Books and training courses on school leadership focus on fields such as teaching and learning, leadership style, values, vision and staff development. They seldom devote much space to the personal development of the school leader. Harry Tomlinson aims to fill this gap, believing that self-understanding and self-management are important components of a leader’s effectiveness.

Tomlinson, who has long experience as a teacher, headteacher, college principal, education professor and leadership trainer, has recently acquired qualifications in performance and life coaching. So it is hardly surprising that he recognises the importance of emotional intelligence in an effective leader.

His starting point is that personal effectiveness is a precondition of professional excellence. Knowledge, attitudes, skills, creativity and consciousness are, he says, the components of self-development, which need to be considered if we are to be secure in our identity and affirmative of our “self”.

Read this review in fullnbsp;in this week’s TES