Refresh, Reconnect and Refocus on Road Trip

I'm 4 weeks into a cool 8 week South Island road trip that is combining a bit of work (HMWLead) and holidaying with my wife. We've concentrated on the east coast and deep south. I've found it to be a great opportunity for my own refresh, reconnect and refocus.

After a few relaxing days in Kaikoura I co-facilitated with Derek Wenmoth a school principals' retreat at Hanmer Springs, and the following week, after brief stop overs in Timaru and Oamaru, I spent a week based in Invercargill, where my son lives, and worked for 3 days at St Peter's in Gore assisting them with their deep learning Year 11 programme (no NCEA L1 - yeehah!) and their Years 7 to 9 programme. There's some courageous leadership going on there!

I also spent a day working with the SLT and curriculum leads from Māruawai in Gore supporting their wonderful connected learning programme they are designing for their junior school. There's some courageous leadership going on there.

I'm really looking forward to a continuing partnership with both of those schools.

The following week we slowly explored the Catlins (bucket list) before heading to Te Anau for 3 days which included a wonderful coach and boat trip to and through Milford Sound.

We've now made our way to Queenstown and after a day sightseeing there and in Arrowtown I start 2 days work at Liger Leadership Academy where I am supporting them in their Year 12 programme design and project based learning model design. They are doing great stuff, which you can check out on the latest Disrupted podcast where Claire Amos hosts the Liger principal, Daniel Cooper, so they won't need my input too much longer.

I'm very much looking forward to catching up with the team there after having spent a couple of days there last November.

I'm also looking forward to catching up with my ex DP from HPSS, Sally Hart, who is now DP at Mt Aspiring College. She has the wonderful privilege of hosting us at her whare for a couple of nights!

Most of the remaining 3 weeks will be a bit of a break but will be doing remote catch ups with the Hanmer participants to support their momentum.

The work at Hanmer has had Derek Wenmoth and myself being contacted to run something similar not only for another group of principals, but also Deputy Principals. Fill out the registration of interest link if you are keen to participate or send it to another leader who you think would benefit.
https://lnkd.in/gYJwZkkr

Thanks for reading about my road trip.

How Might We Refresh Reconnect and Refocus our Leadership?

 

I was rapt when the Secondary Principals Council won 2 annual payments of $6000 for Principal Wellbeing in the latest Collective Agreement. Steering our schools through the pandemic in a way that kept students connected to their school and learning, balancing the wellbeing needs of students and staff and supporting the range of and rapidly developing protection measures put in place by the government was demanding work for principals. We had been asking for programmes such as professional supervision for many years and now principals could use this new resource to best support their wellbeing.

I was a little disturbed by the speed at which a range of wellbeing retreats in a number of Pacific Islands emerged which included a few half days focussing on personal wellbeing (with, I suspect, some tools to support wellbeing) and time for rest and relaxation. I was worried a bit about these because it was my view that yes, a few days relaxing on a Pacific Island might help you overcome some stress in the short-term, but it may not actually address the long-term stress that was impacting on the wellbeing of principals. The demands of leading our schools in these rapidly changing times would still exist after returning from such a break.

During a visit to Wellington last November I caught up with Derek Wenmoth for a coffee to discuss how we could work together to support principal wellbeing. It soon became clear that we shared the view that a principal’s wellbeing was best served when they clearly understood their ‘why’, their moral purpose, and were equipped with tools that allowed them to lead their school on a journey of transformation that was driven by this moral purpose. I certainly knew in my own principalship that being clear about what I was prepared to ’die in the ditch’ for meant I had the confidence to be courageous and to take action. I was able to reflect that my wellbeing was best served when my leadership was guided by my personal Leadership Model shown in the diagram below:

This conversation was the beginning of the work that resulted in Derek and I rolling out Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus – a programme that began with a 2 day retreat for 14 primary and secondary principals in Hanmer almost 2 weeks ago.

Over 2 days each participant was supported to re-engage with and explore their own moral purpose around their leadership, imagine a range of possibilities, identify an area of focus for their leadership, explore tools and frameworks for guiding their next steps and connecting with a buddy from the group to support each other over the next 20 weeks.

