BOUNCING BACK DIFFERENTLY

The standard for writing memorable slogans was set 2,070 years ago when Julius Caesar sent a letter to the senate in Rome in which he summed up his swift, brutal and victorious campaign in Turkey in three words –“Veni, vidi, vici”. For those of you who have temporarily misplaced your Latin dictionaries, it means “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Its simple alliterative and rhythmic quality, coupled with the use of the rule of three, have conveyed an aura of perfection on the phrase that people have being trying to replicate since. It was definitely a mic drop moment for Julius.

One such attempt to replicate Caesar’s formula, is the slogan, or call to action, that has been much used, as we emerge into a new post-pandemic reality – the exhortation to “Build back better!” It’s not bad. It ticks the alliteration and rule of three boxes and the pithy, easy to remember qualities of the phrase give a credibility to the dynamic it is urging us to embrace. We take it at face value that building back better is a social and economic imperative that has a resonance for us in education.

But what if those structures we are encouraged to rebuild were not actually serving us well? What if there were more effective structures and better ways of doing things? Wouldn’t it be a better use of time, energy and resources to reimagine what we do and how we do it rather than recreate and perpetuate less effective structures and approaches? I recently heard Pasi Sahlberg describe it very well when he suggested that rather than trying to “build back better”, we should be focusing on “bouncing back differently”. Now it’s not quite the mic drop moment for Pasi but he definitely provides food for thought.

From an IPPN perspective, we have being trying to do just that, to bounce back differently. As you may know, we have just completed the process of reimagining our internal structures and procedures to better ensure that our work is informed by and meets the needs of our members. There is a palpable sense of energy, enthusiasm and engagement emanating from the work of our National Council committees and we are excited about the priorities they have established and the progress they are making. This revised structure has the potential to have a profound impact on our leadership practice into the future in very practical, tangible ways.

But the need for us to bounce back differently in terms of reimagining the experience and practice of school leadership and shaping a more sustainable leadership future is the elephant in the room. The publication of our Sustainable Leadership report in November was an important first step, as it established an evidence base for how things could be done differently to enhance leadership capacity and effectiveness. The advocacy work in which we have engaged since the publication of the report is having an impact, and green shoots are beginning to emerge, but there is much work to be done to ensure progress on our recommendations. But, as the old adage suggests, if we are going to eat that elephant in the room, the only way to do so is one bite at a time.

Over the course of the last two years in this role, I have been afforded the privilege of taking a bite or two out of that elephant. For that, I will be forever grateful and, as I pass the metaphorical baton on to my colleague, Louise Tobin, it strikes me that the most appropriate thing to say is “Bon appétit, Louise!”

Brian.ODoherty@ippn.ie

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