School leaders may well be the direction-setters in their organisation, but they are most certainly not the pace-setters.

It is one thing to kick-start the flywheel of organisational improvement, another thing altogether to propagate the conditions for acceleration and growth. This is because schools are rarely if ever static places. At their heart, they are places where leaders should champion democracy and culture-building, yet are shackled by the inevitable fear and fatigue of change. Have you ever wondered how school leaders fare with all the pressure of KPI’s, accountability, inspection/audit etc. How is it impacting their emotional wellbeing? Their working relationships? Their efficacy? Can they separate the professional from the personal in their role? Do they internalise this pressure or externalise it to the detriment of others? One thing is for sure, all eyes are on them and the pressure can be punishing. As Hargreaves, Harris and Boyle (2014) point out:

“Individuals who have led others through profound change, do not do so without fear of failure, danger or what the future may hold. Every leader experiences self-doubt where he or she faces the prospect of defeat. What defines uplifting leadership is how these individuals deal with their own and their followers’ fear – and do so in a way which creates uplift”.

Leadership can be a titanic struggle in one’s head. It is understandable that leaders vacillate between personal beliefs on one hand, and pragmatism on the other when being called upon to make a decision. Few leaders (from my experience) are complete automatons and ignore the human impact of their behaviour. The question is how does one balance the need to exercise mindful and empathetic leadership with having to ‘perform’ the role with expediency and efficiency? Schools need to keep moving forward after all. One of the most effective strategies when struggling with these dynamic tensions is to hit the pause button. Reflect – ask yourself 3 questions:

Product or possibility?

‘Have I become/Am I the product of my position-description or am I the leader I would like to be?’ Does the day-to-day lived experience compare to what is on paper? You may perform your job well, but what has this done to your working relationships, especially if you were promoted into the position from a non-leadership position at your school. You may have created an unintended disconnect between your professional self-image and that of their peers. The ‘wanting to be’ versus ‘having to be’ issue is normal. You are not alone in feeling this. Don’t wait until things become messy and untenable – get back out there and re-connect with your teams and colleagues. The worst thing you can do is observe what is going on from the lofty heights of leadership and forget what it is like on the ground. Like Richard Elmore said, ‘watching most teams operate in schools is like watching Astroturf grow’. Is your absence from ‘the ground’ perpetuating the disconnect?

Am I open to being challenged?

Have you played your part in creating a culture and professional environment where staff feel they can raise with you questions or concerns with you without fear of judgement or condemnation? I don’t mean merely clarification about something that they are uncertain or uneasy about, but the confidence to raise the fact that they observe a conflict in expected norms of behaviour and persona built up over time. Sometimes leaders have to occupy spaces or mindsets which are not in their comfort zone or field of expertise. It requires them to be vulnerable and flexible and accept they can’t be all things to all people. It’s reassuring to observe a leader admit mistakes, share a joke and not fake it.

Play with a straight bat?

I would argue that consistency is something people tend to like. They appreciate knowing where they stand with leadership. This simple behaviour is chronically neglected in schools for all manner of reasons, but cuts to the heart of the personal V professional dilemma. The ‘want to be’ Versus ‘have to be’. There needs to be an equal measure of staff appreciation that leaders have to juggle the dynamic agendas of day-to-day management of a school and then also dealing with the unexpected and sporadic. Leaders need to be able to occupy these different roles and maintain stable levels of trust, healthy relationships and ensure productivity. This is tough. Try to become predictable and reliable. It might sound boring, but people appreciate this. It may enable that empathy and appreciation for the tough gig that is leadership.

Schools are complex places and being a leader is a very personal job. We all know about the importance of vertical trust in organisations, but lateral trust is equally important. All leaders started ‘on the ground’ and rose to these positions. Sustaining this awareness is important. Failure to do so can create unhealthy tension. As Andy Hargreaves points out, we can prevent the building of trusting relationships with ‘norms of politeness and non-interference …this reduces teachers’ capacity to work through differences and learn from disagreement’ (Hargreaves 2002).  Teachers always hear about the ‘line’ that should exist between the personal and professional self. Sometimes this blurring of the line can BE the problem, sometimes it can remedy the problem.

Remember, the pace and progress of a school is set by the speed of trust between the teachers and leaders. It’s sometimes better to journey in unison than look back at the following pack. The personal/professional thing will always be a struggle, but it is made easier if we are predictable, vulnerable and connected.