26-year-old used 3 soft skills to become the youngest principal in his school's history: 'This never happens' - CNBC

When Kenneth Gorham heard that he was in the running to become the principal of his local middle school, his immediate response was: "Are y'all sure?"

It wasn't totally out of the blue. During Gorham's time as a teacher to that point, his class had the highest end-of-year test scores across his grade level, he says.

But he was unusually young to lead a school. When Gorham ultimately landed the job, he was just 24 years old — the youngest principal to ever lead Movement Freedom Middle School, a charter school in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The average age of charter school principals in the U.S. is 47, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

"I'm like, this has to be too good to be true. This is unheard of," Gorham, now 26, tells CNBC Make It. "This never happens."

Three particular soft skills helped him get there, he says: people leadership, networking and resilience. 

Treat people as humans first, employees second

Technically, Gorham had leadership experience: He held six executive board member roles for on-campus organizations at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University before graduating in 2019.

After teaching for two years, he became an instructional coach, helping other teachers curate their lessons. The teachers he coached saw double-digit growth in their students' reading and math end-of-grade test scores.

Those experiences aren't actually so different from overseeing almost 200 students and ensuring that teachers have the tools and resources necessary to do their jobs, he says.

"When I was approached by senior leadership to apply and interview for the role of principal, my ability to lead people stood out," says Gorham. "People were able to follow me just based off of my rapport with them."

Gorham's empathy-forward leadership style and his ability to "be a champion" for others is his superpower, he recalls his superintendent once telling him.

"I've truly learned the power of seeing people first, before we see them as employees, as teachers, as whatever their roles are," he says. "And that doesn't mean you can't have hard conversations. That doesn't mean you can't have high expectations or hold people accountable. It just means that you see them as humans, as individuals, first."

Build a network of supporters

Gorham likes to say: "If you want to go far, go together." He credits a network of sponsors and mentors to his career growth so far.

One of them is Lauryn Jackson, the current principal of Movement Freedom Elementary School and Gorham's instructional coach when he was a teacher. Gorham says he took her suggestions and coaching seriously — and she took note of that dedication, recommending him for his current role.

She also reassured him that he was ready for it. "Your age is not going to be the thing that depicts what you can achieve," he recalls her saying.

That environment of encouragement helped: People sometimes need a push to "allow themselves to be cultivated, grown and developed to the best version of themselves," says Gorham.

It doesn't need to come from a person. Try changing up your workspace when you find yourself feeling uninspired or unproductive, or attending a professional conference to strengthen your knowledge in your field.

Show resilience

Gorham says he uses failure and hardship as fuel. If his grandmother — "one of the first African American teachers to actually integrate a school that had no people of color" — could be resilient, so can he, he says.

The trait helped him stand out while vying for his current position — specifically, his ability to help both students and other teachers return to in-person classes after the Covid-19 pandemic's virtual era.

Part of that was logistical: As an instructional coach, he helped teachers coordinate their curricula and refamiliarize themselves with the rhythm of teaching in a classroom.

I had to remind myself that we are also modeling for our students how to be resilient.

Kenneth Gorham

Principal, Movement Freedom Middle School

Another part was emotional. Spirits were low, among students and teachers alike. Gorham made an effort to listen to his colleagues' frustrations and provide advice, while giving students hugs and high fives every morning.

Gorham's ability to "bring out the best" in his students and teachers, and his commitment to results, played a crucial role in him getting the principal job, he says.

"We had to really think through how to hold [students] to a high bar ... and still understand and empathize with them," says Gorham, adding: "There were many challenges that came with that, but I had to remind myself that we are also modeling for our students how to be resilient, based on our adaptability and flexibility."

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26-year-old used 3 soft skills to become the youngest principal in his school's history: 'This never happens' - CNBC
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