Thread by @teacherfeature2

I’ve been reading, writing and reflecting on the complexities, practicalities and tensions in educational leadership for the past year or so now. Here’s some things that are front and centre for me at the moment 🪡

1. Leadership is HARD. There are obvious and not so obvious

…tensions at play as a leader in schools. These tensions can be reconciled to varying degrees but there is no absolute solution and we therefore must be acutely aware of the opportunity- costs involved at each turn in order to offset against the costs and maximise gains.

2. Leadership is inherently human. Compassion and empathy are crucial to understanding another’s lived experience which underpins one’s ability to develop those they lead but this needs to be balanced with a relentless sense of purpose in order to leverage the collective

power of the team for our pupils. Again- not easy! Sometimes taking people and personalities OUT of the equation can help us more clearly see how we can serve our purpose and at other times, bespoke approaches need to be adopted that meet the need of individuals or the team.

3. Leadership is a responsibility because leadership is essentially influence. Leaders themselves are constantly developing and will not always get it right but modelling a healthy response and reaction to this in turn encourages cultures of ‘rethinking’ more amenable to growth.

4. There are so many different factors at play at any given time so implementation needs to be done carefully and mindfully so that these factors are systematically considered to maximise the chances of success. EEF’s Implementation Guidance is a great starting point for this!

5. Decision-making happens all day, every day for both teachers and leaders. For the larger decisions, having protocols that can scaffold and create a shared understanding of how decisions and subsequent action unfolds can be a great reference point for whole-team thinking.

6. Conversations are the vehicles for progress and development within schools. A balance of compassion and richness/robustness of conversation is the sweet spot. For this we need to:
- know our staff and empathise
- be professionals with purpose
- listen more than we talk!

Lastly,knowing this stuff dosen’t necessarily make you a great leader as per the ‘GI Joe Fallacy’ @lauriesantos Yes we need the domain-specific knowledge but it’s also the application of this knowledge within the parameters of a given context that makes the tangible difference.

Context can make such a profound difference to what you do and how you do it. It’s where professional judgment comes in and why it’s crucial for us to establish professional dialogue that avoids absolutes. Let’s ask ‘why?’ and choose curiosity before we serve up judgment!

Shout out to all my colleagues out there who are in the business of school leadership day in and day out and do this with integrity and unwavering commitment for the right reasons-our pupils. Absolute heroes of mine! 🤩

@son1bun @HalilMrT1 @Emma_Turner75 @PeterDMShaw @sagk1 @CarlyWaterman21 @MissBTeaches_ @brassoteach @damianmcbeath @benniekara @pedagogymatters @KathrynMorgan_2 to name just a few. I hope you’re all having a well-deserved half term break! (Whenever it may be for you)

It may not be revolutionary stuff and lots of it lends on literature beyond the field of education and from the field of psychology but I’ve found it really useful to distil my thoughts into key points (thus the 🪡) ahead of writing in more detail about these.

@EducEndowFoundn @AdamMGrant @olicav @nmgilbride @profbeckyallen @k_chirp @hgse @MltOxford @TomRees_77 just some of the orgs and people who have shaped some of the above thinking so far! 🙌🏼

Book number 2 on curriculum leadership in progress- watch this space 👀

And the amazing Primary Huh Gang! @johntomsett @MaryMyatt @Emma_Turner75 @creativeHigg I’ve learnt so much from our conversations with such skilled leaders who get it SO right! Primary Huh: Curriculum conversations with subject leaders in primary schools amazon.co.uk/dp/1915261155/…