Coaching for the Soul Connecting School Improvement with what matters most in School Leadership

What are your reasons for being here today? What could jeopardize your reasons for being here today?

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SCHOOL LEADER TODAY Visit the quotes around the room and stand next to the one that resonates with you the most

School Leadership Today “ Virtually all of the principals that Evans encountered “acknowledge that their professional lives have grown more complicated and less satisfying, leading many to question not just whether the job can be done, but also whether it is worth the personal cost” Fullan: The Moral Imperative of School Leadership

School Leadership Today “ What emerges is a picture of school leaders who must staff schools, meet pupils’ needs, attend to staff personal and professional problems, keep open lines of communication to parents and the community and, of course, handle a the paperwork, all within the constraints of time and energy” Stoll and Fink: Changing our Schools

School Leadership Today “ It would appear that no single leadership model adequately describes the expectations and reality for contemporary educational leaders.” Stoll and Fink: Changing our Schools vivgrant@integritycoaching.co.uk 0208 767 7664

Is there another way?

The way forward ‘Thus the solution is to acknowledge the extreme importance of the principalship clarify the nature of the principal’s role, and invest in developing the capacity of principals to act as chief operating officers’ Fullan – The Moral Imperative of School Leadership

School Effectiveness: Self and Others “ Since change in organisations is about change in people, attention to their perceptions of reality and particularly their sense of self is a key to successful ‘Change agentry’ Fullan [1993]

THE INNER AND OUTER WORLDS OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Above and Below the Water Line What is it that others see of you that enables them to make ‘judgements’ about your own levels of effectiveness as leader? [top of the iceberg] What is it that they don’t see that impacts on what is above?

Bringing Alignment The efforts that are necessary to achieve effective school leadership [ that which is visible to others] to a large extent remain hidden The hidden part of the iceberg stand figuratively for the inside world of the leader and how s/he manages it in order to achieve excellence for self and others

Bringing Alignment The higher levels are not an indication of whether one is able to maintain/sustain effective leadership It is the lower levels of the iceberg that drive the higher levels

EXPLORING THE KEY CHALLENGES TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT/LEADERSHIP

Sharing Pairs What have been the key challenges that you have faced in your career to date as a school leader? Why/are they significant? How have/did you respond? What was the impact on self and others? What are the lessons that you have learnt about the links between school improvement and leadership of self?

‘To Listen’

Listening can enable you to ... Refill your emotional, mental and spiritual reservoirs Embrace and develop new mechanisms for coping with the challenges of school leadership Identify what courage feels and looks like for you Time which will enable them to: Stop, pause and reflect Refill their emotional, mental and spiritual reservoirs Embrace and develop new mechanisms for coping with the challenges of school leadership Strengthen their inner foundations Re-align themselves with all things, both personal and professional, that are of the greatest importance to them.  

Starting from a New Place “ The Soul of the Endeavour”

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs [1]

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs [2] Abraham Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs in his book Motivation and Personality [1943] Maslow suggested that only two percent of the people in the world achieve self actualisation Each need is based on meeting the needs of the layer beneath it Self Actualization is a process of growing and developing as a person to achieve individual potential

Esteem Needs [1] After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs become increasingly important These include the need for things that reflect on … - self-esteem - personal worth - social recognition - accomplishment What do you think are the feelings that individuals experience when their esteem needs are met?

Esteem Needs [2] Satisfaction of these esteem needs produces feelings of: Self –confidence Prestige Power Control Individuals begin to feel that they are useful and have some effect on their environment

Self Actualising This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy Self Actualising people are: self aware Concerned with personal growth Less concerned with the opinions of others Interested in fulfilling their potential Need for meaning and purpose

The Self-Actualizing Person ‘Maslow’s highest state was the self actualizing person who emerges when the esteem needs are satisfied and the individual is no longer driven by the need to prove themselves, either to themselves or to anyone else. He called this Self-Actualizing because Self-Actualized would have implied that we could really arrive there, whereas he saw it as a never-ending journey.’ Ref: John Whitmore: Coaching for Performance

Task Groups What do you think would be: A] Identify up to 3 key features of an approach to school improvement/leadership development that took Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as its starting point? B] What would be the benefits for School Leaders?

Benefits for School Leaders School Improvement/Leadership Development: Where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the Starting Point Key Features Benefits for School Leaders A concentration on such issues as: Having a positive view of human beings Increasing self awareness Focusing on the here and now Developing openness Creation of high trust/high accountability relationships Individual fulfilment Unconditional positive regard Active and attentive listening School leaders would: Have high levels of Emotional Resilience Feel secure in themselves Commit to their own emotional and psychological development alongside school improvement priorities -Experience greater fulfilment from their roles

An Invitation – To ‘take the learning further and connect back to you’ FREE 30 min ‘Embedding the Learning’ call: The call will help you to: Integrate learning from today with your own day to day practice Create a sense of clarity about what you really want out of your life as a school leader Gain perspective on any challenges you may be currently facing Identify the steps that you can take to bring about positive change