2: ent e m em ship u l Vo anag der M d lea k o an bo nd d an w a rs h A r ne de fo g lea irin p as
Jim
r ty a g Fo
AMiE is a partnership between ACM and ATL
Contents 1 2 4 5 6 8 8 11 12 13 15 17 18 19 20 21 24 26 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 33 34 35 36 37 37 38 39 41 42
Acknowledgements/Foreword Introduction Management and leadership The differences between management and leadership Management essentials Communication Emails Meetings ‘Umbrella leaders’ Time management Analyse your way of working Use the prioritisation model Make time for reflection and analysis Strategic and operational management Published by the AMiE Strategic leadership www.amie.uk.com Strategic vision Feedback should Strategic planning be sent to: Managing difficult people AMiE, 35 The Point Avoiding getting too affiliative Market Harborough Meeting with difficult individuals Leicestershire LE16 7QU Boosting your confidence Tel 01858 461 110 Fax 01858 461 366 Values and leadership AMiE is the union and Team and organisational values professional association Fairness and underperformance for leaders and managers Reviewing progress in schools and colleges. Self-assessment and feedback Project editor: Self-assessment and reflection Yvonne Fleming Edited and designed Feedback from others by thingswedo Published by the AMiE Taking care of yourself Printer: Blackmore Ltd, www.amie.uk.com A healthy lifestyle Shaftesbury, Dorset Feedback should be Working in a healthier way © Association of Managers sent to: Emotional health in Education 2010. AMiE Work–life balance All rights reserved. 35 The Point Colleagues are most welcome Conclusion Market Harborough to use the materials in this book Leicestershire Self-assessment: a summary in training sessions, however we LE16 7QU Select bibliography would ask that you register your Tel 01858 461 110 use with AMiE on 01858 461 110. Useful websites Fax 01858 461 366
Acknowledgements Thanks are due to my colleagues from Promoting Excellence, namely Peter Rushton, Pauline Morris and Ray Begley, for their continued help and wise advice. We also acknowledge all the schools, academies, colleges and individual participants in Promoting Excellence programmes whose open and honest views have formed such an integral part of this booklet. Jim Fogarty Promoting Excellence Ltd
Foreword Welcome to this second publication in AMiE’s How to survive at the top series. These bite-size volumes, specifically designed to support new and aspiring leaders and managers in the practicalities of developing their own leadership skills, also have much to offer the experienced leader as a guide to best practice and a framework to reflect on individual development and improvement. I hope that, no matter what the stage of your career, you will find the following pages useful and relevant to the challenges you face on a daily basis and a source of practical tips to promote change and improvement in your organisation. Peter Pendle General Secretary and Chief Executive, ACM/AMiE Acting Deputy General Secretary, ATL
Introduction
The aim of the How to survive at the top series is to support you in the development of skills and expertise. This volume, Management and leadership, focuses on some of those essential management skills which support and facilitate the overall development of leadership. While it forms Volume 2 of the How to survive at the top series, it can also be read as a stand-alone booklet. You can use it as part of your own leadership development, linking it to your leadership experience. This volume assumes that leadership and management are inextricably linked. Although it begins by underlining the differences between the two, it goes on to demonstrate their interdependence; you can’t have one without the other. Much of what is written elsewhere, specifically about management, concentrates on the short term – those task-orientated functions which focus on getting the job done. However, there is so much more to management. This volume includes some short-, middle- and long-term development considerations that will help towards the challenge of building a positive climate in your team. Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them. Paul Hawken (www.thinkexist.com)
Leadership and management are about people. Developing the people around you will be both demanding and satisfying – and your greatest challenge. So, getting to grips with the processes and procedures of good management is your immediate task, while embracing the wider leadership implications of people management will continue to challenge you throughout your leadership journey.