At the conclusion of the hui we agreed on 20 weeks of buddy connection, 1-on-1 connection with Derek or myself, webinars from experts and whole-group check-ins. We also committed to meeting face-to-face at the end of the 20 weeks to celebrate our progress.

The feedback, at this early stage, from the participants has been hugely positive. One participant posted on Facebook, “Best PLD ever!”

Other participant feedback included the following:

I loved the mix of Secondary and Primary Principals, quite unique. Sincere collaboration felt between all participants.

A good investment in my professional learning because it was organised and planned by experts who have a deep, authentic and proven understanding of what is important in schools ie what to focus on for the maximum benefit to schools and learners.

Two days of taking a breath and focussing on what really matters with passionate, engaged educational facilitators in a peaceful alpine setting. Listening and connecting with other principals who came to refresh, reconnect and refocus. This hui delivered all this and more.

Engaged, passionate, well informed facilitators who seamlessly worked together to deliver an outstanding programme of thought provoking leadership learning.

Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus is the perfect title for this professional development. It does just that. A fantastic retreat, space to think, relax and start to reconnect.

While the 2 day Retreat component is over the mahi now will be about remaining connected and focused over the next 20 weeks to build on the momentum that got underway at Hanmer.

As a facilitator I came away refreshed, reconnected and refocused!

What Next?

Derek challenged all participants to think of themselves as Systems Leaders, not just as leaders of their own school (see his post here). Tomorrow's Schools has us as leaders of our own entities, each doing our best to navigate the rapidly changing environment. There has never been, in my view, a rallying vision for us all to unite behind despite the best intentions of the Ministry, different Ministers and programmes like Kāhui Āko. It is time for a movement of like-minded leaders to connect and focus in meaningful and sustainable ways to support each other on this important journey of transformation. This felt like the beginnings of such a movement.

We've started with 14!

We’ve had a number of inquiries already about whether we’re planning to run this sort of programme into the future, including questions about running it for APs and DPs. If this is something you’d like to be a part of, or know of someone who might be interested, I encourage you to add your name to our registration of interest so that we can keep you informed of our plans moving forward into the second half of 2024 and 2025.

Think about joining a movement of like-minded leaders!

Register Your Interest Here

An opportunity for emerging leaders

We are both really motivated to work with newly appointed APs and DPs as they are our future principals. I can’t help but think how I would have benefitted, early in my leadership, from being supported to explore my moral purpose in relation to leadership, to explore different ways of leading and to become familiar with a range of tools and frameworks to support my leadership.

The drivers for change in schooling are not going to go away and it is vital, in my view, that leaders do not become part of the roadblocks.

If you want to be on this waka or know someone who should be on it, please register through this link or share it with that someone.

Register Your Interest Here

 

Achieving Wellbeing Through Connection: Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus

 

Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus

Apart from reading/listening to Brene Brown et al (who hasn't?) I haven't done much in the way of research or study about the topic of Wellbeing. My thoughts are based entirely on my 30 years of school leadership, with several of those years dealing with quite demanding situations ranging from angry people, to unmotivated people, to systemic confusion, to pandemics to climate crisis impacts.

What do I know?

Firstly, we must take personal responsibility for our own wellbeing. For me this has included 2 important elements: opportunity for personal reflection and 'me' time AND opportunity for connection with others. 

I run. I often run for hours and for many miles, largely by myself. This gives me head space to reflect, process complex work and personal issues, solidify my thinking and make decisions. In these situations I often find myself exploring my 'why' in relation to any issue, thinking about what I'd 'die in the ditch' for, thinking about 'moral purpose'.

I connect and network with others. I do this through entering sporting events, socialising, attending and/or leading workshops, being part of various 'çritical friends' groups. Testing out my thinking, from my personal reflection time (running) within these networks brings a range of perspectives that will both support and challenge me.

This approach to wellbeing has contributed to the development of my personal leadership model shown below:

I have been doing a lot of thinking about how this impacts on wellbeing as principals throughout Aotearoa have access to $6000pa to support their wellbeing and I have seen many 'programmes' being offered to principals to spend this on.

