*4.3.2 Preparing for each supervisory session*

It is important to note that the visits principal supervisors in this study had with their assigned principals were thoroughly planned and organized with the aim of strengthening their "leadership capacity." They were never haphazard or random meetings. Principal supervisors Mariam and Julia both stressed the need to plan ahead for every supervisory meeting in order to establish a meaningful link between visits. The meetings were "connected," "seamless," and "engaging," enabling routine followups to fill in the missing pieces between sessions and maintaining a constant emphasis on learning. Julia firmly asserted that sporadic visits and impromptu oversight did school principals no good. Principal supervisor Edward also added his supporting thoughts:

*As a supervisor, you should be prepared to give help on problems of concern to the principals. You should be prepared beforehand about your visit and review the school data and set priorities you will … [touch] on once your foot [is] on the school ground so that your supervisory visit is meaningful and achieves its goal. Otherwise, your visit is futile, and you are not doing your job!*

As Edward stressed in his remarks, effective supervision requires thorough planning if it is to be helpful. Learning in "unprepared sessions" was subject to blunders and on-the-spot improvization. Principal supervisors observed that preparation required a significant amount of work, but that the benefits were immeasurable, particularly if the sessions were tailored to the specific needs of the principal. Goldring et al. [7] came to a similar conclusion in his findings, which highlighted that principal supervisors who were committed to keeping detailed notes about their meetings with principals were able to create steady improvement in their principals as they progressed in a connected and organized way. Goldring et al. [7], as well as the participating principal supervisors of the present study, found great value in being able to follow a thoroughly cohesive stream of feedback, goals, and actions.