Finally, one section of this booklet is essential to all new leaders: ‘Taking care of yourself’ (see page 34). Looking after yourself will not only make you a better leader and manager, but will also help you to become a positive and outstanding role model for your colleagues. 1
Management and leadership
2
Many people use the words ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ interchangeably, so you are just as likely to hear them say ‘I went into leadership when I got my first management post’ as ‘I went into management when I got my first leadership post’. Some even seem to treat the words as a matching pair, like ‘fish and chips’ or ‘Morecambe and Wise’. Even Ofsted tends to adopt this ‘Ant and Dec’ position. The next logical step would be to run the two words together like ‘NatWest’ – ‘ManagementandLeadership’! Yet management and leadership are entirely different functions. Zaleznik (1998) shows how leaders and managers perform very different sets of tasks: Businesses must find ways to train good managers and develop leaders at the same time. Without a solid organisational framework, even leaders with the most brilliant ideas may spin their wheels, frustrating co-workers and accomplishing little. This volume underlines some major differences between leadership and management and the critical importance for the new and aspiring leader of developing a deep awareness of both. Yet much as management and leadership are different, I also believe that they are so closely linked that to emphasise the dichotomy too much, is to miss the important relationship. It is impossible to imagine how anyone could get to a top leadership position without first being a good manager; and it is difficult to envisage anyone becoming a successful manager without having leadership qualities. As a new or aspiring leader, you should develop your understanding of management. Be prepared to practise the skills, evaluate the results and continue to strive for excellence. top tip
It is unlikely that you will become a top leader without first being a good manager, so perfecting your management skills on a daily basis builds a solid base for becoming an outstanding leader.
3
The differences between management and leadership To become a good leader, you must ďŹ rst become a good manager. New leaders should build and hone their management skills at every opportunity. Although you will often be required to perform both management and leadership functions within the same role, there are some critical differences. In simple terms:
1 management is about creating order 1 leadership focuses on creating change. The reality is, of course, more complex:
4
Management:
Leadership:
creating order
creating change
Facts
Ideas
Focused
Broad
Solves problems
Creates challenges
Finds answers
Poses questions
Today
Tomorrow
Learns through training
Learns through experience
Reasoning
Stimulation/influence
Goal-orientated
Open/generates options
Creates order
Encourages exploration
Current wisdom
Discovery
Structured, based on rules
Balances creativity with order
Stability
Change
Common sense
Imagination
Short-term
Long-term
think about
Take some time to reflect on the above list. At this stage of your career, do you see yourself as more skilled at management or leadership? Or are you skilled at both? Or neither?
Management essentials If you are to become an effective leader, you will need some essential management skills – as the rest of this booklet explains.
Communication Values and leadership Time management
Managing difficult people Self-assessment and feedback
Strategic and operational leadership Taking care of yourself
5
Communication
6
Few people would claim that communication in their organisation is effective. When asked, people often give two opposite responses: ‘We never get told what’s going on’; or ‘We are bombarded with emails and meetings’. The new leader must do more than find a balance between the two; he or she must first understand more about communication in order to use it effectively. Communication can be for many purposes, including:
1 giving out essential information 1 giving out less essential information 1 receiving information 1 reminding or summarising 1 consulting 1 emphasising 1 inspiring, motivating and re-energising 1 listening. It is easy to become accustomed to using the same means of communication for every purpose. Your greatest task is to communicate and re-communicate the vision. This is done most effectively face-to-face in:
1 one-to-one meetings 1 group meetings 1 informal situations by the way you model it. top tip
It is virtually impossible to communicate the vision by electronic or printed media alone. Don’t even try.
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Emails Emails can be a very efficient means of communication, but it is common to hear people complain about how much time they spend daily dealing with emails – time they can ill afford. As a new leader, you will no doubt receive your fair share, but resist the temptation to add to the ‘spam mountain’. Don’t get into the habit of firing off emails at every opportunity, and don’t become reactive to – or overly influenced by – the agendas set by others in email traffic. Ask yourself: ‘Is there a better way?’ Don’t email the person in the office next door. Talking will always get a more effective result. top tips
Get up from your desk and walk! Make set times to view and deal with emails, and stick to them.
Meetings How much time did you spend in meetings last week, last month, last year? If you really counted the time, you would be astonished! How much was essential? Was it time well spent? think about
How many meetings have you called recently? Were they well planned and well chaired? Did they keep to time? Was the meeting really necessary or was there a better way to communicate?
