When I was an early career teacher, I viewed senior roles as hierarchical and leadership styles as predominantly top-down but senior leadership in schools has changed over the past 20 years.
Demands have changed as have priorities. I no longer see senior leaders as simply managing the school; now, I recognise them as drivers of innovation, working to improve educational outcomes. Leadership, after all, is second only to classroom teaching in its impact on student success.
Navigating into senior leadership often means meeting new challenges while also maintaining a clear vision for the school. I transitioned into senior leadership 10 years ago, and the experience was undeniably challenging.
Moving to a new school for the role meant not only adjusting to new processes, procedures, and a different environment, but also building relationships with the leadership team, the departments I line-managed, and the wider school community.
In addition to these challenges, I had to manage extra duties – before school, during breaks, lunch, and after school, as well as overseeing detentions and handling administrative tasks.
To the students, my role as a senior leader didn’t matter much; I was just another unfamiliar face. Until I had established myself in the school, I faced numerous challenges in gaining their trust and respect.
There was a perception that, as a senior leader, I would have all the answers, but that was far from the truth. I made plenty of mistakes and faced a steep learning curve.
More than anything, like many leaders, I was dealing (and still do) with high levels of imposter syndrome whereby I often feel like I just don’t have the credentials to lead. Being plagued by self-doubt is normal and more common than you’d think, especially when taking on a new leadership position.
What does research say about effective leaders
Moving into school senior leadership requires a diverse set of skills. Research consistently highlights several critical abilities for effective leadership. Four that come up regularly are decision-making, communication, emotional intelligence, and fostering a collaborative culture. I would like to explore these further in this article.
1, Decision-making skills
A key feature of leadership, at any level, is decision-making. At senior leadership, decisions can impact all stakeholders. At times, making these decisions can be very challenging as multiple constraints must be balanced, for example: time, resources and policies.
Professor Viviane Robinson (1998) highlights that leaders are tasked with integrating these and other factors (staff development, accountability and resources) to find effective solutions.
Effective solutions come from understanding these constraints and “problem-solvers are more likely to integrate such complex constraint sets if they take responsibility for the whole problem rather than seek to maximize one or two favoured constraints” (Robinson, 1998). That is, not sacrificing one constraint for the benefit of another and instead integrating them into workable solutions.
However, according to Lord and Maher (cited in Robinson, 1998), “expert problem-solvers are both more efficient and more deliberative than non-experts”.
They continue: “When problem-solvers are practiced in solving particular types of problems, the process of specifying constraints and finding ways of integrating them becomes virtually automatic.”
For those new to senior leadership, this lack of automaticity can be particularly challenging as “non-experts are more immediately solution-oriented” (Robinson, 1998).
Therefore, new leaders need to frame problem-solving as “a matter of deciding a preferable pattern of constraint satisfaction” (Coe et al, 2022) and spend time understanding the problem fully along with identifying the underlying constraints before jumping to solutions.
Ultimately, what teachers are asking of leaders is: “Solving, mitigating or removing problems, clearing away obstacles and enabling them to get on with the job in a frictionless environment.” (Coe et al, 2022)
Senior leaders are tasked with removing obstacles through strategic problem-solving. This involves gathering relevant facts, engaging in collaborative discussions, and thoroughly diagnosing the situation rather than making hasty decisions.
By approaching challenges in this deliberate and methodical manner, leaders can ensure that solutions are well-informed and sustainable (Herold & Fedor, 2008).
In order to problem-solve effectively, Coe et al (2022) propose the following steps:
- Challenges and barriers are identified, and their causes understood.
- Solutions are feasible and address those causes.
- Implementation is well-planned and followed through
- Changes are sustained.
Ultimately, effective decision-making in senior leadership requires not only a deep understanding of the problem and its constraints but also the ability to adapt to evolving circumstances.
2, Communication
Le Fevre and Robinson (2015) explain that engaging in dialogue with stakeholders ensures that solutions are well-grounded and take all perspectives into account. Open communication is vital in areas such as policy development and decision-making.
They also suggest that leaders adopt assertive and empathetic communication skills, which are crucial especially when dealing with confrontations or difficult conversations. They suggest leaders adopt Open to Learning Conversations (OTLC) characterised as follows:
- Mutual respect: Both parties engage in the conversation with the understanding that their views and emotions are valued. This builds relational trust, which is crucial for productive communication.
- Inquiry and advocacy: The leader not only advocates for their perspective but also actively enquires into the views of the other person. This means listening deeply to understand the other party’s perspective, which encourages openness and reflection.
- Non-defensive communication: OTLC encourages avoiding defensiveness and focusing on problem-solving collaboratively. By acknowledging emotions and motivations without judgement, leaders create a safe space for honest dialogue.
- Goal of improvement: The primary aim is to foster learning and improvement, whether it is about teaching practices, student outcomes, or professional behaviour. It emphasises the belief that through conversation, both parties can grow and learn.
Le Fevre and Robinson propose that leaders skilled in OTLC can address performance issues more effectively because they build trust, promote reflective practice, and engage teachers in solutions that focus on development rather than blame.
