In implementing any change or school improvement initiative I find the 20 / 60 / 20 rule applies. 20% of people will be keen, enthusiastic and work hard to implement the strategy. 60% of people are sitting on the fence and could adopt it if they can see the benefits of the initiative and are supported to implement it OR could reject the initiative and keep doing what they have…

According to Michael Fullan (2002), “A principal’s chief responsibility is doing everything possible to support and optimize the growth of teaching and learning, just like a teacher’s job is to do everything possible to maximize student learning and development.” This is aligned with leadership guru, Ken Blanchard’s concept of Servant Leadership. Blanchard argues that the work of the Principal (and all leaders in the school) is to provide the support…

At this time of year many schools are embarking on, or planning to embark on, a strategic planning process to identify their way forward for the next one to five years. Put simply, strategy describes what we want to achieve over time and how we will do it. That is certainly an important but difficult thing to do in such unpredictable times. I recently came across the work of Strategy…

I was intrigued to read a post that positioned men as naturally more confident than women. I particularly liked the observation from ski instructors that when they routinely ask learners at their first lesson to rate their skiing ability between 1 and 5 they automatically discounted the response of men by 1.5 as they “always over rated themselves”. I was intrigued that gender may be reflected in confidence. I checked…

Yes, I know you have a lot to do, especially at this time of the year. It is at these times of the year, when people are running low on reserves that they say (and do) dumb things. To counter this and contribute to a more positive environment around the school, I challenge you to take on the Praise Challenge. Each day for the next week, find three people to…

Whilst some would say that technology has made us more connected than ever, the authors of my new favourite book argue that we are more disconnected than ever. “The next time you call a kid ‘attention seeking,’ change it to ‘connection seeking’ and see how your perspective changes.” This is one of the key messages from Jody Carrington and Laurie McIntosh in Teachers These Days. According to the authors, the most…

Having a passion seems to be the one universal trait found in the happiest, most driven people. Best selling author Shawn Anchor says that meaning and happiness cannot sustain themselves in isolation for long. To get to your passion, you need to identify your purpose. Simon Sinek famously calls it your why. A teacher who is clear on their purpose, is a teacher who has passion. Researchers have identified two…

Whilst solving problems is the bread and butter of school leadership some of our behaviours help, and some hinder us. It is helpful to build the behaviours that are constructive and helpful in resolving problems and manage or reduce our defensive behaviours. The following behaviours help us to solve problems in Constructive ways. Keeping facts and assumptions separate. Checking for alignment and establish common understanding. Clearly establishing the objective or…

The observations and memories that we collect during the day (and take home with us at the end of the day) have a huge impact on our happiness. In “The Burnout Cure: Learning to Love Teaching Again” , Chase Miekle notes that “Each day we make decisions about what experiences we carry with us. Sometimes we bring home the good things – stories of student resilience, recognition of our self-worth,…

I know the headline got your attention but it isn’t clickbait. According to Mary Kay Ash, founder of the Mary Kay cosmetics empire, people want recognition and praise more than sex and money. Whilst I’d love to see the evidence supporting the claim, I know the positive impact that genuine recognition and praise can have on building school culture. According to author Bob Nelson PhD in "1501 Ways to Reward Employees", staff want respect,…

Emotional intelligence is an important skill in leadership. Research shows that “accurate person perception” or being able to ‘read’ people is very beneficial. However, the vast majority of us are not as good at reading people as we think we are. Far from it! University of Chicago professor Nicholas Epley has found that when you are dealing with strangers, you correctly detect their thoughts and feelings only 20 percent of the…

If you've been working in schools for any length of time, you've probably worked for a not-so-great-boss. You've witnessed first-hand how a boss can negatively impact a department or a whole school. In their great book, “How to Become a Great Boss”, Gino Wickman and Rene Boer suggest the following symptoms of Not-So-Great-Bosses. Create confusion They tell you what to do but not why it's important. Never has time for you…

If you are fortunate you will have worked with great school leaders who have been wonderful role models for you. However, we can also learn what NOT to do from leaders we have worked for. In their great book, “How to Become a Great Boss”, Gino Wickman and Rene Boer suggest that leaders need to have four different types of capacity to be a great boss. They encourage us to reflect…