Several I have seen offer time in a luxury resort, in some cases on a Pacific Island, with a combination of workshops on wellbeing and activities that are intended to contribute to wellbeing eg massage/spa, golf etc. There is no doubt that one's wellbeing, at that time, will be in a good space. The question has to be asked, though, is does such a programme have a longstanding beneficial impact on wellbeing, or will the luxury feeling soon be forgotten when once back in the trenches of leading a school?

My experience tells me that when I am certain of my 'why', when I can clearly enunciate it, when it drives my decision-making and my actions I feel better about myself and my contribution to the work of leading a school. This is the Moral Purpose from the model above.

I then find that I now have the confidence and the courage to act on my moral purpose and to bring it to life in my work. Displaying this courage makes me feel good.

But it is when I connect with others and share my moral purpose and plans for action with them as 'çritical friends' that some real gold lies. It is this connection that brings the richness to the work. For this to be effective I have to have an Open to Learning mindset and be prepared to discover that I might be wrong about some of my plans.

When these three come together I feel on top of the world in my work - my wellbeing is high. It becomes a way of working which brings a sustainability to my wellbeing development rather than me relying on the odd luxury escape or a few tools to manage my wellbeing.

Secondly, as leaders we need to be cognizant of our impacts on the wellbeing of others who are part of our work community but that we need to support them to find ways to develop their own wellbeing.

One of the most important things we can do to have a positive impact on the wellbeing of our people is to create an environment where our school's moral purpose is clear, where guidelines for action resulting from this purpose drive actions and decision-making, where we, everyday, walk the talk and support others to do so and where we show we welcome the voice of others as we might be wrong in some of our assumptions. People feel good, about themselves, their colleagues, their learners, their contribution and their work, when they are part of such an environment.

The Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme Derek Wenmoth and myself have designed and which kicks off with a 2 day retreat at Hanmer Springs (nothing wrong with a bit of luxury!) on the evening of 20 March is driven by the principles described above. At the Retreat leaders will refresh their thinking about what is possible and what their 'moral purpose' is, reconnect with this purpose and with other like-minded leaders, and refocus their work on bringing it to life in their schools.

Because it must be sustainable to have an impact the retreat is followed by a 20 week programme of online connecting with the whole group, with a critical friend and with Derek and myself as we support participants in their work. We will then conclude with a 24 hour celebration time together where we share our progress and discuss our next steps.

We have a mix of primary and secondary leaders signed up but there are 2 spaces left. If you think this is the programme for you to support your wellbeing and leadership growth or think it would be great for a colleague there is a brief window to sign up. Information and registration processes are in this link.

Best wishes for 2024.

From Principal Possum to How Might We Lead 2023: A summary and look forward

 2023 was a year of uncertainty for me. But sitting here right now 2024 is one of excitement. The thing I'm most excited about is to work with Derek Wenmouth. Early next year we are running a a 20-week professional development programme for principals, focusing on wellbeing, innovation and change. I really love the model we have come up with as we support principals to Refresh Reconnect and Refocus through two retreats (kicking off at Hanmer Springs in late March) bookending 20 weeks of remote mentoring and connecting. We still have some places left but confirmations must be received by 4 February to secure a place in the programme. Please help us spread the word to let others know about this exciting opportunity. 

Find out more here.

I finished up as Foundation Principal of Hobsonville Point Secondary School in July this year. It took 2 years, initially keeping it to myself, to come to the conclusion that that was the right time to leave. Of the many decisions I've had to make in my career this was one of the hardest. I loved my work, I loved the people I was working with, I loved the students and I felt I was still making a difference. But I'm convinced it was time for someone else to lead and take the school further into the future.

In this post I wrote about the moving haka I experienced on my final day and also on what my plans were in the future, considering I believed that I could still make a contribution in the education field.

My plans centred around forming HMWLead (How Might We Lead) and offering opportunities to partner with schools and their leadership teams to explore ways of leading in such a dynamic environment.

