Tag: Aspiring Leaders

You have been at your school for a while. You know the students, the families and how things really work. Lately, though, something has shifted. You want a new challenge, and the obvious next step seems to be leadership: head of department, perhaps, or assistant principal.

Before you apply, it is worth being honest about one question above all others: why do you want to step up? Is it because you feel you have earned it, that after years of loyal service the role is somehow owed to you? Or is it because you want to make a difference, you believe you have the skills, and leading people is genuinely what you want to do?

For many teachers, if they are honest, it is the first. They do not especially want to lead. They do not want to be visible, to manage difficult colleagues or to carry decisions they did not make. But they feel they should, or the extra salary matters, or staying still feels like falling behind. Patrick Lencioni describes exactly these two motives in The Motive: leadership as a reward, and leadership as a responsibility. Only one of them leads to good leadership.

Leadership will change your working life. You will spend less time teaching and more time on people, problems and paperwork. These five questions will help you work out which motive is really driving you.

1. Why do I want this?

Be specific. “I want to make a difference” is a start, but what difference, and for whom? If the main draw is status, salary or a feeling that it is your turn, those motives will wear thin quickly. In The Motive, Lencioni explains that reward-centred leaders, who see the role as a prize, tend to avoid the unglamorous parts of the job: difficult conversations, managing their team and communicating the same message again and again. Responsibility-centred leaders accept that work because they see leadership as a duty to serve others. I’ve explored this before in The Secret to Inspiring Teams, including how to talk about your motive in an interview. The leaders who last are usually driven by a clear sense of what they want to improve, and they accept the harder work that comes with it.

2. Am I ready to be less liked?

Leadership involves decisions that some people will not agree with. Colleagues who were friends may become more guarded. You will have to address poor performance, say no to requests and carry decisions you did not make. If being liked by everyone matters a great deal to you, think carefully.

3. Is my own teaching secure?

Credibility in schools still starts in the classroom. Leaders are expected to model the teaching they ask of others. If your own practice is still developing, a year or two more focused on it may make you a far stronger leader later.

4. Have I led anything already?

You do not need a title to lead. Have you run a project, mentored a colleague, organised a trip or led a working group? These experiences show you, and any interview panel, whether you enjoy the work of leading people. If you have not done any of them yet, start there.

5. What will I give up?

Every leadership role costs something: time with students, evenings, weekends, sometimes the subject you love most. In international schools, a promotion may also mean moving country. Be clear about the trade-offs, and talk them through with the people they will affect.

If the answers are honest, the decision gets easier

None of these questions are meant to put you off. Schools need good leaders, and many great teachers become great leaders. The point is to go in with your eyes open.

Talk to people already in the role you want. Ask them what surprised them and what they wish they had known. Then decide. A leadership role taken on for the right reasons, at the right time, is one of the most rewarding things in education.