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Effective meetings Bad meetings involve a long list of negatives: it has no purpose; it is an unnecessary routine; it produces confusion, not clarity; decisions have already been made or no decisions are made at all; it is dominated by one person or group; or it rambles on and on ‌ At a good meeting, people feel that:
1 they have used their time effectively 1 they could contribute and were included in decision-making 1 they have been treated with openness and respect 1 they are better informed as a result of the meeting 1 things have moved on. think about
Think of the most effective meetings you have ever attended. What worked well?
What makes a good chair? Invariably, a good chair is a prerequisite for a good meeting. A good chair helps to steer meetings along efďŹ ciently and effectively. top tip
Learn to be an outstanding chair. This is an invaluable skill for leaders.
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A good chair:
1 ensures that meetings are well planned in advance 1 anticipates the issues and gets to know the agenda items 1 always starts on time and expects everyone to be equally punctual
1 looks confident and has a light touch 1 makes good eye contact 1 gets everyone involved 1 doesn’t let anyone dominate 1 summarises at key points 1 sets a good pace 1 underlines decisions and deadlines 1 never holds open-ended meetings at the end of the day 1 always finishes on time. When you first become a new leader, you may have to chair a new or different type of meeting. It is common to feel quite exposed, particularly if the meeting is likely to be a bit contentious. Everyone faces these demons occasionally, but you can overcome them by:
1 reflecting upon your successful meetings 1 observing others who have good chairing skills 1 practising being a good chair 1 perhaps rotating the chairing of your team meetings, 1 top tip
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so that everyone has a go identifying the ‘star’ chairs in your team and developing them.
Building your skills in chairing will pay dividends throughout your leadership career.
‘Umbrella leaders’ Much of the information overload will of course come down to you from above and there is little you can do about it.
Or is there? The most effective leaders get into the habit of protecting their team (like an umbrella) from the deluge of paper and emails. The least effective leaders just pass it on or – even worse – add to it. I am not suggesting that you take on the role of censor, but rather that of the ‘umbrella leader’, who keeps meetings to a minimum and sieves the information to cut out the … useless stuff.
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Time management
12
Ask a range of leaders what would make their job better, and the majority will suggest (apart from doubling their salary): ‘more time in a day’. But it’s impossible to create more time, isn’t it? The solution for the leader is to manage time more effectively. Think of an occasion when time seemed to spiral out of control. Perhaps you had:
1 an impending examination deadline and 1 a colleague or pupil who suddenly needed help and 1 long phone calls from a persistent parent and 1 your normal workload and 1 a pile of reports still to check and 1 a senior member of staff asking you to do 1
something urgently and your mother-in-law’s birthday this Saturday and you’d promised to drive up to see her for the weekend. It’s just a normal week. Your life is always like that. What can you do?
Analyse your way of working You can analyse your way of working. The starting point should be an analysis of how you spent your time today, last week or even last year. If you do this robustly, some patterns will undoubtedly emerge about how you deal with important and urgent issues. How important an issue is can be judged by asking yourself a series of questions, such as:
1 If I complete this task, what are the implications? 1 What are the benefits? 1 Are other people depending on me to complete this task? 1 If I don’t do it, what are the consequences? 1 What are the implications for other people? Ultimately, however, this is still a judgement call.
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Urgency is about deadlines. It is about when a task must be completed. It may be coloured by the dependence of other people on when it is finished. Is their work dependent on you completing yours? The urgent/important dilemma can be compounded by complex internal and external factors. For example, some people tend to do first those things that they find intrinsically satisfying, such as new projects, leaving things they don’t like doing to the end, such as marking. Some people treat a request from a senior manager as though it were very important and urgent, when it rarely meets both those criteria. The more you analyse your way of working, the more you will recognise your own patterns of behaviour. You will discover that important tasks are not always urgent, and that urgent tasks are not always important. But if you leave things that are not urgent for long enough, they become urgent. If you are always dealing with seemingly urgent tasks, then you need to manage your workload differently by becoming less reactive and more proactive.
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Use the prioritisation model You can prioritise your work more effectively. In the prioritisation model below, the key to becoming a great time manager is increasingly to spend more time on the activities in Box A. This should have a positive impact on how much of your time is needed in Box B and even in Box C.
