Collective responsibility is crucial if we want successful teams: everyone needs to understand that every teacher plays a part in success (with no single hero taking all the credit) and that mistakes are made as a group (accepting that we all played a part in an error occurring).

The latter is hard. In situations of bullying, for example, there will likely be one or two people who are primarily and actively responsible, so it’s easy to think it is an isolated concern. But the organisation and everyone in it has enabled the behaviour to occur. Turning a blind eye, hoping it will not be directed at you or watching from the sidelines are not the professional behaviours of a successful team, and can have terrible, toxic consequences for all.

Of course, it is important to acknowledge that things can go wrong between colleagues - miscommunications and misinterpretations are relatively common in busy, stressful environments. However, it is just as important to recognise that, at an organisational level, perhaps not enough attention may have been given to developing the systems, structures, intrapersonal skills and competencies needed to sustain effective collaboration.

How well do we assist in the reformation of trust in schools, too? It is important to recognise, for the person or people who have been affected, that it is the effect of the actions on them that is important, not the intent behind them (Rodríguez-Muñoz et al, 2015). Whether you intended to cause offence or not doesn’t seem to matter - the fact that you did is enough to damage the trust among the group.

Sorry can be the hardest word to say, but a proper apology can make the world of difference to the person who has been affected and the others involved, too. In fact, it appears that apologising can be good for you, according to Karina Schumann (2014), and the impact on the trust within the team can be galvanising (Schumann, 2018).

Schumann and her colleagues have also identified the steps we should take to make a proper apology, which goes some way to rebuilding trust:

Show remorse. Accept responsibility and acknowledge the harm caused. It is important to recognise the part you played in the actions, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.

Offer an explanation, without seeking to apportion blame elsewhere.

Admit it was wrong. Be clear about this: state that the actions were wrong or unfair.

Offer to repair and make amends (and then do what you said you were going to do, quickly and without question).

Move on and seek to restore the goodwill within the team as soon as possible.

Encouraging these simple acts of contrition could be enough to repair the damage in the relationships across a team and help to rebuild the trust that your team thrives on.

Megan Dixon is a senior associate at the Education Endowment Foundation and director of English/co-director of the Aspirer Research School

This article originally appeared in the 17 April 2020 issue under the headline “Sorry seems to be the hardest word”