managers vs leaders in the school system

[pickledsiblings]

I've been thinking about this from the point of view of what makes a good school after watching this youtube video:

There's a school near us where the HT is most definitely a leader and boy does he 'sell' the vision etc. There are sound business managers and data managers etc so the support system is there, yet the school isn't great.

This particular HT has lots of followers, they're just not from within the school.

Any thoughts about the video and its relevance to an educational settings?

Hi, thanks for this interesting question.

The video is great but....

This HT does not have followers within the school. Ipso facto he is not a leader at all in that setting. He may be misapplying a leadership role that worked in another context into the context of running a school.

The last thing teachers will want is a head who is selling a vision to them. They want someone who will mop the floor when the caretaker is off sick and help them feel they are the decision-makers.

I think one of the things that can go wrong is that people start to think "I am behaving in way X because I am a "leader"." It's only a short step from that to talking about one's "leadership style" in the staffroom and from that to The Office and David Brent.

The video was nice for me because I do have a leadership role where I have no formal authority and so it made me feel good!

Legalconfidence I'm glad you enjoyed it.

lol at it being a short step from talking about 'leadership style' to The Office :)

I feel that the best managers inspire confidence in their staff. They look for ways of developing the organisation and taking themselves forward. The best senior managers in a school have a growth mindset and believe their staff can achieve. They are active listeners and not afraid of criticism or to be told that they are wrong. If they need to criticise staff they are constructive. They state the problem rather than bully or demean the person.

Senior managers in a school are not just leaders of teachers, but leaders of children and parents. Infact all teachers are leaders.