Avoiding Burnout: A Principal's Guide to Keeping the Fire Alive

Front Cover
Corwin Press, May 14, 2002 - Business & Economics - 136 pages
The work of the school administrator is often described as fragmented and unrelenting. Often left unsaid is that it is lonely. The issues of administrator stress and burnout form the focus of this book. It begins with a look at the nature of stress, and an assessment of individual stress triggers and response mechanisms. Subsequent chapters outline practical strategies for diminishing stress at home and capitalizing on work stress with effective time-management and interpersonal skills. The last chapter offers suggestions for career renewal and caring for one's personal well-being. In these chapters, school administrators are offered a "mirror" to look into to see how they are doing. This mirror comes in the form of voices of administrators who offer their stories and suggestions about how they handle stress and burnout. Through this approach, administrators can assess themselves in relation to how others manage the complexity and pace of school administration. Resources at the end of the book include: a list of destructive and constructive responses to stress; a list of realities in life that must be accepted and possibilities to embrace; a stress reduction outline for personal change; and a model action plan. (Contains 65 references.) (RT)
 

Contents

Getting Acquainted
1
Stress Triggers
12
Getting Rid of Perfectionism
31
Focusing on Success
38
1233
43
Feeding the Spirit
45
5
60
Adapt to the Setting
66
Summary
73
12
75
14
85
Responses to Stress
117
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About the author (2002)

Marilyn L. Grady, is professor of educational administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She is the author or coauthor of 23 books, including From Difficult Teachers to Dynamic Teamwork (2009) with Brock, Getting it Right from the Start (2009) with Kostelnik From First Year to First Rate (2007) with Brock, 194 High-Impact Letters for Busy Principals (2006), 20 Biggest Mistakes Principals Make and How to Avoid Them (2004) and Launching Your First Principalship (2004) with Brock. Her research areas include leadership, the principalship, and superintendent-board relations. She has more than 175 publications to her credit. She is the editor of the Journal of Women in Educational Leadership. Her editorial board service has included Educational Administration Quarterly, International Studies in Educational Administration, International Journal of Learning, Rural Educator, Journal of At-Risk Issues, Journal of School Leadership, Advancing Women in Leadership On-Line Journal, Journal for Rural School and Community Renewal, International Journal of Learning, and Journal for a Just and Caring Education. She is the recipient of the Stanley Brzezinski Research Award, NCPEA’s Living Legend Award, the Donald R. and Mary Lee Swanson Award for Teaching Excellence, UNL’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and UNL’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Status of Women.Grady coordinates an annual conference on women in educational leadership that attracts national attendance and is in its 24th year. She has been an administrator in K-12 schools as well as at the college and university levels. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, and her doctorate in educational administration with a specialty in leadership from The Ohio State University.

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