Have you ever been to a Toastmasters event? Toastmasters is a global organization helping people to improve their public speaking skills. They meet fortnightly to practice and if it’s your first time there, you have to speak. Toastmasters create an opportunity for people to come together, develop themselves and gain feedback from others in a safe environment.
What can we learn from this?
If I asked what was the purpose of attending a Toastmaster event, the answer I think that would come to mind is that they do it because they want to. No one is forcing them, they feel it in themselves to become better and they know the benefit it can bring them.
What we must remember is that there are people in our schools and organisations who want the opportunity to improve themselves. It is therefore paramount that school leaders give these opportunities to people. This will help staff rise up and take the lead, learn new skills and create better outcomes.
What can schools do?
You need to create an opportunity for people to work with other leaders. At this table, pair people together for reciprocal coaching. Let people share the successes and failures they have encountered (this applies to new and established leaders). Create discussion whereby skills in leadership can flourish.
We need to move away from the them and us mentality. A Senior Leadership Team does need to have times when it meets as a small group. This maybe due to the nature of the discussion, but bringing people in to talk about school improvement will help them become more aligned with the organization and also create more people to create more impact.
The place must be safe. Like I mentioned with toastmasters, everyone has a safe place to share their thoughts. Create dialogue between the new and established leaders. Create challenge but in a sensitive way. Don’t forget, those in management positions may not see what people experience within the hustle and bustle of any organization. It’s a great opportunity to bring those eyes and ears to gather a fresh perspective.
How do you measure the impact?
Those interested in leadership experience can run a small project. They use this project as a way to bring data, new ideas, insights etc to the leadership team.
You should also see impact from the people themselves. Being within a circle of leaders should help them create a new leadership mindset. They will become active leaders and not leaders developed through reading books. Through discussion, you will be able to notice the changes that they have gone through. You may wish to develop a set of questions to note how they’ve worked through their project, what issues they came across, and most importantly, what did they learn from this experience.
At KAI Teacher, we believe that great leaders are created through support and challenge. We coach teachers who are looking to lead and want neutral ground to discuss their aspirations. We work with teachers wanting to develop at all levels whether it’s middle to senior leadership, trainee and NQTs or those wanting to develop confidence.
If you feel that you want support to help you move forward in your career, please contact us.