Unfortunately in a principal's attempt to empower his staff, he will have teachers who think negatively. Some teachers do not want to be involved, accept responsibility, or practice self-management. These teachers have become dependent on the administrative staff to tell them what to do and how to do it. How did they get this way? They learned it from a bureaucratic managing principal. "When a principal-rather than the school community members- consistently solves problems, makes decisions, and gives answers, dependency behaviors on the part of staff actually increases" (Lambert, 2003, p. 48). Remember the simple event of coming to school, how getting everyone working towards a common goal is so powerful. A controlling principal unfortunately obtains just the opposite, never achieving such power. Suppose the day before school started the principal visits each staff member's house and give them specific directions on how to get to school. He even tells them what time to leave, how fast to drive and what car to drive. Can you imagine how insignificant the staff feels after this is done? Right away the principal is showing his staff that he has no confidence in their ability to make decisions. As a principal continue to control every aspect of the staff's job they become dependent on the principal to tell them what to do and when to do it. All self-initiative is taken away.
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