The Assistant Principal's Reflection: How to Lead with Sustainable Impact

This blog post is a unique collaboration and a review of the newest book from Charles Williams, Sustainable Leadership: Leading with Clarity, Capacity and Care. Join Dr. Sonia A. Matthew, NBCT, the 2025 Maryland’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year, as she reflects on the book's core principles from the front lines. The author, Charles Williams, will provide his take on her insights, exploring why the role of an assistant principal should be about preparing for effective leadership, not just being too busy to lead at all.

Getting Clear is the First Step

Dr. Matthew’s Reflection

As an assistant principal, I find myself constantly juggling so many tasks, and my to-do list seems to grow endlessly. The pressures of mandates and the multiple demands from students, staff, families, and administration create a very ambiguous and fast-paced environment. The best thing about this book is that it is a quick read and gets right to the point of how we can get ahead of our to-do lists.

It's not that we don't want to help people and guide them as leaders; it's that there's always so much to do. Reflection is truly the greatest form of learning. What good is doing things, even when they're based on best practices like instructional leadership, if we haven't reflected on them?

When Williams says that in a "world full of noise, clarity is the quiet truth that keeps you grounded," it is incredibly powerful. We all want to be more grounded instead of always being "boots on the ground," constantly putting out fires. Not only is Williams telling you to get clear, but he also provides tools to make it happen! The way he writes will make you feel like you are not alone; that this is the reality for assistant principals across the board. As Principal Kafele says, assistant principals are too often relegated to the role of disciplinarian. This book will not only help you realize this, but it will also provide tools you can use now to get clear. This book forces you to slow down your thinking, and even as busy school leaders, it is a part of Williams's framework.

A Word from the Author

When Dr. Matthew reflects on the “boots on the ground” reality of assistant principals, I hear the same exhaustion that drove me to write about clarity in the first place. Behind the scenes, the phrase “clarity is the quiet truth” came out of my own struggle to stop reacting to every fire and start making decisions anchored in purpose.

Dr. Matthew is naming something bigger than organization. The concept of clarity is not simply intended for you to organize your to-do list. Instead, it aims to challenge if the items on your list belong. Readers will be encouraged to not only slow down but to take this time to filter the noise and center what truly matters.

Building Capacity in a World of Endless Demands

Dr. Matthew’s Reflection

As assistant principals, it seems like we are expected to do it all. For example, this year, I am over the school-wide discipline policy, of course, as well as instructional leadership teams, ensuring teachers are preparing our students for success, managing transportation, arrival and dismissal processes, and the list just goes on and on.

Williams discusses that this superhero idea of having to do it all is just not sustainable, and that is a breath of fresh air. We don't hear that as much; we're often told that assistant principals just do it all and are superheroes. It sounds great, but does it feel great? Along with clarity, the power of reflection allows us to get clear, but when we consider capacity-building, we also have to think intentionally about what we must do and how we can think systematically about allowing others to do the tasks, not just giving them to others, but actually having a strategy.

Strategies must go beyond a thought and serve as tools to put into use and it is critical to be intentional about these strategies. This little gem in a book gives you a blueprint. Intentionality around capacity building frees up your time that allows you to do those pieces of the work that align with sustainable leadership, instead of doing it all and leaving you tired and ineffective.

A Word from the Author

I appreciate how Dr. Matthew calls out the “superhero” myth that surrounds APs. When I wrote this section, I struggled because I felt that I was challenging a badge of honor that I carried for so long. In fact, I used to joke that AP didn’t stand for Assistant Principal but for All Positions. Many leaders take pride in being the one who can do it all, but that pride too often becomes a prison.

In this section, Dr. Matthew also highlights intentionality, and I want to take that idea even further. Sustainable leadership requires us to stop chasing efficiency for its own sake and instead design systems that don’t collapse the moment we step away. That is what separates delegation from true capacity-building. The book lays out practical steps, but the bigger message is that leaders who fail to build capacity will eventually break under the weight of their own competence. Don’t just survive the role, reshape it.

