Starting out in a new leadership role isn’t easy.  Yet, often new leaders are asked to “hit the ground running.”  When I transitioned into my current role as a deputy principal at a major international school in southeast Asia, I had spent about a decade in a large American urban school district.  The difference between these two educational contexts was enormous.  I was fortunate to have worked for and with an urban superintendent who required all of the new school leaders she supervised to purchase The Entry Plan Approach by Barry Jentz and Joan Wofford.  I’d heard a number of colleagues say it was the single most important book they read prior to entering their new positions.  

I purchased a copy for myself and spent the four months prior to my official start date working to design my entry plan with the principal who had hired me.  I cannot recommend the book highly enough.  Whether you are entering a new leadership position or are helping to onboard an important new hire, writing and utilizing an entry plan will help to assure a successful transition.  

Jentz and Wofford’s entry plan approach involves four stages: