“Teachers are superheroes.”

“Schools are so much more than just schools.”

“Teachers should be paid more than CEOs and Hollywood actors combined.” 

In recent months, Twitter has been full of such outpourings of love from parents, tearing their hair out over homeschooling.

Yet gratitude alone has not been enough to protect teachers from the stresses of lockdown. In a May 2020 YouGov survey of 820 teachers, 55 per cent reported that they were suffering from anxiety - concerned about the welfare of their pupils, how they could deliver effective lessons, and about their own and others’ physical safety as schools reopened. 

And at a time when many teachers are skating on thin ice in terms of their wellbeing, school leaders can make all the difference between whether they make it safely across the lake or plunge into the icy water. 

But what exactly do school leaders need to do to protect their staff and help their teams succeed and flourish? 

The secret lies in mastering three key principles: know your people, love your people, inspire your people. 

1. Know your people 

Leaders can support their staff only if they know what is going on in their lives and what really matters to them. Are teachers dealing with grief, loneliness, poor housing, childcare problems, or ill-health? Are they working too hard or feeling demotivated? Do they need more support or more autonomy? What matters to them most now? 

Great leaders take the time to listen attentively. Despite all the other demands, listening is never a waste of time for school leaders, since it allows you to understand people’s values and then honour them. 

A good example of knowing and honouring your people’s values was a school leader we used to work for. He would say, “Never say no to a school nativity play.” If someone asked to miss work for their child’s nativity play, he would need a very strong reason to say no, because family is clearly something they really value. 

If you undermine that, you create resentment, which then affects staff loyalty. If you say yes to their request, then the benefits of commitment and strengthened relationships will far outweigh any cost. 

Reflection: 

• How well do you really know your team? 
• What matters to them most? 
• How much time have you spent listening to them recently?

2. Love your people

The word “love” can seem fluffy and out of place in a school. But we have seen how the school leaders who have the greatest impact on pupils, staff and communities genuinely love their people. 

This means that they show empathy and compassion. They choose to serve and do the hard jobs to protect their staff. They go out of their way to look out for other people.  

Neuroscience has shown that being loving or receiving acts of love or kindness changes the activity in our brains, increasing the release of a neurotransmitter called oxytocin. Scientists have discovered that the presence of oxytocin is associated with feeling calm and generally better about life.

In The Compassionate Mind, Professor Paul Gilbert reports that increased oxytocin actually improves physical health, memory, creativity and problem solving. And it also helps lower anxiety. 

So, at a time when so many teachers are feeling anxious about what this term will bring, compassionate leadership is not only intrinsically the right thing to do, but there is also a compelling scientific case for it. Compassionate school leaders will have happier staff and create higher-performing teams in the long run. 

Reflection: 

• Which leader in your life do you think genuinely cares for others the most? 
• What impact does that have? 
• How could you show your team more love at this time? 

Inspire your people 

In a study of 2,000 teenagers, students were asked to reflect on the purpose behind what they were studying. This small action led them to double the amount of time they spent studying for an upcoming exam. They worked harder on maths problems (even when given the option to watch entertaining videos instead) and their reports and grades improved.

We all work harder and persevere for longer when we have a clear sense of purpose - when we are convinced that what we are doing actually matters. 

Connecting to a higher purpose should be easy for teachers, because there is so much inherent meaning in helping students to learn and to grow in character. But this can be easily lost among the challenges and demands of the job - especially with remote teaching, where we are detached from the pupils we care about and from colleagues who would normally provide support and inspiration over tea in the staffroom. 

As school leaders, we need to keep asking ourselves and our teams why what we do matters, then celebrate and express authentic gratitude for what we have all achieved in these difficult times. Maybe we need to keep reading the tweets from parents, and remember that teachers really are superheroes. 

Reflections:

• What makes teaching most meaningful to you?
• How can you help your team to better connect with their sense of purpose?
• What can you do to express gratitude to your team?

Emmie Bidston is a head of department and Katy Granville-Chapman is a deputy headteacher. Before teaching, Emmie worked developing policies for the British government, and Katy served in the army. Emmie and Katy co-authored Leader: Know, Love and Inspire your People, which is available here.