Lead Me, Or Let Me Go. Recently, I conducted a survey on…
By: Candace Mcclendon
Tags: New Teachers, Workplace Culture, Principal, School Leadership, Leadership

Recently, I conducted a survey on Facebook. The question went a little something like this…

“If you are not returning to your school/district next year, what could they have done to make you stay?”

The results were not very surprising. 41% cited pay as a deterrent for not returning, 6% cited travel as a barrier, and 53% cited leadership as a reason for not returning.

Before COVID-19 made its’ way into the United States, I had professional learning engagements scheduled across many states, in many schools, and the focus is in total alignment with the survey results. I am supporting school leaders with leading their millennial talent. That could sound pretty bias to any of you who have not studied the generational trends in workplaces, but let me hip you to something…it’s totally a thing.

Before I jump into what that actually looks like, I can tell you why it’s important. School districts across the nation are struggling with finding, supporting, retaining, and connecting with new hires. Mainly because this generation of teachers have a totally different compass than Baby Boomers. This creates a problem for our schools and our students because people are hating their jobs, which creates a unhealthy environment for kids, and students are not majoring in education, which creates a national teacher shortage for our education system.

I recently spoke with a few administrators in North Carolina. We outlined their strengths as a leader, and areas that needed some improvement. Every single one of them stated that they are confused on how to appeal to their new body of teachers.

“Usually I go right in to my administrator-led meetings focusing on what matters, the students. It seems as if the teacher then takes offense because I didn’t ask their opinion. Some things are just not up for discussion, which I have found is a total turnoff for them.”

After digging into the quoted principal’s situation a little more, we discovered that he leads his campus with an iron fist. It’s his way or the highway. He has his vision, and either you’re going to come along for the ride, or you will have a pretty miserable school year. And that’s exactly what led him to me. 31% of his staff falls into the millennial age group (born between 1980–1994), and they have totally revoked his way of leading. All but two have indicated that they are NOT returning next school year. We had a transparent conversation. He was able to self-reflect and assume that his scores have been pretty decent because the teachers and students are down right scared of him. And if your number one goal is to have great scores, then I guess he won. But if you rate his effectiveness from the morale of the staff and students, he clearly needs to adjust some things.

Here are some facts (Gallup):

39% of millennial's define leaders as strategic thinkers. 37% of millennial's define leaders as inspirational. 34% of millennial's define leaders as personable. 31% of millennial's define leaders as visionaries.

A good deal of our schools are lead by administrators who do not exemplify any of the above. Show me a low-performing school that has a culture problem, and I’ll show you an administrator that has not updated his/her leadership skills to mirror current workplace trends. Millennial workers are looking for mentors who can help guide their work and their career, they shun away from leaders who are evaluative and directive-driven. They want to be apart of a collaborative environment that is authentic and fluid. If an administrator is only getting colleagues together for “checkmark” meetings (no real focus, just checking it off the to-do list), that leaves the millennial worker feeling disconnected and isolated. Which can be a brewing firestorm for the school if that teacher is inexperienced. They are left to fend for themselves and rarely seek help because they do not trust the administrator to not use their inexperience against them, and they have not fostered the best relationships to grow from.

More than anything, millennial teachers want to do purposeful work. That is the reason they chose a career in education in the first place. They want to feel valued and they want to be happier than their parents were. Which is one reason why millennial's are not afraid to career-jump. Their goal is to land in a people-first company/district. If the school leadership culture is inconsistent, not welcoming, and fails to provide professional growth opportunities, those teachers are as good as gone.

The world is ever-changing, and so is the way we lead people. I challenge any school leader who is having a problem with teacher retention to truthfully examine and revamp their current leadership practices to reflect a millennial-friendly work environment.