In one of my first posts with HMWLead I wrote of the importance of having a clear understanding of and strong commitment to your personal 'why' as a leader. Having a clear understanding of your 'why' or moral purpose, in my view, gives a leader the courage to lead. My personal model of leadership captured in this visual shows not only the importance of Moral Purpose and Courage but also accepting the sometimes quite challenging position that you might be wrong (Open to Learning).

In a September post I launched the HMWLead website.

In my October post I used the analogy of my entry into the Tarawera Ultra 100 mile trail run to  encourage thinking around what might be possible when we set out to test what we are truly capable of achieving. I wrote about my experience at Opotiki College going from 40-50 suspensions a year to zero as an example of exploring different approaches to age-old problems.

My next post explored how we might go about the seemingly daunting task of transforming how we do 'schooling'. I am more and more convinced that how we do this work is to really focus on what it is that we know that creates the conditions for the best teaching and learning that is required today. We need to start with understanding and agreeing on how students learn best. From there we need to develop a set of core beliefs for which we are ready to "die in the ditch" and design our schools based on those core beliefs.

In a further post I focused on the view that the number one principle for effective schools seems to be that they have clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom.

I then proposed that the clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom need to be driven by a vision and mission which are deeply informed by new contexts for learning. In the previous post I stated that, in the end, it doesn't matter what the core beliefs about learning are but that it was vital that they were lived in every classroom. But, of course, it does matter.

If we start, as we should, with the question:

• "How do children and adults learn most powerfully and deeply in their lives?" (Modern Learners).

and we add:

• "When they leave us, what will our students need to be able to do, and what kind of people will they be?" (Modern Learners)

and we take into account the rapidly changing and threatened world in store for our current learners (climate crisis, pandemics, increasing inequity, war, biodiversity threat, AI, world of work), we must explore, embrace and fully incorporate in our design of schools and of learning new ways in which we can learn and become educated.

As 2023 ends I am able to reflect on being satisfied at the timing of my stepping down from principalship and the challenge and excitement I am feeling as a result of my work in schools, most of whom are embracing an ongoing partnership to support them on their journey. Their journeys are all very different, but they are all benefiting from exploring their 'why' - the things they are prepared to die in the ditch for.

I'm still excited by my upcoming challenge to complete the 100 miler in February despite the setbacks and challenges that have occurred.

I'm extremely excited by the collaboration with Derek Wenmouth. Our Refrresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme for school leaders is innovative and we are already planning similar for the different levels of leadership within schools.

In the meantime, if you're a school leader (primary or secondary) wanting to experience what this programme offers get amongst it here. If you're a DP or middle leader with aspirations to lead with Moral Purpose and Courage then watch this space.

Sing out if you have any questions.

Have a happy and safe summer.

How Might We Lead and FutureMakers: Sustainable support of principal wellbeing

 I love the How Might We Lead title of my little venture that is designed to support school leaders and their teams to look at how they might lead differently so they can bring their moral purpose to life in a way that allows teachers and students to thrive.

The 'How' puts the focus clearly on exploring possibilities and focusing on process. The 'Might' hints at the possibility of not finding the answer straight away but suggests giving some things a go. The 'We' centres on exploration and trying things out as a collective, networked activity.

I'm hugely excited by a recent and ongoing collaboration with Derek Wenmouth and his platform FutureMakers. His platform has a cool title, too, as it points to where our focus should be (Future), with the 'Makers' bit pointing to the agency that needs to be developed in leaders so that they can bring life to their vision for the future.

Our recent collaboration has resulted in the development of a powerful and sustainable approach to support principal wellbeing which focuses on leaders reconnecting with their personal 'why' and being equipped with tools to bring that to life in their schools, supported by a strong network of like-minded leaders who maintain a strong connection throughout the 20 week programme.

While there has been a recent and necessary focus on the wellbeing of students and of teachers, the wellbeing of school principals has often been overlooked. When thinking about how best to support/grow the wellbeing of school leaders it is important to concentrate on strategies that are long-lasting and sustainable. A luxury escape with some personal pampering, while attractive, does little more than ease the load/worry at that point in time and is, in itself, not enduring. We believe that leaders who have a clear sense of their ‘why’, are confident in articulating their ‘why’ in ways that rally others around them, who are excited by the future they see in front of them for themselves, their colleagues and their students and who have a set of tools they can use in concert with a community of similarly excited leaders have their wellbeing best supported.

