Challenge, change and stress
The work of school leaders is more complex than ever. Challenges include accountability pressures associated with high-stakes testing; school inspections; league tables and exam performance; curriculum developments; changes in assessment; and human resources issues, such as recruiting quality teachers or maintaining staff morale. Allen et al. (2016) found that schools with the most disadvantaged pupil intakes tend to have more inexperienced teachers, more unqualified teachers and higher staff turnover, suggesting that these schools’ leaders face even greater difficulties than most.
Research evidence also shows that given the intensity of the job, the emotional demands, the accompanying workload and the high-stakes accountability cultures in which they work, school leaders, especially headteachers suffer from high levels of occupational stress (Bakker 2015; OECD 2013). It is perhaps unsurprising therefore that many education systems are experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining school principals.
All-consuming workloads and challenges must be seen as surmountable and the leadership task perceived as possible for ordinary mortals. As the punishing pace of school leaders’ work and the demanding and draining nature of the calls upon them increases, they need to be helped to develop confidence in their leadership and management capabilities and to acquire appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills. They also need to know that they have or can develop the self-awareness, personal resolve and resilience to maintain their wellbeing and work-life balance and, importantly, that they have the support of others in so doing.
Personal effectiveness and self-awareness
Support for school leaders to deal with matters of professional isolation, workload and personal wellbeing may come from a variety of sources, both professional and personal. For example, research studies have pointed to the importance of fellow heads, senior colleagues, the chair of governors, local district officers, school advisers, networks (real and virtual), a coach or mentor, a spouse or partner. However, this support needs to be ongoing, flexible and responsive to changing needs over time (Bush 2015; Earley et al. 2011).
Leaders need intellectual breadth and agility, self-awareness and self-confidence, good interpersonal skills and high degrees of resilience if they are to deal successfully with complexity, resolve paradoxes and make informed decisions. They also need opportunities to think and reflect which is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the hurly-burly life of schools and the ‘busyness’ of headship. The provision of support and opportunities to develop as highly effective and successful school principals – to survive and thrive - is therefore crucial and more important than ever.
The late Harry Tomlinson, a regular contributor to PDT, stated that “personal effectiveness is a precondition of professional excellence” (2004) and pointed to the importance of self-management and self-awareness thus: