More hamster wheel than spinning plates
What does it say about my leadership that following the start of the new headship post, it has taken me three weeks before I’ve been out to set aside time to write my first post? (That is not to say that …
SEF checker
Four weeks into the 2016 academic year and the leadership team were finalising amendments to the Self-evaluation framework (SEF). Various senior colleagues had written their leadership contributions with the final draft being knitted together. At the time, I wrote these notes and saved …
Influence more powerful than authority
Influence is not authority. Authority is not leadership. Leadership does not guarantee influence. Though we often use these terms interchangeably, I am confident they are separate entities. These reflections were prompted by three unrelated, serendipitous “nudges” this week and knowledge of that …
Summer read #1
Distributed Leadership in Schools – A Practical Guide for Learning and Improvement – John A. DeFlaminis, Mustafa Abdul-Jabbar and Eric Yoak was the first summer read. Billed as a guide to the best practices and lessons learned in designing and implementing distributed leadership to …
Hard truths
Leading is most certainly an uneven path. Tonight I heard Sam Alladyce and others) outline his readiness for the National job. “Hardened,” was the adjective predetermined and delivered to the sharp toothed journalists. New school leaders such as myself are …
Adventurer or Voyager
This post has been baking in the thinking-oven for near on a year now, following a 2015 TES post – Summer homework assignment went viral. The original assignment had many interesting challenges and a really good balance of creativity, reflection and education …
Driving to work with Gayle Allen
Like many, I drive to work in the morning. I leave before the traffic gets too heavy. I use the drive to think, reflect, plan and learn. Recently I have been driving to work with Gayle Allen. Not in person, obviously, …
#TLT16 – Performance management, review, recognition or reward?
Building upon the huge success of 2013, 2014 and 2015, #TLT16 returns to the University of Southampton on Saturday 15th October 2016. IMHO this event is one the very best professional learning opportunities available, last year it was a privilege …