For the past 12 months, things have been very quiet at People & Potential because I have been building not one, but two buildings at opposite ends of the country. It has been extremely strenuous, exhausting and at times quite stressful, but it has also been exhilarating and deeply satisfying. It struck me that this pursuit has not been unlike building or leading a strong education system or school in 5 important ways.

1. Vision: School leadership is the most significant factor in school success. The leader has to have a clear vision of what they want to build. This clarity has to be matched by an unrelenting determination to see the vision come to life, because along the way there will be the naysayers who say it is impossible and others who want to cut corners and produce the same substandard product that the leader had decided never to replicate.
2. Team: there is absolutely no way we can build alone – it takes teamwork and cooperation from a very wide range of people. The school leader must identify the best people for each task and share the vision in terms specific to their role. They must negotiate the terms and ensure there is clarity on goals and timelines; then everyone sets to work. In the best teams, the Leader works hard, joins in and does some of the donkey work too. This gives a great example and sets the pace for everyone. In weaker teams, the leader’s role is to only watch and give commands. As Steve Munby (former CEO of The National College for School Leadership) once said ‘The future is about Super Teams’.
3. Energy and Resilience: Leaders need to have reserves of energy and the fortitude to keep going when exhausted and even when discouraged. When a worker lets you down, when cash flow is difficult, when something you thought would take a week is taking the better part of a month – time to reflect: what is the nature of the difficulty and what can we do about it? This reflection avoids blame and instead focuses the mind on solutions. This is turn builds team.

4. Trust:When building these properties, we quickly established rigorous expectations then trusted people to deliver. We also ensure we settle invoices as far as possible on time and as agreed. Trust isn’t a one way street: the leader needs to trust the team and the team needs to also know the leader is indeed trustworthy. Establishing trust means you have clear systems of checks and balances and openness in communication. I haven’t hesitated to correct sloppy work, but neither have I hesitated to admit my own errors or misjudgments. Trust does NOT mean accepting anything but the best a person can produce. It means you so believe in them, that they go the extra mile to meet that expectation.
5. Advanced Project Management:While the buildings were going up there were times I felt like the conductor of an orchestra; other times I felt like a circus ringmaster! With so many strands that need to be coordinated and so many aspects to be considered, it’s not hard to see why some leaders experience burnout. To ensure your school or organization functions to a high level, you have to be very clear about timelines and deliverables. Secondly, distribute leadership – don’t just delegate it – hand areas to other capable people and check in with them from time to time. Highly able people enjoy autonomy and will deliver. Last but not least, take breaks!

Starting, building or leading agood school takes enormous creativity, critical thinking, strength of character and calls upon all your communication skills. It also takes great patience and fortitude.

Whether you lead an education ministry, a chain of schools or a single school, the same principles apply. We have all seen terrible buildings and wondered what went wrong: doors that don’t close, tiling that is wonky, huge corridors and tiny rooms. I suspect it is quite easy to end up with a poor building that doesn’t meet needs. Like with building, leading a great school is nowhere near as easy as people think.  Thank you Educators for the multi-tasking, problem solving and deep thinking that you do every single day that lead us towards the high level learning students need.