Write It Down: An EdLeader’s SuperTool
A parent enters the superintendent’s office visibly upset.
Something has happened at her child’s school involving an employee, and she wants answers. Perhaps she has already told the story to a teacher, a principal, or several friends and family members. By the time she reaches the superintendent, her frustration has grown. Her words come quickly, fueled by anger, concern, and a parent's fierce desire to protect her child.
The superintendent welcomes her, invites her to sit down, and begins to listen.
She does not interrupt. She does not rush to explain, defend, or offer a solution before fully understanding the concern. Instead, she asks thoughtful questions.
“What happened next?”
“Who else was present?”
“What did your child tell you?”
“Have you already spoken with anyone at the school?”
As the parent talks, the superintendent opens the journal she carries with her and begins to write.
She records the important details. She writes down names, dates, and questions that will need to be answered. When something is unclear, she pauses and asks another question.
Gradually, the pace of the conversation changes.
The parent’s voice softens. Her shoulders begin to relax. She recognizes that the superintendent is not simply waiting for her turn to speak. She is listening carefully and working to understand.
Once the concern is fully understood, the superintendent explains what she will do next. She will speak with the principal. She will gather additional information. She will review the appropriate policies. She will follow up with the parent by a specific day.
The superintendent writes each of those commitments in her journal and then reviews them with the parent.
“Here is what I understand happened. Here are the steps I am going to take. And here is when you can expect to hear from me.”
The parent leaves the office much calmer than when she arrived. The issue has not yet been resolved, but something important has already happened.
She knows she was heard.
She knows there is a plan.
And she trusts that the superintendent will do what she said she would do.
Later, a friend may ask her, “How do you know the superintendent took you seriously?”
The parent’s answer may seem simple, but it is so powerful:
“Because she wrote it down.”
Across the district, a principal steps quietly into a classroom.
Students are engaged in their learning. The teacher moves purposefully among them, asking questions, checking for understanding, and offering encouragement. The principal notices several effective instructional practices he wants to celebrate and share at the team’s next Professional Learning Community meeting.
He opens his journal and makes a few notes.
As the lesson concludes and he prepares to leave, he pauses beside the teacher.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asks.
The teacher laughs.
“Well, it isn’t that important, but the water fountain in the hallway isn’t working very well.”
The principal smiles.
“Thank you for telling me. We need to get that taken care of.”
He writes it down in his journal.
The principal plans to continue visiting classrooms. He will talk with students, encourage teachers, and make additional notes about teaching and learning. Without writing down the teacher’s request, it would be easy for a ringing phone, an unexpected discipline matter, or the next urgent need to push the water fountain from his mind.
Because he wrote it down, he will remember to submit the work order when he returns to his office.
The broken water fountain may seem like a small matter.
To the teacher who walks past it several times each day, however, it matters. More importantly, whether the principal remembers will communicate something about the value of her voice and the dependability of his leadership.
A journal may not be the newest or most technologically advanced tool available to an educational leader. It does not require a subscription, an update, a charging cable, or a professional development session.
Yet I believe it may be one of an EdLeader’s most powerful tools.
First, writing communicates that people have been heard and that their words matter.
There is something powerful about watching another person record what we are saying. The act itself communicates attention. It tells us that our words are important enough to remember and that the person listening intends to do something with them.
Of course, simply writing while another person speaks does not guarantee that the person feels heard. A leader must still make eye contact, ask clarifying questions, listen for what is said and what remains unsaid, and respond with care. The journal should support the human connection, not become a barrier between two people.
Used well, however, it becomes visible evidence of listening.
The parent may not remember every word the superintendent said. The teacher may not remember every question the principal asked during the classroom visit. They will remember that the leader paused, listened, and wrote down what mattered to them.
Allison Fallon writes in The Power of Writing It Down, “What we write down is what we remember. It’s like a time capsule in a way, a lifeline back to the best parts of ourselves.”
For leaders, the journal becomes a lifeline back to the people, conversations, commitments, and ideas that deserve our attention.
Second, writing transforms intentions into plans.
Educational leaders carry countless hopes for their schools and districts. We want to visit more classrooms. We want to recognize employees. We want to strengthen relationships with families. We want to develop other leaders, improve student outcomes, protect time for reflection, and take better care of ourselves.
Each is a worthy intention.
But an intention that exists only in our minds must compete with every emergency, meeting, email, telephone call, and unexpected challenge that enters the day.
Writing a goal gives it form. Writing the next step gives it direction.
Steve Maraboli writes, “If you have a goal, write it down. If you do not write it down, you do not have a goal—you have a wish.”
There is an important difference between thinking, I need to spend more time in classrooms, and writing, I will visit four classrooms before noon on Thursday.
There is a difference between thinking, I should encourage that teacher, and writing her name beside a reminder to send a handwritten note.
There is a difference between hoping the water fountain is repaired and recording the action needed to make it happen.
The journal helps us move from something we would like to do to something we intend to do.
It does not accomplish the goal for us. We must still take action. But writing keeps the goal from disappearing beneath the urgent demands of the day. It provides a place to return, review our progress, and decide what must happen next.
I love the way that Michael Korda expresses it: “Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants; can’ts into cans; dreams into plans; and plans into reality. Don’t just think it—ink it!”
Third, a journal creates a record.
Leadership days are filled with conversations. We meet with employees, parents, students, board members, community partners, and colleagues. We make commitments, receive concerns, consider ideas, and identify next steps.
Even the strongest memory cannot hold every detail.
A journal allows a leader to return to a meeting days, weeks, or even months later and remember what was discussed. It can help answer important questions:
When did we first discuss this concern?
What information was shared?
What did I promise to do?
Who was responsible for the next step?
Did I follow through?
That written record can provide clarity when memories differ or when a complicated matter unfolds over time. It can also help the leader prepare for a follow-up conversation and demonstrate that the matter has received continuing attention.
A journal should, of course, be used responsibly. Educational leaders regularly handle private and sensitive information. Notes should be factual, professional, securely maintained, and consistent with applicable laws and district policies. A personal journal does not replace required reports, official records, or formal documentation.
It does, however, provide the leader with a reliable record of the work.
Perhaps there is a fourth benefit woven through all three.
A journal strengthens trust.
The parent trusts the superintendent because she listened, made a plan, wrote down her commitments, and followed through.
The teacher trusts the principal because he remembered the water fountain after leaving the classroom.
Employees trust leaders who remember what they said, honor their commitments, and return to unfinished conversations.
Over time, people learn whether our words can be trusted.
They notice whether “I will check on that” leads to action.
They remember whether “I will call you by Friday” results in a Friday telephone call.
They recognize whether the ideas they share disappear into the busyness of the day or find their way into future decisions.
A journal cannot make someone a trustworthy leader.
But it can help a trustworthy leader remember what matters.
Technology offers educational leaders extraordinary tools for communication, organization, and productivity. I am grateful for them and use many of them. Yet there remains something uniquely powerful about opening a journal, placing pen to paper, and capturing an important thought, promise, goal, or moment.
The journal says:
This person matters.
This idea is worth remembering.
This goal deserves a plan.
This commitment requires action.
The next time someone enters your office with a concern, open your journal.
The next time you see something worth celebrating in a classroom, write it down.
The next time a teacher mentions a broken water fountain, make a note.
And the next time you identify a goal that could make a difference for students, employees, or your community, do not leave it as a wish.
Write it down.
Image Credit:
Image 1: Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash. I edited the photo and added the text in PowerPoint.
Image 2: Photo by Marissa Grootes on Unsplash
Image 3: Photo I took in my home office of the journals I have kept over the 27 years I served as a school and district administrator.
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