The paper The quality of leaders' problem-solving conversations (Robinson et al, 2020) suggests that leaders frame their belief as hypotheses rather than fact, suggesting “it would be easier for them to publicly test their validity”. Validity-testing refers to leaders openly testing their assumptions and ideas with others, allowing for feedback and discussion.
At my school, we conduct “pre-mortems” when developing a strategy as a means of validity-testing. This approach, the research suggests, creates a culture where feedback is valued, and solutions are developed through collective effort rather than top-down directives.
3, Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise and understand emotions in ourselves and others. Emotional intelligence involves self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.
I have found that social awareness is crucial in effective leadership because the ability to understand the emotions, needs and concerns of others is fundamental to the role.
Goleman (2005) asserts that “people’s emotions are rarely put into words; far more often they are expressed through other cues”. It is the picking up on these cues and responding appropriately that transcends managers into leaders.
Emotional intelligence should play a key role in decision-making. Hess and Bacigalupo (2011) suggest that leaders assess their own emotions and motivations when making decisions – therefore avoiding making rash decisions.
Furthermore, they advocate for enabling transparency in decision-making in order to build trust. Emotionally intelligent leaders, according to the authors, thoughtfully consider how their decisions will affect others.
This deliberate emotional awareness allows leaders to make more empathetic and effective choices: “In the decision-making process, the acknowledgment of individual emotions is critical in determining not only the motivations behind decisions but also the impact of those decisions on others.”
4, Fostering a collaborative culture
Being a senior leader in schools requires making many decisions swiftly, but the most impactful strategic decisions are best made collaboratively.
At my school, the process of designing the School Improvement Plan (SIP) begins early in the summer term, involving leaders from all levels – senior, faculty, pastoral, and key post-holders. This inclusive approach ensures a broad range of perspectives is considered, enriching the decision-making process.
Once the SIP is drafted, it is shared with all teachers for feedback and integration into their subject areas. This collaborative approach promotes a sense of ownership, trust, and commitment to effectively implementing the plan.
Beyond strategic planning, senior leaders play a vital role in creating opportunities for collaboration among staff. For example, I am responsible for designing the professional development calendar each year, which gives me the chance to ensure colleagues can work together on key areas such as curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment.
As highlighted in A model for school environment and leadership (Coe et al, 2022): “Collaboration builds social bonds between staff, promoting affiliation, helping behaviours, and organisational commitment. This, in turn, may support staff wellbeing and retention.”
The benefits of fostering a collaborative culture are clear: it strengthens relationships, improves morale, and enhances organisational commitment.
In the past, I believed that being an effective senior leader meant finding all the answers and bestowing them upon staff. However, experience has taught me that true leadership is about enabling others to contribute, creating a culture where every voice is valued.
Final thoughts
Transitioning into senior leadership in schools is challenging but so rewarding. It requires developing a diverse set of skills, from decision-making and communication to emotional intelligence and fostering a collaborative culture.
Yet, many, if not all of these are skills mastered beforehand as classroom teachers and middle leaders.
However, we must shift from the perception that senior leadership is about having all the answers to one where we facilitate, enable, and empower others.
Effective leadership involves navigating complex problems, engaging in meaningful conversations, and ensuring that strategic decisions are inclusive and well-informed.
Building trust, encouraging open dialogue, and nurturing a culture of collaboration are essential to not only improving school outcomes but also maintaining staff morale and wellbeing.
The journey may be filled with self-doubt and periods of imposter syndrome, but by embracing these challenges and seeking continuous growth, new senior leaders can create a positive and lasting impact on their school communities.
- Debbie Tremble is assistant headteacher for teaching and learning at John Taylor High School in Staffordshire. She has 20 years’ experience in education, undertaking a variety of roles including head of English and trust lead for English and literacy. Debbie is an SLE for English, ELE for Staffordshire Research School, and is currently partaking in an NPQLTD. Find her previous articles and webinar appearances for SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/debbie-tremble
Further information & resources
- Coe, Kime & Singleton: A model for school environment and leadership: School environment and leadership: Evidence review, Evidence Based Education, 2022: https://evidencebased.education/school-environment-and-leadership-evidence-review/
- Goleman: Emotional intelligence, Bantam Books, 2005.
- Herold & Fedor: The effects of transformational and change leadership on employees’ commitment to a change: A multilevel study, Journal of Applied Psychology (93), 2008: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.346
- Hess & Bacigalupo: Enhancing decisions and decision-making processes through the application of emotional intelligence skills, Management Decision (49,5), 2011: https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741111130805
- Le Fevre & Robinson: The interpersonal challenges of instructional leadership: Principals’ effectiveness in conversations about performance issues, Educational Administration Quarterly (51,1), 2015: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X13518218
- Robinson: Methodology and the research-practice gap, Educational Researcher (27,1), 1998: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X027001017
- Robinson et al: The quality of leaders' problem-solving conversations: Truth-seeking or truth-claiming? Leadership and Policy in Schools (19,2), 2020: www.researchgate.net/publication/339971114_The_Quality_of_Leaders'_Problem-Solving_Conversations_Truth-Seeking_or_Truth-Claiming