Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said: ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’
‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’”
For the White Queen in Through the Looking-Glass, practice clearly made perfect. School leaders may not be quite so accustomed to the mantra of thinking impossible things, but given the challenges they face on a daily basis, it might be a habit worth getting into.
In these times of great uncertainty, with powerful political, economic and social changes shaping our lives and work, a school leadership role is something not to be taken on lightly, wantonly or unadvisedly. The old way of doing things may not still be the best; creative thinking is called for.
Heads in particular need to become “paragons of paradox”. Faced with a range of conflicting pressures and expectations, from shrinking budgets and a teacher recruitment crisis on the one hand to ever increasing expectations of inspectorates, regulators and parents on the other, heads will need to hold on to their idealism while at the same time being highly pragmatic in their practice. Intellectually and emotionally, this demands a very nimble approach, but how do school leaders avoid decision-making flip-flops or, even worse, accusations of hypocrisy when trying to reconcile the irreconcilable? And how can they stay true to themselves - deeply “authentic”, to use the current buzzword - while being pulled in different directions? Perhaps the Dalai Lama’s advice should be engraved on their desks or fixed on their screensaver: “Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.”
When challenged, as they rightly often are by their governing bodies and others, to articulate their vision for how the school might be five or 10 years down the line, how might heads begin? Perhaps by reiterating, to themselves first and then to their closest colleagues, the core educational values that motivate them and, from there, outlining the shared values of the institution they lead. Then they might see what happens when they focus and articulate those values even more clearly, using them as a springboard for “thinking six impossible things” about their school.
In this process, it is vital not to assume that what has been the case for many years, or “has worked for us for decades”, will continue to be helpful in the future.
Indeed, deeply cherished habits might need to be reformed if the place is to survive and thrive in the years ahead. In our rapidly changing world, established assumptions must be challenged and foundational traditions re-examined.
I recently heard someone giving a talk on the challenges school leaders are facing and he summed up his advice at the end by saying: “You have to be prepared to think the unsinkable.” I loved that Freudian slip, with its unintentional but telling reference to the Titanic heading for its icy doom.
Complacency is the enemy of good leadership and has no place in a healthy school culture. Once some new thinking has been generated, the next step is to see how the apparently impossible might become possible - or even feasible. A vibrant imagination is a necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient for leaders working in uncertain times.
In shifting ideas from the “impossible” towards the “feasible”, and having established some fundamental pillars of the school’s ethos, it will be time to draw other members of the team - and wider stakeholders - into the strategic planning process.
By collaborating and testing out ideas, it becomes easier to distinguish between what is truly impossible (or at least highly uncertain), what is still ambiguous (and might be an interesting area to explore further) and what is just a question of risk; the latter two categories can then be properly evaluated with soft and hard data. During this process, the ability to hold apparently contradictory ideas in tension, without abandoning those key principles, will be central.
Likewise, the ability to make decisions without being in possession of the full facts will require courage and regular practice. A leader who is in the habit of waiting until they can cross every “t” and dot every single “i” will prove too cautious and risk averse to make a real difference. Fortune favours the brave (although not the foolhardy).
In a school context, perhaps the concept of “tutored intuition” might be useful - this means using all available feedback, data and information as “tutor”, while simultaneously tapping into the sixth sense that a skilled, emotionally intelligent leader develops.
Making good decisions, of course, is what leadership is all about. I still remember my first day as a head when the realisation sank in that the buck stopped with me. It is almost impossible to prepare for that moment, however senior the previous role. Knowing how much and how far to reflect before making a big call, when and how far to gather information and consult, is as much of an art as a science.
That is not to say that it cannot be taught as well as caught. I wonder how well the professional development programmes in our schools are finely tuned in to the needs of emerging leaders amongst our staff. When looking at this point, one question to ask is: “How far is my school truly committed to growing leaders from within the team?”, followed quickly by asking what that commitment looks like.
A good way to approach the answer might be to consider to what extent the staff CPD programme interweaves the three strands of a) performance review, b) mentoring and c) coaching into a strong cable of leadership development that can take the strain, as future leaders prepare to step up.
Resource constraints will, of course, come into play here, and not all schools will be in a position to develop a Rolls-Royce CPD model, but after 34 years in education, 16 of which were as a head, I am convinced that putting the leadership development of staff first will do more than anything else to secure the future flourishing of our schools.
The process does not end with being appointed to headship, though. The early stages in that role provide a great opportunity for doing the vision and strategy work I have referred to, as well as getting to know the school, staff and pupils as well as possible. Then, once established in the job, moving from good to great as a leader involves considerable work on yourself as well as on the role and its context.
“You’ve got to search for the hero inside yourself” might be putting it too strongly, but there is a real need to develop inner resources and to seek always to know yourself better, if you are to become a fully authentic and truly undefended leader. This will involve an awareness of weaknesses as well as a clear-eyed view of strengths, a decision to play to those strengths and a conscious effort to build a team around you that will complement your qualities and plug any gaps.
It will also involve a certain element of “letting go”, as the realisation dawns that you simply cannot control or micromanage everything and, if you try to, you will either eventually collapse - or cause breakdown(s) in your team.
In tough times, school leaders will be tested thoroughly and will need to find courage in dark and lonely places. I can recall two or three times in my headship career when I knew that the next decision I made could cost me my job if it backfired, but that it was sufficiently important to go ahead and take that step. Looking after yourself, mentally, physically and spiritually, is essential for maintaining a sense of balance and performing well under pressure, when so much is expected of you. And, from time to time, when things look particularly bleak, you will simply need to dip into what I call “the well of unreasonable hope” - that deep inner resource that no amount of training or professional development can replenish.
But, in all of this, let’s not forget the sheer joy of leadership that is often found in unexpected or unlooked-for places and people. Usually, that joy comes from something a pupil says or does; and, just occasionally, it can even come from one of the grown-ups.
It is worth remembering what a great privilege it is to have the opportunity to transform lives and to move a whole organisational culture forward. It’s just that, if they knew what it involved, most sane people might think at least twice about leaping into leadership.
Mad Hatter: “Do you think I’ve gone round the bend?”
Alice: “I’m afraid so. You’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”
Richard Harman was a headteacher for 16 years and is now chief executive of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools
This article originally appeared in the 15 February 2019 issue under the headline “Paragons of paradox”
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