A Shakespearean comedy might not be your typical go-to for career pointers, but Twelfth Night provides all leaders with a golden nugget of advice. In a letter from Maria to Malvolio, she cautions him to “be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em”.

It is those who fall into the last category who often need the affirmation of this quote most: they are just as valid and should be just as unafraid. And in teaching, there are rather a lot of people in this category.

It’s easy to see how unexpectedly becoming a manager can happen in schools. You step up because it’s expected of you. Or you apply out of frustration after previously being badly managed yourself. Sometimes you’re a last-minute stand-in hero when there is a gap in recruitment. Being in a vocational profession, a burning ambition to lead often comes secondary - or even further down the list - to being there with, and for, the children.

Becoming a leader “by accident” can cause confidence issues that can then be exacerbated by a lack of proper preparation for leadership within the education system. The NAHT school leaders’ union published the report About Time: life as a middle leader in 2019, for which it surveyed 204 middle leaders about their experience in the role. The survey flagged up a chronic lack of training, with more than two-thirds of respondents reporting that they had not received any formal induction training. It was therefore unsurprising to read that around a third were considering leaving the profession entirely.

A survival guide for the accidental leader

So, what should the accidental leaders do when they find themselves in post and not quite sure what to do next?

Dave Tuck is head of the politics department at Stamford Endowed Schools in Lincolnshire. He has seen many teachers arrive in leadership positions driven not by their ambitions to lead but rather circumstances. He says the first thing that needs to be recognised is that these circumstances aren’t necessarily bad reasons to get into leadership.

“You have those leaders who are the ‘sense of duty’ candidate, who apply because they feel obliged to or because their colleagues urged them to go for the role,” he says. “You also have those who have been invited to apply by the headteacher because they’re respected and well-liked teachers.

“For heads, these leaders are preferable to the out-and-out careerists who are looking to make their mark and move on.”

But that does not make those first few months any easier if you find yourself in a job you were not necessarily seeking. So what can you do?

1. Establish your starting point

To know where you need to begin, you must first establish what you’re beginning with, says Tuck.

“A new leader needs to make an audit of both their personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of their new department or team,” he suggests.

However, this isn’t a solo exercise. It doesn’t matter how well you think you know yourself; this exercise requires the sort of distance that you can’t achieve with just self-reflection. Tuck says it’s vital that the new leader utilises the experience of professional colleagues and critical friends as part of this process.

2. Get the hang of delegation

Nicola Arkinstall is the deputy headteacher of Little Sutton Primary School in Birmingham. Those feelings of being slightly out of your depth are ones Arkinstall recognises well from when she became deputy head aged just 28.

In order to be a successful leader, one of the most important skills to master is delegation, says Arkinstall.

“Delegating tasks is one of the biggest challenges as a leader to get right,” she explains. “I find the use of TASC is really helpful here to enable the right conditions for effective delegation to take place because it creates a culture of commitment and shared purpose.”

TASC is an acronym to help leaders with delegation: T is for task - everyone is clear about who owns the task; A is for the authority that you give to the owner of the task to be accountable; S is for success - you must ensure that you’ve given the time, resources and clarity needed to complete the task; and C is for checklist - so everyone knows what has to happen to complete the task.

Arkinstall adds that delegation is only successful when you get the communication part right.

“It is important for everyone to understand the ‘why’ behind tasks and how they fit into the bigger picture,” she says. “Getting that part right provides colleagues with confidence and autonomy.”

3. When you’re a temporary leader, lead together

Stepping into a role temporarily can be particularly tough, says Nina Kewin, associate assistant headteacher and head of English at Todmorden High School in West Yorkshire.

“One problem that a stopgap leader might experience is that staff may not always recognise or be prepared to acknowledge temporary leadership,” she says.

Why is that? Adam Robbins, head of science and author of Middle Leadership Mastery, says this is partly because power is not something that is given to you by senior colleagues.

“You can’t really be given power by SLT - you have to be given it by the team in the form of trust and cooperation,” he explains. “In the case where you are a stopgap, I think it is a huge mistake to assume you have any power.”

Fortunately, the solution is in your team already, says Kewin.

“Try and draw out the leadership qualities of the staff themselves,” she says. “Acknowledge that your position is temporary but your leadership isn’t. There will be teachers in your team who are experts in certain areas, and therefore leaders, too, so use their strengths and empower them as a team.”

However, not all teams will be willing to cooperate in this way, warns Robbins. This is because sometimes stopgap leaders are viewed with resentment.

“[You may be faced with] team members conspiring against you, undermining the strategy or just not [cooperating] behind closed doors,” says Robbins. “A much better way to lead in a temporary role is to bring the team into the decision-making process. Float ideas to key people, especially ones who might be opposed to your promotion.”

4. Hit the books

A quick glance at the “business management” section of any bookshop will tell you that there is plenty of help out there for people who want to read more about managing people. And if you want to really commit to the cause, you can enrol on one of hundreds of online and in-person courses promising to guide you towards better leadership.

5. Find a mentor

If anyone knows the value of a mentor, it’s a teacher. But what if your line manager isn’t quite Obi-Wan Kenobi material? Robbins suggests you look across rather than up.

“Line management is a real mixed bag,” he says. “In my opinion, your best bet is to ask for coaching with another head of department. Ideally, they would be experienced but have a good work-life balance.”

Will all this mean that you feel like a natural in a job that you were never really seeking? Not immediately. But here’s the thing: everyone feels self-doubt in a new job, even those who are born to greatness (or think they are).

Grainne Hallahan is Tes recruitment editor and senior content writer at Tes

This article originally appeared in the 10 September 2021 issue under the headline “Help me - I’ve become a leader by accident”