07.24.10
Headteacher Blog – Your Agenda/My Agenda?
I think one of the most challenging aspects of my work over the last 6 terms has been the sheer volume of information that comes to me as a Headteacher and the pace that it arrives (via the LEA bag/via email/via My Briefing/via the post/via staff). Having to filter out what really matters and more importantly, what I should be dealing with and what can be delegated can be so difficult! On the one hand I want to protect my staff from too much beaurocracy and paperwork; on the other hand if my staff know that I trust them then they can feel free to make decisions without always needing my “ok”. Increasingly staff are coming to me to tell me that they have sorted something out, checked it with the DHT and would I like to pop it in my diary? Hoorah!
The tension comes then, from the plethora of unexpected information that I have to “manage” on a day to day basis. I can get very “bogged down” in mundane tasks if I am not careful. I want to be strategic. I want to lead school improvement. The task therefore, is to find ways to empower staff so that they have both the confidence and the expertise to take responsibility for decision making at middle management levels. However is this always enough? We can send our staff on NCSL courses, we can train them and coach staff, but if we are not careful this can still be a very passive act. We can empower them and help them to develop confidence, but how to we develop the personal motivation to take that extra step to become an emergent school leader?
I guess this is where we head back to basics.
- Share the moral purpose. Again and again and again;
- Share the aims. Illustrate how this is a win-win situation;
- Engage the staff in the long term view;
- Create the common agenda, *YOUR AGENDA IS MY AGENDA*;
- Model the expected behaviour and attitudes;
- Most people feel a great sense of achievement from making a successful and “purposeful” decision;
- Give honest praise where it is due;
- Know your staff and know how to manage the delegation process;
- Some staff are more confident, more experienced so personalise your approach.
NEVER kick someone when they are down. If a member of staff takes a risk and it all goes horribly wrong I can guarantee that you cannot punish them any more than they will punish themselves. Give them space and when they are ready coach them through the experience – with a nice cup of tea!
I don’t lead a large school. We don’t have a Bursar, we have an Office Manager. We don’t have a Site Manager, we have a Caretaker. We don’t have Learning Mentors, we Have Teaching Assistants. We have one Deputy Headteacher and no Assistant Headteachers.
What we do have is a small but an amazing team who are hard working, dedicated and single minded in the process of school improvement.
Motivation Is Everything.
My Agenda = Our Agenda