The prioritisation model
Box A Fire prevention
Box B Fire ďŹ ghting
High importance/ low urgency
High importance/ high urgency
Box C Distraction
Box D Time wasting
High urgency/ low importance
Low importance/ low urgency
Fire prevention High importance/low urgency means being proactive about doing the important jobs before they become urgent. It includes:
1 planning 1 coaching 1 feedback 1 goal-setting 1 monitoring and evaluation 1 staff development. Fire prevention tasks are really beneďŹ cial activities that can have a huge payback. They are worth the effort.
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Fire fighting High importance/high urgency means the more time you spend on activities in Box B, the more under pressure and uncomfortable you will feel. And the more pressurised your time becomes, the more likely it is to have a detrimental effect on your performance – and even on your health. The way to do better at fire fighting is to find more time to accomplish the Box A tasks of fire prevention. But where can you find the extra time for fire prevention? The challenge is in overcoming distraction (Box C) and time wasting (Box D).
Distraction Low importance/high urgency means you find yourself doing reactive tasks, often as a result of being sidetracked by someone else’s idea of what’s important. Distraction can feel like fire fighting, but it usually turns out to be only urgent. Beware of the ‘Superman/Superwoman syndrome’: being seduced by the adrenalin rush or satisfaction of ‘riding to the rescue’ of staff in distress. If you spend more time developing staff, they might not bring so many urgent problems to your door.
Time wasting Low importance/low urgency means idly chatting to passing colleagues, reading emails, making coffee, making unnecessary phone calls, checking the Test score, rearranging your desk. We can all recognise such timewasting activities. The list is endless. We are busy doing nothing – in fact doing anything but what needs doing. One danger of this type of stress-free activity is that it can become a not unpleasant way to spend your time. Another danger is failing to recognise how much time is actually spent on it.
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Make time for reflection and analysis You can make time to think. Starting to manage your time more effectively can be a real bonus to the development of leadership, but this will only occur as you become a more reflective leader.
1 Build into your reflections a regular analysis 1 1
of how you spend your time. Move from analysis to action: change the way you do things. Make prioritisation a well-used implement in your toolbox.
Remember, it is not about changing time but about changing your behaviours, cutting out time-wasting activities and people, and focusing on what’s important. A common complaint from a busy leader is: ‘I am always so busy doing things that I never get time to think’. Thinking is a necessary activity for leaders: if you are not doing it, you are not doing your job effectively. Building in just a five- or tenminute pause in the day, every day, to stop and reflect can provide significant benefits to your effectiveness as a leader. Think about it! top tips
You will never find time for everything. If you want time, you must create it. Prioritise regular time for reflection. Get into good habits of time management early in your career. It will continue to reap dividends for years to come.
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Strategic and operational leadership
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As new leaders move up the leadership ladder, they inevitably become involved in a transition from operational management to strategic leadership, from the detailed view to the big picture. For many, this is the biggest step. Operational management is probably what they have excelled at so far. This involves:
1 creating order 1 developing consistency and stability 1 finding answers and solving today’s problems 1 making structures and systems that work 1 checking progress 1 achieving short-term objectives 1 establishing appropriate resources. Those skills developed as an operational manager, such as an eye for detail, provide essential development tools for strategic leadership. But not everyone makes the transition easily. Really great and successful curriculum managers often get so used to making their own specific area work well, that they fail to notice what’s going on around them. As they are always so close to the familiar detail, they can feel uncomfortable with looking at the big picture. top tips
Develop a broad perspective. Listen to, read about and observe what’s happening in the organisation, in the sector and in the wider world.
Strategic leadership When you become head of a large school or college, you can’t expect to know every minute detail of what is going on. That’s what other people are employed to do. But it can be a bit scary to realise that someone else may know more than you about a particular issue. Lower down the leadership ladder, you are often expected to know both the detail and the big picture.
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Strategic leadership is not necessarily about the detail, but about a longer-term vision. As head or senior leader, your governing board will rightly expect you to provide a clear vision for the future and lead others towards it. The strategic leader:
1 creates the vision 1 articulates the vision 1 passionately owns the vision 1 inspires other people to play a role in delivering the vision. Strategic leadership is therefore about the future, about focusing on change. The higher up the ladder you go, the more strategic you will be required to be. But rarely is the strategic/operational issue an either/or situation; it is more like a continuum between leadership and management. top tip
Don’t wait until you get to the top to develop your strategic leadership skills. Be ambitious.
