Best Practice

Calm leadership: Developing a sense of perspective

Aiming for headship Senior leadership Middle leadership Staff wellbeing
All this year in SecEd, headteacher Patrick Cozier is writing about his approach to headship, which he has termed ‘calm leadership’. In his second article, he focuses on leadership of self and how we can retain a vital sense of perspective


I am a huge football fan (as you may have picked up from my previous article with my references to Carlo Ancelotti – football will be a recurring theme in this series).

My team is Arsenal and my hero Arsene Wenger. During his time as Arsenal manager, Mr Wenger always had an ability to convey calm. In his press conferences, in his interviews after games – particularly in evidence after a defeat.

His well-articulated phrase when questioned after a defeat was: “We have to take a little bit distance.”

This for me is the epitome of having a sense of perspective. In my experience having this has enabled me to preserve my balance, mental health, focus and (most importantly) my optimism.

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