Successful Principals Have Good People Skills

A recent study described Google's efforts to identify the characteristics of "good" bosses so that those skills could become part of their training program. It turned out that leaders didn't need great technical skills but instead good people skills, things like being a good coach, expressing personal interest and asking thoughtful questions (Bryant, 2011). A recent article in Educational Leadership's April edition discussed the parallels between Google's experience and that of school principals. It linked the high turnover rate among principals to that absence of some of these essential people skills.

Here's a link to the article about the absence of people skills and turnover among principals. I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts about the importance of people skills in your role.