Strategic vision Some organisations have dense quality assurance manuals, complex and unfathomable structures, and myriads of rules and regulations – yet they have no clear direction. Their vision is neither distinct nor future-orientated, and senior leaders concern themselves exclusively with reacting to events. In short, they lack strategic leadership. This can occur at organisational or team level. Vision is often said to be the essential and critical quality of leaders at all levels. Yet some people, in a surprisingly varied range of roles, never have the vision but stagger aimlessly from crisis to crisis. It must be a very stressful existence, like being lost on the high seas, buffeted by every kind of weather. New and aspiring leaders should understand from the outset that strategic vision is not an ‘airy-fairy’ thing, but an essential part of developing their effectiveness.
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Leaders with a strategic vision:
1 see clearly where they are going 1 aim high 1 are not easily forced off course 1 can communicate the vision. The new and aspiring leader therefore needs to focus on developing and communicating a strategic vision that is:
1 a clear and simple view of the future 1 based upon reality but with the highest expectations. The best leaders usually have the highest aspirations. We all live under the same sky, but we do not all have the same horizon. Konrad Adenauer (www.thinkexist.com)
top tip
Create the vision for your team and ensure that each individual knows how their role ďŹ ts into it.
Strategic planning Strategic planning is the process of determining a clear direction for an organisation over a precise period of time. Strategic plans can look complex and even confusing, but the best ones are built upon three simple questions:
1 Where are we now? 1 Where do we want to be in (x) years’ time? 1 How will we get there? Each organisation and sector will have their own models, but common to all the best strategic planning is the need to involve as many people as possible in the planning processes. Wider involvement produces wider ownership.
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This is not just true of the school or college as a whole, but it is also true of your team. If you want your team to deliver the outcomes, then it is best to involve them as much as possible in the planning. Good strategic planning starts with clarity of vision. Most organisations encapsulate this vision in a mission statement telling you their fundamental purpose, often followed by a vision statement stating what the organisation wants to be in the future. It can be for the whole school or college or it can be just for your own team. If it is for your own team, it must align with the organisation and its values. Features of effective vision statements include:
1 clarity and lack of ambiguity 1 a vivid and clear picture describing a bright future 1 memorable or engaging wording. Typically, a strategic development plan will then set out a series of strategic objectives which should deliver the vision. This will then be broken down into:
1 goals and objectives 1 methodologies 1 targets 1 responsibilities 1 deadlines. At junior or middle leader level, you will usually be presented by senior management with the organisational strategic plan already partly created and hopefully having involved as many staff as possible. Your responsibility will be to demonstrate how and when your team will help reach those objectives. Everyone in your team should be clear about the big picture and how they are going to contribute to it.
Where are we now? A common mistake is that teams start planning for the future without a clear idea of where they are now. Your role as manager is to develop within the team a clear understanding of this current position. 22
Strategic planning needs to include at every level a robust and honest appraisal of ‘where we are now’. The evaluation should not be seen through rose-tinted spectacles. The context of the current situation should include internal and external issues and threats. The evaluation should never be tainted by a blame culture. Outstanding strategic planning is realistic and is characterised by its openness and honesty. If you don’t start with an accurate picture of where you are at present, how can you expect to plan with any precision your roadmap for your future direction?
Goals and targets Strategic planning typically starts with broad brushstrokes – wide and all-embracing aims which depict the desired future state. Subsequently at each stage the planning becomes more specific and focused in its goals and targets. Many teams have wrestled with the difficulty of targets that are too vague. A common solution is to set ‘SMART’ goals and targets that are:
1 Specific 1 Measurable 1 Achievable 1 Relevant 1 Time related. Don’t set targets that are too vague or that are unachievable. A big danger for your team is that the target-setting becomes an end in itself. Monitor and evaluate targets consistently, to see how far you have travelled. top tip
Strategic planning – the drawing of an accurate map – is challenging, but the biggest difficulty is actually reaching your desired destination. On the road, you may meet barriers, including from members of your own team. Don’t be deterred from your path!