The Intention of Care

Dr. Matthew’s Reflection

Intentionality is a thread that runs through how we gain clarity and ensure we are building capacity. Care, the final area, is no different. We have to be intentional, and this little “sugar-free” book shows you what that looks like and how to do it.

I hear it often, "you have to be intentional," but the resources out there can be too much to even dig into. This book allows me to get right to it and be intentional about care. While holistic care seems deep and it is, I believe in it wholeheartedly. Being holistic in all aspects of my leadership, my nutrition, physical fitness, rest, and mind. I have done it; it has been a journey.

Williams stresses that the idea of being busy and self-sacrifice is a narrative that needs to be tossed out. He provides real tools that you can use right away to ensure you are being intentional and even, holistic about your care. We all have the same amount of time and pressures as assistant principals and we need those golden tools for efficiency.

A Word from the Author

Dr. Matthew calls care a journey, and she is absolutely right. What I could add is that this chapter may have been one of the hardest for me to write. Not because I didn’t believe in it, but because I had to confront how I sacrificed so much in the name of “leadership.”

The push I would offer readers is that care is not a luxury. It is a discipline. If clarity grounds us and capacity frees us, then care sustains us. Without it, we burn out and pass that burnout to our staff and our teams. The book goes deeper into how leaders can practice holistic care while minimizing guilt, but even more importantly, it explores how they can model it for others. Because when leaders can normalize care, they give permission for everyone else to embrace it too.

Final Thoughts from Dr. Matthew

I appreciate this book and am glad that Charles Williams wrote it. Having a “sugar-free” type of book is just what the doctor ordered, especially for assistant principals who can be so busy that we often become too preoccupied to even practice what really matters.

As school leaders, we can easily get lost in the minutia and weeds of our never-ending workload. The beauty of this book is I can pick it up at any time and get right back into action. Thank you, Charles for truly understanding and honoring the hard work school leaders do every day. This book is a gift because it provides a solution to our challenges.

Final Thoughts from the Author

Dr. Matthew has offered an honest look at what it means to lead in the role of an assistant principal. A role where the pressure never lets up, the expectations pile high, and the heart for the students and staff keeps you pushing forward anyway. Her reflections reminded me why I wrote this book in the first place: to give leaders a framework that creates space to breathe, reflect, and lead with purpose.

What we’ve shared in this piece only scratches the surface. The full journey of clarity, capacity, and care is explored in depth across the pages of Sustainable Leadership. Inside the book, you will find more than ideas. You will discover practical strategies and tools that help turn these principles into daily practice.

My hope is simple: that you take the time to explore further. Pick up the book, try the strategies, and reflect on how they fit within your own leadership journey. Sustainable leadership is not about chasing perfection. It is about building a way of leading that allows you, and the people you serve, to thrive for the long run.

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Join a growing community of leaders choosing sustainability over burnout. Order your copy of Sustainable Leadership: Leading with Clarity, Capacity, and Care and take the first step toward leading with clarity, capacity, and care.

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Dr. Sonia Matthew

Dr. Sonia Matthew’s experience, spans over 27 years, includes roles as a teacher, reading specialist, talented and gifted coordinator, middle school assistant principal and currently as an elementary school assistant principal in Maryland. As a National Board-Certified Teacher, Dr. Matthew also trains national board candidates across the state of Maryland for MSEA (Maryland State Education Association). In 2012, she was selected as an MSDE Master Teacher, representing her state. Most recently, Dr. Matthew was named the 2025 Maryland National Assistant Principal of the Year by both MAESP (Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals) and NAESP (National Association of Elementary School Principals).

Charles Williams, M.Ed.

Charles Williams is a Strategic Advisor, Leadership Coach, and Keynote Speaker with 20 years of experience in the field of education. Over the course of his career as a principal, assistant principal, and classroom teacher, Charles led initiatives that elevated instructional practice, strengthened culture, and advanced equity. Today, he partners with schools, districts, and organizations to provide strategic guidance rooted in his Sustainable Leadership framework, which emphasizes clarity, capacity, and care. In addition to his role with SkyBound, Charles continues to support leaders nationwide through CW Consulting, offering workshops, coaching, and thought leadership.