When I first became a principal I was 36 years old, had completed my National Professional Qualification for Headship, had read a few books and felt that, although I was not experienced, I understood what leadership was about - oh, how wrong I was.
I was not the first inexperienced leader to be running a school - and I was not a bad leader nor a failing one.
But looking back, I realise I fell into the trap of being task-orientated, focusing on ticking things off on the to-do list, rather than engaging with those I was now leading. Conversations were half listened to as my mind was thinking about tasks, not people.
Things got done, but was I understanding my team? No.
School leadership: a different perspective
Having now been a head for 18 years, my perspective has changed - and I recognise all too often young aspiring leaders who are the same task-orientated leader I was all those years ago. So what changed for me?
About five years into my first headship I had to have some challenging conversations with a large number of staff regarding accommodation. In many overseas schools, teachers are provided with accommodation. This is a huge benefit, but the downside is the school may dictate where you live.
More on school leadership:
The Tes Magazine Leadership Forum: a new series for school leaders
Why you should embrace 360-degree reviews
What should an effective team meeting look like?
We planned to move away from providing physical accommodation to providing an allowance for housing based upon position in the school - rather than the more traditional approach of providing accommodation based on family circumstances.
This meant that a classroom teacher with no management responsibility would receive a certain allowance while someone in a management position would get a bigger allowance, with various tiers of accommodation allowance available for head of department, head of year, head of a core subject, assistant principal, vice-principal and principal.
The power of empathy
At the time most schools assessed accommodation based upon family circumstances, so this was quite a revolutionary move - although now this position-based model is the norm in most international schools.
After a series of board meetings and SLT discussions, we were ready to go ahead with the new approach and send out documents explaining the decision and how it would be implemented. All practical, task-orientated plans.
Before we did we decided to speak with staff about the plans overall for a sense check of what they thought - and I was so glad we did.
Because not only did it give us far greater insight into the impact it would have on individuals and how we could improve its implementation, it also helped to open up meaningful conversations with staff about not just the accommodation change but so many other aspects of school life.
We were then able to act on this feedback and amend our approach - both on the accommodation plans and on other parts of school life. We could not act on all of the feedback, of course, but staff felt they had been listened to, their voices had been heard and they had a better understanding of the change coming.
I learned so much from this exercise and it opened my mind to the power of empathy in leadership.
Getting to know your team
It made me question a lot about how I had started my foray into leadership - so much so that when I took on my second headship a few years later, I spent the first two terms taking the time to meet and properly talk to every single member of staff.
Within those meetings I would ask each of them four specific questions:
- What do you do here? I was looking at their perception of their role, not a job title.
- What do you like about the school?
- What could we do better?
- What are your plans? I wanted to know their motivation for being at the school.
The answers were interesting and eventually supported creating the school vision and values - but just as importantly, the meetings allowed each staff member to be listened to.
Slow and steady
For new leaders keen to make an impact, the idea of spending two terms as a new head meeting every staff member may sound like an eternity. But real impact comes from giving space to staff.
Young leaders I work with and mentor hear this story often as I make sure I get the message across that the gift of listening is one they should not overlook. Leadership should not solely be measured by completing tasks but how you make people feel.
In a system driven by data and outcomes this idea and ideal of empathetic leadership is not easy. But while data tells us what is happening, empathetic leadership and the conversations we create as leaders tell us why things are happening.
Mark Leppard MBE is the headmaster of The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi and chair of British Schools in the Middle East