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Managing difďŹ cult people
24
Even for experienced leaders, dealing with individuals will not always be a smooth path, and conflict will sometimes occur. There are three types of conflict at work:
1 task: relates to the content and goals of the work 1 process: relates to how a job is done 1 relationship: relates to interpersonal relationships. You can make obvious links between them all. One type sometimes (but not always) leads to another type, but interpersonal conflict is the most counter-productive. Conflict can lead to difficult relationships, especially with people you find tricky to deal with. As a manager, you should be sufficiently self-aware to be objective. think about
To what extent might your own behaviour contribute to the poor performance or behaviour of others? Is the difficulty caused by the ‘tricky’ person, or by you, or a bit of both? We might get better results from individuals by adapting our behaviour or style.
top tips
Become an emotionally intelligent manager. At the end of each day reflect upon your own behaviour. Could you have done things differently?
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Avoiding getting too affiliative Many people prefer an affiliative style of management, which focuses on establishing and maintaining good and harmonious relationships with their staff. An affiliative style is highly effective in many situations, but managers who use it exclusively find dealing with difficult colleagues uncomfortable. Often they will ignore or put up with difficult people rather than dealing with them. Avoiding the issue in this way will undoubtedly cause it to get worse. Neglect seldom causes anything to get better. Deal with it now. Grasp the nettle.
top tip
Meeting with difficult individuals Let’s assume that you find dealing with certain ‘tricky’ people and situations a real challenge. There may be many reasons. The key is to deal with it promptly: grasp the nettle with an early one-to-one meeting. Identify potentially frustrating situations in advance and plan accordingly.
top tip
When meeting difficult people, it is important that you are realistic and honest with yourself about your feelings. As a manager, you will sometimes feel yourself becoming angry or frustrated and in danger of ‘losing your cool’. To avoid this, be aware and beware:
1 Plan: if possible, get to know as much as you can about the issue beforehand.
1 Envisage: a ‘win-win’ outcome. 1 Rehearse: think about how you are going 1 1
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to respond, but don’t be defensive. Manners matter: show respect and good manners at all times. Listen and pay attention: nothing is more counter-productive than appearing not to listen.
1 Find common ground: be inclusive, don’t isolate them. Use ‘we’ rather than ‘you and I’.
1 Watch your body language: relax and display an open approach. 1 Ask for their advice/support/help: ‘What do you think 1 1 top tip
we might do?’ If possible, work together: create a reason for working together. Persist: things rarely change overnight – keep going.
Become a great coach: practise the key skills of listening and challenging.
Boosting your confidence Perhaps the most uncomfortable issue for many managers is dealing with these ‘difficult’ relationships. This problem often comes about because there is a lack of confidence or awareness on the part of the manager about how to deal with such situations and a fear of getting it wrong. Confidence is critical to all leaders and managers, yet research consistently shows that lack of confidence is very common. Effective leaders succeed in looking more confident than they really are and behaving more confidently than they feel. Take the example of dealing with someone who is underperforming. You want to resolve it, but deep down you may be concerned that if you get it wrong, there could be serious consequences. Well, be reassured that such consequences very rarely occur, especially if you deal with difficulties properly and promptly:
1 Know your own school/college procedures. 1 Acknowledge your fears and behave more confidently 1 1
top tip
than you feel. Observe colleagues who appear confident. Get a critical friend, whom you respect, to be open and honest with you.
Confidence grows as you realise you’re not unusual. Few people are as confident as they look. 27
Values and leadership
28
Values inuence people’s choices about where to invest their energies. They help us to consciously choose those areas which are important to us, make individual decisions on the appropriate thing to do, and shape our behaviour and judgements. Critical to effective leadership is:
1 knowing your own values and acting in accordance with them
1 being aware of other people and their values 1 understanding that values drive behaviour. Inspirational leaders also have the integrity to live their lives according to these values. They know that what people value most will move them more powerfully in their work. Leaders with integrity are:
1 aware of their own guiding values 1 better able to articulate a compelling vision that has 1 top tips
the ring of truth better able to inspire others to follow.
Reect upon your own guiding values. Be able to articulate them in a simple form.
Team and organisational values Values both create and emanate from the vision of a team or an organisation. For instance, some schools might identify their key values as:
1 Fairness and respect for each other 1 Opportunities for all 1 Pupil at the centre 1 Teaching and learning is our priority 1 Targeting excellence.
