The vast majority of people believe that things are getting worse, not better. People everywhere think the world is more frightening, more violent and more hopeless – in short, more dramatic – than it really is. This belief is fueled by the news media. Contrary to this popular belief, the World is actually getting better. Despite what the media would have us believe, we have reason to be optimistic. Step-by-step, year-by-year, the world is improving. Not on every single measure, every single…

Resoundingly the answer is a very strong “NO!” In the bustling halls of schools nationwide, an essential ingredient often overlooked in the pursuit of academic excellence is the element of fun. While the focus on rigorous learning is crucial, integrating joy and playfulness into the school environment can significantly enhance the overall educational experience. It's time for school principals and other leaders to lead the charge in fostering a culture…

There are many expectations placed on school leaders. Setting the direction. Supporting staff. Managing student behaviour. Dealing with unhappy parents. Managing the budget. Recruiting great staff (a heartbeat is a good start in the current environment). I believe the following quote from Kenneth Leithwood captures a key area. Leaders provide the direction and create the environment that promotes good teaching and consistency across the school. I would argue that all students in a school…

I am blown away by the hype surrounding Taylor Swift. The interest in this year’s Super Bowl, her potential influence on U.S. politics and the impact on the Australian economy (60 additional flights from Brisbane to Sydney) to name just a few examples. Here are some leadership tips inspired by Taylor. Embrace Change: Taylor Swift is known for reinventing herself with every album release. As a school leader, embrace change and…

The core principle of the 80/20 rule states that roughly 80% of your outputs come from 20% of your inputs. This can be applied to various aspects of life. If you owned a business, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers. 80% of food ordered at a restaurant comes from 20% of the items on the menu. 80% of your results at work come from 20% of…

Attached are FIVE resources to support brand-new graduates in their first five weeks. The resources come from our brand NEW Happy Teacher - Early Career program. This advice is for FIRST year graduates. We also have specific advice for early career teachers in their 2nd and 3rd years as well.  Simply click to download each resource. 1 Congratulations On Becoming A Teacher 2 Setting Up For Success 3 The Keep it Simple Guide to Classroom Management 4 Plan For…

We all know that term 4 is ballistic! It is always a hectic time of the school year and we are inevitably running low on reserves. However, saying or doing something dumb in term 4 wipes out all of the good work that you have done throughout the year. The mantra of all staff in schools, especially leaders, needs to be FINISH STRONG! Attitudes are contagious, especially the leaders. If…

I'm worried about our early career teachers.  Recruiting and retaining good teachers is vital. Staff resignations and retirements have led to shortages and the appointment of many graduates. Working in schools can be challenging. The first three years are especially challenging for early career teachers. We have all heard the statistics of staff turnover in the first years of teaching. If early career teachers don’t have the skills and knowledge…

"Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter" by Liz Wiseman is a book that explores the concept of leadership and how effective leaders can multiply the intelligence and capabilities of their teams. Wiseman argues that there are two types of leaders: Multipliers and Diminishers. Multipliers are leaders who amplify the intelligence and abilities of those around them, while Diminishers are leaders who stifle and limit the potential of their…

“If oxygen is required, a mask like this, will fall from above you. Apply your own mask first, before helping others.” I fly fairly often and can recite word for word almost all of the pre-flight safety message. The key message above, applies to leaders and staff in schools. We need to take responsibility for our own care, if we are going to be in a position to help others…

Whilst we often think of negotiations in terms of sales and agreeing the final price, school leaders are often negotiating shared agreements and establishing common ground. In my work with over 100 school leadership teams on understanding and utilising their strengths, the weakest link or blind side in almost all of those teams, has been the ability to influence. The ability to negotiate is a powerful and important skill as…

I love the title of this book by Swedish psychologist, Thomas Erikson. In a school leadership position it can be very frustrating as we deal with people, all day, every day and at times, I’ve felt frustrated with the views and behaviour of some of those people. Understanding human behaviour is a never-ending pursuit. At times I have struggled to understand why people have made certain choices that have led…

The Gallup group studied the responses of 10000 people to the question, what do great leaders bring to their lives? Four clear themes emerged. People look to their leaders to provide… Trust Compassion Stability and Hope These four themes really resonated with me and are a great framework to reflect against. We have all worked with leaders who frustrated us. Using these four themes we can easily see where some…

“Busy!” is the most common response I hear from people when I ask them how they are. I’ve noticed that in recent years the most common response when asked about our well-being has changed. The most common responses used to be “Not bad!” or “I’ve been worse!” Today the most common response is “Busy!” Everyone working in schools these days is busy. Even under performing staff are busy. They are just busy doing the wrong…

Meetings can seem a necessary evil in schools. Often our days can feel like they are filled with back-to-back meetings. However, many staff complain that meetings aren’t a good use of their time. Imagine if you walked away from every meeting feeling like it was a valuable use of everyone’s time. Macquarie University advocates for using the PODS acronym to ensure that meetings are purposeful and a good use of…

School leaders make hundreds, if not thousands of decisions every day. Obviously, some decisions are more important than others. When it comes to making very significant strategic decisions that are likely to have a big impact on a school, I find Jeff Butler’s 6 Step process very beneficial. STEP #1 Define the Problem Without Considering the Solution Many times when scoping the solution to a problem, the problem is not defined accurately…

Being absolutely clear about your role is essential, especially for school leaders. Middle leader roles in many schools have changed considerably in recent years. It’s really important that each leader is crystal clear on what the key aspects of their role are and what outcomes they are responsible for. Position descriptions are often so generic and all-encompassing they don’t necessarily help. They often fail to provide CLARITY about what each…

Whilst I know you are busy, it is more important than ever to connect with your staff. Schools are people places and people are crying out for connection and leaders who listen and care. I highly recommend that you allocate time this week to getting out and about, talking with people on duty, visiting the staffroom and just checking in. Here are three questions to get you started. What was…

There has been much discussion in schools about the impact of ChatGPT (and other Artificial Intelligence bots) on student assessment. Schools are discussing how they can prevent students using ChatGPT to cheat on assessment tasks. The use of AI bots to cheat on assessment tasks highlights an even more important issue in education – what is the purpose of schooling? Is it to educate or to grade, sort and classify? On a trip to…