For me there is nothing more important than education. We, as educators, are shaping the future. By expanding minds and nurturing questioning we create lively minds, harness idealism and energy and unlock solutions.
To do that you have to get the whole team rowing in the same direction.
Excerpt – A passion for Education – The story of a Headteacher – Managing people is hard.
There are lots of complicated issues around people. No two are the same. Many people are working flat out doing a brilliant job. Some are coasting doing a good job. There are always a few who are working themselves silly but doing all the wrong things, driving themselves into the ground and being ineffective. Then there are the lazy ones and skivers who need a nudge or a kick, the ones who are working hard but not doing it in the way you would like and the small number who are useless or deliberately antagonistic.
As a Head you have deputies and middle managers with a system of line management that is organised to manage these issues. You can direct them to manage staff or student behaviour.
You cannot rely on them.
The first thing a Head needs is a good source of reliable information. There is no substitute for first hand intelligence. Getting out and about, talking to all staff and in particular the students, not only gives you a picture of what is going on but also a good understanding of the people concerned, their worries, concerns, the issues they are up against, their personalities, relationships with other staff and students, how hard they are working, their effectiveness and how things can be addressed.
With a staff of a hundred and twenty it is not possible to deal effectively with all of them. It is important to know exactly what is going on though.
This is no different to a head of year managing their tutors but needing to form a personal relationship with all 130 students in their charge.
A Head needs a network of views. The information coming in from this network gives you an overview of what is and is not working smoothly, what needs addressing urgently and what needs nudging. This network should come from all levels of the organisation. It keeps you informed.
It is essential that nobody else, including your most trusted deputies, know the sources of your information. It is often the case that your line managers are playing politics, keeping things to themselves, not wanting bad news to filter through to you for fear that it might make them look bad for allowing problems to develop in their areas, or simply retaining information to use later to their own advantage. Line managers need keeping on their toes. When you come out with information it is for them to guess as to where you got it from. Knowing stuff before your line managers is always a good idea. It makes them think you know exactly what is going on. It gives them an impetus to prevent things happening. They know you will find out what is happening and there is no point in trying to gloss over things. It also means they have an incentive to tell you before you find out for yourself. You finding out their muck-ups simply makes them even worse.
It is good to keep them on their toes.
It’s all a game.
This is where touring, good relationships built up over a long time, and an open email, open door policy come in handy. It is quite amazing what snippets come out in casual conversation, as a single line email or behind a closed door.
This gives you the edge. You have to be aware of what is going on and have your finger on the pulse.
You also have to know your staff well.
It is pointless using the wrong tactics towards the wrong individuals. You have to tailor your strategies to the individuals concerned. Deploying the wrong tactics is not only ineffective, it is can be harmful. Using a heavy handed approach on some people can create life-long enemies who will hold grudges and become stubbornly entrenched in opposition to everything you are trying to do. They will then ferment bad feeling and be a focus for disaffection. One has to hone ones arsenal. It is all intuitive.
Flattery, praise, recognition, concern, logic, argument, dressing down, punishment and threats are part of the armoury.
This makes it sound cold and dispassionate, calculating and devious. Whilst there is an element of that it is not quite as bad as it sounds. The need to get people on side requires a degree of manipulation. That is the politics of the job. You work with staff the same way that you work with students in the classroom. Your tactics come out of sincere belief in what you are doing and care for everyone in your care. There is no dishonesty in the relationships. You just instinctively know the best way to get the best out of your staff and get them to go along with your policies. I genuinely liked almost all the staff I worked with, including the ones who were troublesome and had to be disciplined. In fact some of the rogues were the most interesting of all. Everyone has their reasons. Most of what you do is instinctive, intuitive and part of your everyday interaction. None the less it does not do any harm to review your tactics to make yourself more effective.
As a Head you have a vision for the school enshrined in your stated ethos. The object of your exercise is to ensure that this vision is communicated repeatedly to everyone with clarity and passion. You constantly harp on about it.
Your next task is to ensure that everyone on the team, in their own way, is buying in to your vision.