29
People will recognise immediately when a leader’s actions are different from their stated values – when what you say is different from what you do. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the concept of fairness and respect or of treating everybody equally and with justice. This is your challenge. Your team must live out the values and they will take their lead from you.
Fairness and underperformance As an individual, you will undoubtedly find some of the people in your team easier to get on with than others. And you will be more interested in some parts of your team’s work than in others. But as a leader, you must avoid any semblance of preferential treatment. Unfairness breeds negativity in all the team. Not treating everyone equally can even be illegal. top tip
Make fairness a key leadership value. Fairness will not always prove to be a simple concept. Take the issue of underperformance, where there can be a vast range of causes and issues, for example sickness, lack of confidence, or lack of proper training. Often, particular circumstances lead to a temporary slip in standards, such as when a domestic crisis occurs. You will want to be understanding and supportive, but you will also want to protect the interests of the pupils.
top tip
If you have to make a choice, the pupils’ interests must take precedence. It is only fair to let people know they are underperforming, because underperformers often don’t know they are underperforming and are often ignorant of the scale of their underperformance.
30
So you will need to arrange a one-to-one meeting to let them know they are underperforming and to explain on what evidence you are basing your judgement. Then set aside time and support to allow individuals to respond and improve. That is only fair. top tips
Be very clear. Be respectful: never bully or threaten. Be focused on the best for pupils. Be supportive: offer training and guidance. Be clear about targets and expectations.
Reviewing progress It is only fair to consult the individuals concerned again after a period of time, to check on progress. This might take the form of a review meeting. At the review meeting you must be both open about the progress made and honest about any setbacks. top tip
When things go wrong, it is better to be open and uncomfortable than to avoid the issue and perhaps prolong the agony.
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Self-assessment and feedback
32
Wanting to know how well you are doing seems to be a natural human characteristic, but it is also an essential aspect of becoming a better leader. There are two established methods of finding out:
1 self-assessment and reflection 1 soliciting feedback from others.
Self-assessment and reflection Becoming a reflective leader can help you develop a perspective on how you are doing. The more reflective you become, the more you will be able to analyse what happens and why. Keeping detailed notes may help you to reflect. think about
What went well? What felt uncomfortable? What was a disaster? What was better than last time?
Feedback from others Get into the habit of obtaining feedback from your team. Getting feedback from your team can be daunting at first, especially if you are not yet fully confident in your new role, but it can be a very effective approach. It is also helpful to analyse any other feedback you get from pupil and staff questionnaires. If you know how to improve your own behaviours, you have a far better chance of:
1 knowing how to influence the behaviour of others 1 getting people to do things better 1 improving their performance. top tip
Find a ‘critical friend’ – someone whom you trust to give you honest feedback on how you are doing and to offer you support in making improvements. 33
Taking care of yourself
34
As a new leader it is very important to look after yourself – for your own sake as well as for the sake of your job. To perform effectively as a leader, you will need a critical awareness of the impact of your health and lifestyle on the way you work. Taking care of yourself includes achieving a balance between your professional and private life, but it is also a wider concept involving how you behave both in and out of your working role.
A healthy lifestyle Having a healthy lifestyle begins with having the right diet and the right level of fitness. This doesn’t mean you must suddenly become a fitness fanatic, but rather that you take a common sense approach to your physical well-being. Taking a healthier physical approach might include:
1 getting the right amount of sleep 1 reducing your alcohol intake 1 not smoking, or at least cutting down 1 eliminating junk foods from your diet 1 eating more fruit and vegetables 1 drinking plenty of water 1 increasing your physical activities 1 walking more 1 cycling to work, if possible 1 taking up a new sport or activity, like swimming.
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Working in a healthier way Taking care of yourself might also involve changing your behaviours or the way you work, such as:
1 improving your time management to avoid constantly 1 1
think about
chasing deadlines recognising and avoiding habitual feelings of frustration analysing if, why and when you become angry at work. Sometimes there are factors at work in the team which contribute to it, but sometimes there are factors within yourself which you will be more able to manage.
Is your frustration speciďŹ c to one incident or are there other factors? Are you being inexible? Are you tired? Are your working hours too long? What are your aims? Ensure that you are not just struggling for power or trying to save face. Occasionally feeling annoyed or frustrated is part and parcel of most managers’ lives. The danger is that it can become a habit and that we show such feelings too readily to the team. It is not good for the team, and it is not good for your health.
top tip
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You can enhance your sense of well-being by changing negative behaviours.
