Last-Minute Leadership? The Untold Costs of “URGENT” Meetings

Every hour principals sit in central office meetings is an hour they’re absent from classrooms and student learning suffers. Principals who are engaged and instructionally focused make schools better. They coach teachers. They respond to students. They build culture. But only when they’re present.

The Hidden Costs of “URGENT” Meetings

In school systems across the country, superintendents often find themselves facing challenges that feel like they demand immediate attention. So they call an emergency meeting. And then another. And then another. And before long, these last-minute meetings become routine. What feels like decisive, in-the-moment leadership is actually a slow drain on district resources, principal effectiveness, and community trust.

Let’s be clear: communication and collaboration between district leadership and school-based administrators is essential. But when meetings are hastily called with little notice, they disrupt far more than calendars. They create a ripple effect that undermines the very goals those meetings are intended to achieve.

It’s Costing You More Than Time

When a superintendent calls an emergency meeting, they’re not just taking principals away from their schools. They’re taking them away from their primary role: instructional leadership.

Most principals earn six-figure salaries because they have received leadership training for school principals to observe instruction, coach teachers, and guide school improvement. Every hour they spend sitting in a conference room, or on Zoom, is an hour they’re not doing their actual jobs – being in classrooms. Multiply that by the number of principals pulled from buildings all at once for “urgent” central office meetings, and the frequency with which this occurs, and the financial repercussions become staggering.

The hidden costs go even deeper.

Student Outcomes Take a Hit

Research consistently shows that principals are the second most important in-school factor influencing student achievement, right after teachers. Principals who are present, engaged, and instructionally focused make schools better. They coach. They train. They develop. They build culture.

When those same principals are constantly pulled into central office meetings, they step away from their real work and student outcomes take the hit. It’s like a baseball manager sitting in meetings all day, rather than being at the game. What could they possibly learn in an off-site meeting that would make any difference to the outcome of the game? Especially since the meeting they’re in isn’t even about the game!

Lost Credibility with Your Team

Constant urgent or emergency meetings also create reputational damage for the superintendents who call them. School leaders quickly begin to see these meetings as reactive rather than strategic. When every issue is “URGENT” it sends the message that there is no long-term vision, only short-term panic.

This erodes trust and confidence in district leadership. Over time, principals start to feel that they’re not respected and their expertise is not valued. When that happens, morale drops, engagement wanes, and school leaders may begin to consider whether they belong in the system at all.

Your Community is Paying Attention

It’s not just internal stakeholders who notice. Parents and teachers sense when school leadership is distracted or unavailable. When principals are repeatedly pulled from their schools, they’re forced to cancel parent conversations, classroom walk-throughs, and visibility in the hallways, all of which are critical to maintaining performance standards, community connection, and trust.

If superintendents want to build high-performing school systems that are respected and valued by their community stakeholders, they must empower school leaders to lead. This means protecting their time, not hijacking it.

A Better Way Forward

Being “the BIG boss” doesn’t mean reacting to every problem as it arises. It means putting systems in place so that when challenges occur, your organization doesn’t grind to a halt. Before you call another “URGENT” meeting, ask yourself: 

• Is this issue urgent or just uncomfortable for me right now? 
• Does this issue require everyone’s immediate attention, or can it wait for the next scheduled touchpoint?
• What is this meeting about to cost us, beyond just time on the calendar?

Every meeting you call has a price. Make sure it’s worth paying.

Learn how to lead proactively, not reactively, when you attend The Breakthrough Coach Foundations Course, an executive coaching program designed specifically for educational leaders who want to maximize their impact while respecting their most valuable resource: their principals.