remaining four questions, including the amount of money earned relative to the time they spent working and their job accountabilities, the quality of continued professional development they currently receive, current working habits and management practices, and current state of physical health, all participants reported between 66% to 70% medium high to high levels of job satisfaction.

Research Question #3. After attending an executive coaching workshop titled, “How to Work Less, Play More, and Still Get the Job Done in a Normal School Week: Assuming Your Proper Role as ‘Executive’ in Today’s Education Environment” and completing a pre-workshop and post-workshop survey has time commitment of selected tasks and job satisfaction changed?

The answer to this research question is yes across the board. Both survey results and the participant’s narrative responses indicated that time commitment of selected tasks and job satisfaction had changed.

In the area of current time commitment to administrative tasks, principals reduced the number of hours they worked per week by nearly ten hours per week. A St. Paul, Minnesota, participant wrote, “The time commitment is a great change. Everything seems to run more efficiently—I’ve found I need to organize my classroom days and maintain a chart of when and what was observed on my visits. Several staff commented that this is the way it should always have been.”

In the area of job satisfaction, principals are finding that by reducing the hours they work and changing how they do their job and they have increased their job satisfaction. A Fergus Falls, Minnesota participant wrote, “I’ve always loved my job. However, I am learning to love my home life and to invest in it more. Overall, we (my administrative team) joke about WWMD (what would Malachi do); we monitor each other; we are more visible. Kids have said that Mr. [name of principal] is everywhere.”

The findings of this study suggest that the workshop “How to Work Less, Play More, and Still Get the Job Done in a Normal School Week: Assuming Your Proper Role as ‘Executive’ in Today’s Education Environment” was an effective workshop. The research data shows a significant difference (p<.05) in principals’ time commitment. Time spent in seven of 13 administrative tasks was reduced and job satisfaction increased in five of eight areas following the executive coaching workshop. In addition, every one of the 21 questions saw a mean average positive change for administrative tasks and job satisfaction. The data indicates that time for administrative tasks that participants viewed as positive (for example, spending time in classrooms) increased and those that participants viewed as tedious (paperwork, dealing with discipline, etc.) decreased. Participants reduced the total number of hours worked and were able to better organize and allocate those hours that they did work. Specifically, participants reduced the number of hours they spend doing paperwork per week, but increased the number of hours they were able to spend in classrooms.

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