Embracing the “Captain of the Ship” Mental Model for School Leaders

By Andy Johnson, Superintendent, San Marcos Unified  School District, San Marcos, CA, and Jill Pancoast, President, The Breakthrough Coach

Embracing a mental model of the principal as ‘captain of the ship’ gives school leaders a whole new sense of what their job really is – one that gives them permission to do less and focus instead on the high-impact activities that make the greatest difference.

The problem of stress in the principalship is an issue that almost all school leaders confront. From the “first-year, small-town elementary principal,” to the “urban, high-school veteran,” school leaders of all varieties suffer from a pandemic of too much work and not enough time. For many, “stress in the principalship” is a redundancy – the two terms are synonymous.

A casual observer might not catch this by watching principals joyfully interact with students, lead the monthly awards assembly, or fawn over kindergarteners’ artwork. Pull them aside, however, and ask them how things are going, and they will invariably tell you, “I’m exhausted. I can’t seem to get caught up.” Or, as one seasoned administrator recently told me, “I’m just not sure how much longer I can do this.” Principals are professionals. They can put on a good game face when all eyes are on them, but at the end of a long day when – yet again – theirs is the last car to pull out of the lot, many wonder if it’s worth it.

Much has been written about the sources of stress in the principalship. Increased mandates, shrinking budgets and staff recruitment and retention certainly contribute. Perhaps the greatest source of their stress is rarely articulated: principals simply don’t know what their actual job is!

The Prevailing Mental Model – The Overworked, Can-Do-It-All Principal

• First to arrive 
• Last to leave
• Extremely busy
• Skips lunch or breaks
• Late to meetings
• Chained to their desk and inbox
• Answers every question
• Involved in every decision
• Typically hidden away working

Why is this mental model of the overworked principal – the principal who does it all – so easy to conjure up? And why do so many principals fit the bill? The answer – “monkey see, monkey do.” Generations of aspiring administrators have watched their mentors live this way – working 70 hours a week, running from one thing to the next, lugging briefcases (or exploding inboxes) full of paper home to complete at night and over weekends. 

They have witnessed the constant interruption of school leaders in meetings to handle minutia. They have rarely seen a school administrator enjoy a 30-minute sit down lunch. Then, when they become principals themselves, they very naturally continue to do the job the way it’s been modeled for them – and the cycle continues.

Administrator training programs are co-conspirators in perpetuating this vicious cycle. Universities teach school law, district policy, education theory and leadership principles. Graduate level work in these areas is often rigorous and beneficial. But the prevailing mental model of the overworked, stressed out, do-it-all principal is rarely challenged or even addressed.

Ships and Sailors

The well-known movie Master and Commander offers an alternative backdrop for studying the complexities involved in leading large numbers of people who are charged with fulfilling a specific mission. Cannonballs and scurvy aside, leading schools and commanding ships can be quite similar, and embracing a mental model of the principal as “captain of the ship” gives school leaders a whole new sense of what their job really is – one that gives them permission to do less and focus instead on the high-impact activities that make the greatest difference.

19^th century sailing vessels were busy, complex operations. Hundreds of seamen had to work together to operate sails, yardarms and rudders to navigate the ship. Cargo had to be stored, meals had to be prepared, and the sick or injured required treatment. The crew included gunners, sail makers, coopers, and carpenters – each with specific technical skills and tasks to accomplish. 

Sometimes these were experienced seamen who knew their jobs well. Other times, crews were outfitted with whoever was available and “newbies” received on-the-job training. However, to reach their destination and accomplish their mission, every crew member needed to properly complete his task at the right time – failure to do so put everyone at risk.

The Role of the Ship’s Captain

Sailing vessels, both historical and modern, carry hundreds of crewmembers, each responsible for performing a specific job. But each ship has only one captain, and his job is qualitatively different from the rest of the crew. The captain has two primary responsibilities: (1) To keep an eye out to sea to ensure the ship remains on course, and (2) to keep an eye on the crew to make sure their work is coordinated and executed well. That’s it.

Keeping an eye out to sea involves maintaining a proper course towards the intended destination, speeding up or slowing down when appropriate, navigating safely through storms, and getting back on course after the tempests have passed. Only the captain has this responsibility.

A ship captain earns his or her position by moving up through the ranks. He may know how to trim sails, haul lines, and grind winches – all skills he acquired earlier in his career – however, the moment he is commissioned as “captain”, he must let go of performing these tasks and take up the business of leading and managing the crew. Essentially, the captain must stop working in the system and start working on the system.

A Better Mental Model – the Principal as “Captain of the Ship”

The parallel to the principalship is clear. The principal’s role:

• Attend to the school’s mission, vision and direction
• Ensure each staff member has the support to perform their job well
• Coaching, developing and training staff

The stress and strain principals feel is a direct result of attempting to carry out multiple roles in the school. They labor relentlessly in a futile attempt to perform both captain and crew members’ work, (and how many of them would end that sentence is) “…and doing neither one particularly well.” The result – principals spend the bulk of their days hunkered down in their offices, buried under mountains of paperwork, doing their employees’ jobs.

Just as the captain needs to plant himself firmly up on deck to guide the course and monitor the crew’s performance, a school principal needs to be “up on deck” at school, present where the real work is happening.

“Up on deck” includes:

• Walking the hallways
• Interacting with parents at drop off and dismissal 
• In brief, scheduled meetings with their admin team, teachers and staff
• In classrooms observing teaching and learning

5 Steps to Taking Back the Role of “Captain”

If you are a principal who is burnt out, overwhelmed and frustrated because you have been doing captain and crewmember’s work for far too long, here are five steps you can take to “stop the insanity,” and provide your school with the leadership it desperately needs:

1. Stop workin’ like a crew member. Look at your school through the eyes of a ship captain and take note – What work exists “up on deck” that only I, the principal, can do? Given sufficient training and development, what administrative work could others do?
2. Swab the deck. Review every piece of paper strewn across your desk and ask yourself, “Is this my job?” If yes, handle immediately or add time to your schedule for this task. If not, hand it off to someone else in your organization whose job description covers it.
3. Clearly assign specific tasks. Deliver each piece of paper to the person(s) responsible for addressing it and request that they handle it.
4. Drill the crew in the basics ‘til they’re brilliant. In ship language “train the way you would fight!” If a staff member is not yet competent to perform a certain task(s), train them so they become competent.
5. Get your “head out of the boat” and look around. Get out of your office and spend time in classrooms. This is mission critical! If you are interrupted from this work due to someone in the office needing your assistance to complete a task, make a note and schedule a “training and development” time for them.

Shifting principals’ efforts into “captain-only work” takes time and practice, but it is energy well spent. For school leaders to stop working in the system, and to step “up on deck” and start working on the system requires altering their leadership framework, combined with changing their habits. Practiced together, these lead to smooth sailing ahead.

Tired of working below decks?

Check out our Breakthrough Coach Program and take back command of your ship today!