Detailed information and the registration process can be found here. We're limiting this programme to 20 principals so we can ensure strong connections are sustained between all participants. Registrations are coming in quickly so you'll need to act quite quickly to take advantage of this innovative opportunity.

Our programme is structured as follows:

• 2 day retreat at the wonderful Hanmer Springs
• 20 weeks of remote coaching and mentoring (a mix of whole group and 1-on-1)
• 1 day face-to-face celebration and planning of next steps

The three elements of the programme are:

• Refresh - explore how to address your physical, mental and social wellbeing
• Refocus - explore your personal 'why' and be exposed to tools to plan from that point
• Reconnect - design a personal and collective view of a future-focused approach supported by a community of like-minded leaders

This programme well and truly aligns with FutureMakers' vision to:

• Inspire the next generation of leaders, thinkers and problem-solvers

and HMWLead's vision to:

• Empower educational leaders for transformative change

We'd love you to join us on this journey.

How Might We Lead for Effectiveness Rather Than Efficiency?

I have been delving more deeply into the work of  Modern Learners, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (OECD), Michael Fullan and Chris Leadbetter and their work with the Centre for Strategic Education, Valerie Hannon and her work with the Innovation Unit and Russell Bishop's Teaching/Leading to the North-east which I mentioned in my previous post. I am doing this to attempt to distill the key principles relevant for schooling and learning design that are reflected in their work.

A couple of things have happened.

The first is Agency By Design (Derek Wenmouth et al) has been released and I've taken advantage of the free download. I've skimmed through it once and will soon digest it more thoroughly , but it looks to me as if they have done a great job in distilling those key principles, explaining them clearly and providing a framework for schools and their leaders to use to bring those principles to life. I'm still going to complete my own analysis as described above and take that lens to a deeper dive into their work.

The second is the discovery of a few quotes in the work of those mentioned above which really resonate with me and which capture the lens through which I believe I have operated as a school leader in the past and through which I approach the work I am doing now. Here they are:

• "Modern learners' newfound ability to take full control of their learning is THE educational shift of our times." (Modern Learners)
• "Cannot separate wellbeing and learning." (Fullan)
• "The power of the relationships will always dwarf all other pedagogical strategies." (From an OECD source I can't find, so any help greatly appreciated!)

I also was drawn to the point of difference described in Modern Learners' 10 Principles For Schools of Modern Learning between Efficient Schools and Effective Schools.

Efficient schools are those that prize knowing over the ability to learn while effective schools focus on developing students as learners. Their document references Peter Drucker who reminds us that, "There is a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing." Drucker's colleague, Russell Ackoff goes on to add, "Doing things right is efficiency. Doing the right thing is effectiveness." 

If we accept the quote above, "Modern learners' newfound ability to take full control of their learning is THE educational shift of our times." (Modern Learners) and think about the difference between efficiency and effectiveness then we must ask ourselves if doing things right in the traditional school environment, while may be being efficient, is the right thing to do. I would argue that many of the practices that keep our schools efficient (streaming, learning in subject silos, paradigm of one - one class, one hour, one subject, one teacher, one set of learning activities, one pace of learning, one assessment) do not recognise this important educational shift.

The likely outcome of sticking to these practices of efficiency is that schools will become less effective. This will result in decreased student engagement (attendance, behaviour, motivation to learn) and decreased teacher engagement as it feels more and more like they're pushing it uphill. 

Another danger is that baby boomer politicians who do not understand this new educational shift and the relentlessness of it will impose policies on schools that may have some populist appeal but are simply focusing on efficiency and not effectiveness.

Both of these outcomes/dangers worry me.

It is vital that we interrogate some of these thoughts, be guided by research and evidence, and decide whether the goal for our school is effectiveness or efficiency and whether we embrace the opportunities afforded us by our students' "newfound ability to take full control of their learning." 

This looks like demanding work, but it also looks like rewarding and exciting work.