Best of Part 2...In Spring 2020, Leadership Relay were fortunate to interview 4 people who have had a range of experiences within elite sport. With a focus on leading in schools, I wanted to collate some of their fascinating insight and add some top tips alongside a couple of questions to consider. I remain so appreciative of the time all 4 personalities gave me and I got something from every single interview. Below are some of my own personal take home messages for leading in schools from the first 2 interviews I conducted. Please let me know @leadershiprelay if you have enjoyed some of the content on this website and, if so, I'll try and be back for Series 2 over the summer! I hope you enjoy this summary. |
Best of...
Humphrey Walters- Leadership Consultant best known for his time working with the England Rugby team which went on to win the World Cup in 2003.
Importance of making what you’re doing fun
The last thing I learnt was that the leader has to be a fun loving and fun bringing person. In other words, they never take themselves too seriously and are always up for a laugh. We had a phrase - it’s serious on top (top deck) but fun down below. That means it was important to work hard when working, but very important to have fun when you’re not on watch so when it’s your turn to go back up on deck, you’re re-energised.
What is your school’s reputation in the local community? This could easily be the local shop test too
It’s like when I turn up in a school, I always do the ‘taxi test’. I jump into a taxi and I ask the driver ‘what is the school like?’ They’ll tell me everything. They might say ‘it’s a fantastic school, it’s a great part of the community’ and they’ll give me a whole description of what the school is like. If you pass the taxi test, you’re doing a lot right! You don’t often need the kids there to tell what they are like.
Setting the ground rules/establishing the culture alongside the team
When we did it with the England team, I set the ground rules with them. In other words, they set it. I was the facilitator. One of the rules was right place, right kit, right time and right mind. You have to have all 4 and because the group had set the rules, they were the monitor of the rules. Therefore, if somebody slipped, I could have a quiet word and say to one of the other players. It’s not my job because they might say ‘get stuffed’, but when you talk to their peers, it’s a very different power. Leaders often think that it is their job to do all that, but it’s not. It’s the job of all the people that work together.
Ben Burgess - ex Professional Footballer and now Primary School Leader in a large Primary School.
Building Relationships
Building those relationships is key. The biggest thing in football, you learn to work with people from all different backgrounds, you learn to work with people from different countries who can’t speak any of the language. You learn to work with people who are extremely arrogant - you certainly wouldn’t choose to be with them, let alone share a dressing room with them. You learn to get the best out of them to help get the best out of yourself as well. You work with people who have come from absolutely nothing, who couldn’t read a book. You work with more intelligent players. It’s similar to a classroom with different abilities, the attainment levels, everything. It’s just like being in a changing room, building relationships and developing trust. You want the children to know that you care about them, and they’ll care about you and they’ll end up giving their best I think.
First impressions count
We had Ian Holloway and we were wondering what he is going to be like? He talked for 2 hours and we were all listening, captivated. Footballers attention spans aren’t the greatest at the best of times. We could tell he was going to do something special because of the kind of person he was, he was open, he was honest, inspiring whereas I’ve had the opposite of that when managers have come in. They’ve been brilliant footballers, but they’ve come in and mumbled, don’t make eye contact and you can tell straight away what they are going to be like through their body language. Wherever you go, you are always trying to pick up things, what works, what doesn’t work and what works in football will work in schools and business.
Importance of using twitter and asking questions
I think what you can learn from twitter is better than any other CPD I’ve had. I have a lot of ideas and my problem is that sometimes I’m a little impatient. I can't stand it when things are done because they’ve always been done that way. I get into trouble for suggesting things and questioning why things are done. In some places there can be a lot of pointless meetings and there is no reason for them. Sometimes there can be a meeting, for example, because we always have a meeting on a Wednesday afternoon. INSET days can be like that. At the end of the day you should be able to say ‘what have I got that I can now apply in the classroom and help the children’s learning?’