Are you ready for school leadership?
Back when I first took my first leadership role, I felt more than ready. In fact, I felt positively overdue.
I was confident, cocksure, even - and definitely arrogant in my assumption that my natural ability to command attention far outweighed the niggle that my expertise in subject knowledge was not exhaustive.
I thought my ability to be composed when confronted with students’ extreme emotions meant that I could deftly manoeuvre complex conversations with colleagues.
Needless to say, the above reasons were exactly why I wasn’t ready for leadership.
Want to be a school leader?
If you’re wondering whether you’re ready to make the leap into leadership, ask yourself these questions:
1. Where is your passion?
Are you passionate about increasing your sphere of influence to positively impact on more students? Are you hungry for new challenges? Can you see the bigger picture, and do you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve?
If leadership is right for you, you’ll need passion, but also a keen sense of the “why” in driving positive change.
2. Who inspires you?
Do you look at those above you and feel inspired by their leadership to follow a similar path? Or, conversely, do you feel you could do better? Maybe it’s time to put that to the test.
But be wary: leadership comes with myriad complications and nuances that may not be visible from the outside.
3. What expertise can you offer?
Do you have expert knowledge in your subject area or remit? Do you have a proven track record? Are you curious to know more about the intricacies of leading a school? Are you organised and competent with large-scale logistics?
When asked at interview about your wider impact, you’ll need evidence, as well as in-depth knowledge of your area of remit.
4. Do you lead now?
Do you feel like a leader already, just without the title? Do you guide others to fantastic achievements?
Leadership may not look like you expect. It might be the time you gave a colleague some advice and they used it to successfully improve their teaching, or when you supported a student and their family through a difficult time.
Consider your conduct in groups. Part of leadership is being someone who can bring positivity to a staffroom discussion, and move things forward rather than dwelling on what is wrong.
5. Is your life ready for the work to increase?
Are you ready to commit the time that will be needed to be an effective leader? Are you able to be disciplined in the way you balance life and work?
I firmly believe that anyone can be a leader at any stage of their life, but the additional responsibility and workload that comes with being a leader means you need to be organised with your working practices to make it work for you.
6. Are you able to stand your ground?
Do you feel self-realised and unshakeable in your values? Do you have self-confidence? Are you able to advocate for yourself and your view?
To be a leader, you need to now be that person in the meeting who is comfortable raising an awkward point. If you’re not ready to stand up courageously for what you believe in, even when all other voices are against you, then maybe this needs more work before you move to more responsibility, as others will be looking to you to do this on their behalf.
7. What sort of school do you want to lead?
Ask yourself if the context is right for you. Is this the right school, with aligned values, and a role that you have a clear vision for? Will it fulfil you?
The culture of the school must follow your personal values closely in order for you to feel content.
8. Where is your support?
Do you have someone who will have faith in you, and advocate for you? Will this support be enough? Will you be forgiven for your mistakes?
Find out about the culture of the leadership team you will be joining. Look at whether they can take on other views, admit to their mistakes and operate through being open and vulnerable with their colleagues.
9. Are you ready to take the blame?
Are you ready for more responsibility and accountability? This one is the crunch questions. If your answer is no, you are absolutely not ready yet.
The picture at the top
Unfortunately, as with so many professions, the demographic at the top of the pile becomes a little skewed.
Men are likely to achieve a headship position, on average, three years before their female counterparts, and although more than three-quarters of the teaching workforce is female, this doesn’t translate into school leadership, with less than two-thirds of all headteachers being women.
Black and minority ethnic teachers are also underrepresented in school leadership. The Department for Education’s recent School Teacher Workforce report revealed that only 6.1 per cent of assistant and deputy heads were from a BAME background in 2018.
The higher you go, the wider the divide. A meagre 3.5 per cent of school leaders come from a BAME background. But rather than letting this put you off, it should encourage you to be the change you want to see.
What next?
Review the answers you’ve given to these questions. A no doesn’t necessarily mean a no-go.
The self-awareness required to be an impactful leader means realising and acknowledging your weaker areas, whether it’s in subject knowledge, experience or personal development.
The truth is you will never be the fully finished, polished article. Knowing this, and, more importantly, demonstrating this, is the first step to becoming an exceptional, brave and credible leader.
Lucy Flower is a music teacher from Leeds and tweets @MrsLFlower
