Micro-managing Principals HELP
When I took on the job of Project Manager (PM), I had no idea my principal was such a micro-manager. I had worked with her for 6 years as the media specialist and she never "bothered" me. She just let me do my job the way I saw fit. Fast forward to almost a year as being the project manager and I am beyond frustrated. Every time the district asks me to do something, I have to clear it with her. She gets upset that the district does not copy her on EVERY email they send me. She has also told me on a number of occasions that what they are asking me to provide is her job or tells me not to do it at all. It is becoming a problem since I am tasked with replying to what the county requests. It is part of my job description.
Up until recently I have just complied with what she said and not brought it to my boss's attention. My thinking was she is my boss. This changed when I got an email from one of the people the district hired to implement a couple of programs emailed my principal and cc'd me saying she had been asking me for a date and I had not complied. I emailed this lady and told her I had been waiting on a date from my principal and as soon as I got it, I would let her know. I also talked with my grant boss and explained to her what was going on (afterwards I felt like I had betrayed my principal). Just recently we went on a tour of another school and their PM started talking about learner platforms (LP) and how they had begun implementing them. My principal acted shocked like she had never heard of this. I promptly told her I had told her about this. Then to make matters worse, one of the Instructional Coaches at my school went to district PD and was talking to one of the other PMs about LPs and said she didn't know anything about them and neither did I (PM). Needless to say, this made me look like I was incompetent.
I have even told my principal to let me do my job. Her response was I know you can do it, however, I am responsible for the whole school.
I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do. If I keep telling people my boss won't let me do my job, it could make her mad & ultimately I will suffer the consequences when I need a reference. The flip side is if I don't say anything, people at the county level and other school leaders will think I can't do my job and this could affect future job prospects.
Thought, comments, want to trade jobs with me??
Up until recently I have just complied with what she said and not brought it to my boss's attention. My thinking was she is my boss. This changed when I got an email from one of the people the district hired to implement a couple of programs emailed my principal and cc'd me saying she had been asking me for a date and I had not complied. I emailed this lady and told her I had been waiting on a date from my principal and as soon as I got it, I would let her know. I also talked with my grant boss and explained to her what was going on (afterwards I felt like I had betrayed my principal). Just recently we went on a tour of another school and their PM started talking about learner platforms (LP) and how they had begun implementing them. My principal acted shocked like she had never heard of this. I promptly told her I had told her about this. Then to make matters worse, one of the Instructional Coaches at my school went to district PD and was talking to one of the other PMs about LPs and said she didn't know anything about them and neither did I (PM). Needless to say, this made me look like I was incompetent.
I have even told my principal to let me do my job. Her response was I know you can do it, however, I am responsible for the whole school.
I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do. If I keep telling people my boss won't let me do my job, it could make her mad & ultimately I will suffer the consequences when I need a reference. The flip side is if I don't say anything, people at the county level and other school leaders will think I can't do my job and this could affect future job prospects.
Thought, comments, want to trade jobs with me??
The question is: Who evaluates your job performance? I was hired by my principal, but who I report to is at the district level. If the district evaluates your performance as less than satisfactory, you will understand quickly what you must do.
ReplyDeleteThey both evaluate my performance. My principal does the actual evaluation, but the assistant superintendent is technically my boss. I have a job description by the county, but my principal has me doing other stuff not on the list and won't let me do some of what is in my job description. It is very tricky
DeleteI personally think you should schedule a meeting with your principal and assistant superintendent so you can sit down with both of them at the same time and voice your concerns. It's too dangerous to try to be diplomatic and sensitive to your principal's micromanaging and diminishing tendencies! For all you know, your principal, for whatever reason, may be singing a different tune to the assistant superintendent about your job performance (like the incident with the LPs). I just don't see this working out well for you if there's ANY lapse in communication. Maybe you can/should even go ahead and express your concerns about your performance evaluation. If the additional expectations and responsibilities that your principal has for you are truly interfering with your assigned duties and official job description, then you should address that as well. I know it's a hairy/scary situation, but the best thing you can do is be honest and forthright and brave. If the principal doesn't or can't respect that, then that's a bigger dilemma that you have to deal with. Best of luck!
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