Emotional health Physical fitness can have a beneficial impact upon your emotional health, producing a sense of well-being, but there are also other actions that you can take:
1 Develop and make time for other interests outside work. 1 Tell yourself when you have achieved something worthwhile, however small.
1 Reflect on your strengths – this can build
confidence and avoid you constantly comparing yourself unfavourably to others. 1 Don’t become isolated. Cherish your circle of friends and your family. Try to avoid taking work home. 1 1 Have a critical friend whom you trust to give support and honest feedback. 1 Remember, it is okay to ask for help. 1 Try to relax and take time out at regular intervals.
Work–life balance Finally, there is much current discussion about the whole notion of work–life balance and how to achieve it. Individuals approach it in many different ways. While a 10-mile hike could be re-energising to some individuals, it would strike fear into the hearts of others. There is no one way for a leader to achieve harmony or a work–life balance; each must discover his or her own way. But one sure way of becoming an ineffective leader is to let it get out of hand. So if you are sending out or reading emails at ridiculous times of the day or night, read the signals. Get a healthier lifestyle outside your work and it will pay off within your work. top tip
Take action to become a healthy and balanced new leader.
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Conclusion
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The How to survive at the top series underlines the importance of becoming a self-critical leader. Below are a few questions to start you off on your self-evaluation. You will undoubtedly want to ask yourself many more. top tips
Use the How to survive at the top series (of which this handbook is Volume 2) as a starting point. Now take the initiative in trying to ensure that you also have the appropriate support and training in leadership and management.
Self-assessment: a summary Please tick as appropriate
Yes
No
Management and leadership Do you understand the key differences between leadership and management? Do you know your own management strengths and weaknesses? Communication Are you clear what the major goals are for you and your team? Do you regularly communicate this to your team by a range of methods? Are you a good chair? Are your meetings well planned and effective? Time management Are you skilled in managing your own time? When did you last analyse how you spend your time?
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Please tick as appropriate Strategic and operational management Do you know the big picture for your school or college? Do you know how your role fits into it? Do you communicate this to the individuals in your team? Is your strategic planning simple and crystal clear? Managing difficult people Do you tend to ‘grasp the nettle’ and face up to difficult situations, or do you avoid them? Are there people in your team whom you find it more difficult to deal with? Are you a good listener? Can you challenge when necessary? How well-developed are your coaching skills? Values and leadership Are you clear about the organisation’s values and your own? Do you live out your values in your professional role? Self-assessment and feedback Do you regularly reflect upon your own performance? Do you have you a critical friend? Taking care of yourself Too often, are the hours you work too long? Is your lifestyle conducive to helping you become an effective leader? What are your outside interests that help balance your life?
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Yes
No
Select bibliography Cartner N (2009). Reflections on Performance: best practice benchmarks for college leaders. AMiE College Manager Series. Collins D (2007). A Survival Guide for College Managers and Leaders. Continuum International Publishing Group. Fogarty J and Rushton P (2008). Conversations about Performance: creating the climate and culture for great performance. ACM College Manager Series. Goleman D, Boyatzais R and McKee A (2002). The New Leaders. Time Warner Books. Harvard Business Review on Leadership (1998) Harvard Business School Press. Kotter JP (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press. Zaleznik A (1998). ‘Managers and leaders: Are they different?’, Harvard Business Review on Leadership. Harvard Business School Press.
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Useful websites Association of Managers in Education www.amie.uk.com Association of Teachers and Lecturers www.atl.org.uk Hay Group www.haygroup.com Institute of Education www.ioe.ac.uk Institute of Leadership and Management www.i-l-m.com Learning and Skills Improvement Service www.lsis.org.uk National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services www.ncsl.org.uk Teal Trust www.teal.org.uk
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My notes
Action plan
How to survive at the top is a handbook divided into bite-size volumes starting with Understanding leadership. It is designed to support new and aspiring leaders in the practicalities of developing their own leadership skills. However, it also has much to offer the experienced leader as a guide to best practice and a framework to reect on individual development and improvement.