LEADERSHIP


Schools don’t have to choose between collaboration and


competition argues Steve Munby – they should embrace both


decisive and strong, leading with authority, driving things through at pace? Or is now the time for our leadership to be more inclusive and empowering? I believe, as leaders, we should not choose between


A


these types of leadership – we must choose both. In doing so, we face a number of tensions. I want to look at one of these: being competitive versus being collaborative. Most of us are accountable for what happens in


the organisations that we lead.We are responsible for ensuring our organisations improve. And so, of course, there has to be competition between schools. Having a competitive edge as a leader stops us from being complacent and keeps us on our toes. We learn from the performance of others, we realise we can do better ourselves.Without this, we may struggle to improve. And so being held to account has to be seen as a


positive thing and being benchmarked against external criteria is a way of supporting improvement. I have no doubt that over the last 20 years or so, this increased accountability has improved quality. Schools in this country are significantly better places – providing better teaching, better leadership and higher standards. However, collaboration also has a critical role to


play.Without it, we will get greater variation between schools – some will get better and do well, but overall the system will not improve. But what should collaboration look like in order to make a difference?


Taking the lead: HTI A sporting comparison


Teamwork and collaboration are vital to many


aspects of life, including schools.Anne Evans explains


TEAMWORK AND collaboration are qualities which are vital to every aspect of public, private, business and, of course, sporting life. Football devotees will no doubt have speculated on the degree to which both were present in England’s final performance in Euro 2012. I’m no expert, but I picked up on the post-match debate about England’s vastly inferior pass rate compared with Italy. To me, that suggests there is something lacking on the teamwork and collaboration front, but perhaps I should leave the analysis to the pundits. Teamwork and collaboration are two of the topics


explored in our latest Olympics-inspired think-piece. Researched and written by a headteacher, the article looks at excellence in sports leadership through a series of interviews with some of our most successful sports leaders and asks: what are the synergies with education leadership and are there lessons education leaders could learn? David Faulkner, head of UK hockey, knows a


thing or two about getting the most out of a team, having lifted his team’s global ranking from 11th to fourth in six years. He believes it takes time to develop a team


and build a team ethos. Getting to grips with a well-established team ethos can be particularly challenging for a newcomer. He also believes that finance does not always buy success. It is the willingness of a group to work together that leads to success. Every role is clearly defined, only the best people for a particular role are appointed and huge amounts of trust are invested in them to do the job well. He acknowledges that he is not the best person to lead all aspects of the organisation and he is certainly


not there to manage performance on the pitch. That’s the role of the coaches. He sees his role as handling off field pressures, so that nothing detracts from the focus on winning. All of the leaders agreed that standing back and


allowing people to work in their own way, even if it is not the way the leader would work, was important. Leaders look for people who will fit into the team, but individuality is important too, as long as it energises and galvanises the rest of the team behind a goal, rather than distracts. On the subject of collaboration, each of the


leaders understands the value of seeking (and sharing) support and inspiration from other people inside and outside their sport. For example, different sports boards share learning about performance at a national level. But there are also plenty of “armchair critics” who believe they can manage the England team because they have kicked a football. One leader said while he was willing to listen


to what anyone has to say, he will only seriously consider and learn from the advice of those who have achieved at the level to which he is aspiring because “you don’t need the theories of non-achievers”. There is an important distinction between


teamwork and collaboration. One is about pulling together from the same starting point towards a shared destination. The other is about bringing people along with you from different, possibly conflicting starting points towards a destination that will be for the greater good of the whole. Effective collaboration depends on many


techniques: persuasion, negotiation, inspiration, pressure, bargaining, but above all it requires people to choose to become involved and to align their activities out of self-interest, sympathy, trust or rational calculation. Collaboration can grow out of being a good team player, but presents greater challenges and risks. Transforming an underachieving sports team


requires collaboration. Transforming a failing school requires collaboration. Transforming an education system requires collaboration. Once you’ve got the “players” on board, that’s when teamwork comes into play.


• Anne Evans OBE is chief executive of HTI, an independent social enterprise working to develop exceptional school leaders. Visit www.hti.org.uk


t the National College’s annual conference last month, I asked the question: what sort of leadership is needed from us in these times of change?With increased autonomy and freedom, I questioned whether the emphasis should be on being


Competition vs collaboration?


During my travels around the country this year, I have seen some really impressive examples where school leaders are supporting each other but also offering real challenge. I have also seen some that appear to me to be too


cosy, too much about endorsing each other’s views and practices. I have also seen other collaborations that seem to be challenging but not very inclusive. The most effective partnerships have to be inclusive


but also focused on outcomes in order to achieve real solutions for improvement. Our leadership needs to be collaborative but with a competitive edge, especially at a time of greater autonomy and as we move towards a system where schools are taking increasing responsibility for leading on improvement right across the sector. Last week, the National College published an


article by Christine Gilbert to stimulate debate and discussion around the role of school accountability in a self-improving system. Towards a Self-improving


System: The role of school accountability, explores the potential of accountability to support a culture of self- improvement within and across our schools. In it, Christine talks about accountability in a


broader sense, where a school or an individual has an obligation to account for their actions or performance to another. She identifies four key audiences that schools should hold themselves accountable to: pupils, colleagues, employers/government and parents. These four relationships are managed through two


approaches – first, a performance (or summative) model which emphasises outputs such as test and exam results, and second, an improvement (or formative) model which emphasises school evaluation, opening practice to debate and critique. She argues that as we move towards a self-improving


system, the second approach needs to assume more importance, balanced with the first approach, so that schools take greater ownership of accountability, seeing it as something developed and owned by them,


supporting them in their work, rather than something that is done to them. She highlights the work being undertaken through


initiatives such as Challenge Partners and Teaching Schools. Such initiatives are increasingly enabling senior and middle leaders to take greater ownership of accountability, training and empowering them to effectively evaluate and hold each other to account across and between schools. The key thing, however, is how this feeds into


improvement, and it is clear that peer review of each other’s schools provides a powerful basis for developing best practice at all levels. These examples are demonstrating that school-to-school accountability can be a strong driver of self-improvement. Christine also puts forward some interesting


proposals for policy-makers, including strengthening the link between inspections and improvement, for example, by drawing on the input of our best leaders to support the inspection process and by using judgements to signpost schools to school-led improvement opportunities. I think a shift is already beginning to take place


here, as we can see from Ofsted’s plans to pilot the use of National Leaders of Education in inspections. I am also encouraged by Sir MichaelWilshaw’s comments, when he said that Ofsted will look to recognise where leadership is making a difference in those schools that require improvement. Some of our schools are already succeeding in finding


a balance between competition and collaboration. They are developing strong forms of collaboration with a healthy competitive spirit – asking how they can learn from the best, offering advice and support to others, and aspiring to reach the highest standards. Accountability can play a key role in all of this. It


is a means by which an empowered profession can focus on supporting and challenging itself to greater heights, identifying excellence and holding each other to account.


SecEd


• Steve Munby is chief executive of the National College for School Leadership.


Further information


• Towards a Self-improving System: The role of school accountability is available at www.education.gov. uk/nationalcollege/schoolaccountabilitythinkpiece


• Watch a video of Steve Munby’s speech at the National College’s annual conference: www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/confer- ence2012-coverage


Taking the lead: Future Leaders Defining leadership skills


Naomi Eglington has moved from a


leadership position in the NHS to one in education. She asks if leadership skills


are transferable? IF YOU looked to find a definition of leadership to satisfy a theoretical study, you might refer to experts analysing individual traits and characteristics. But can you assume that a good leader can be effective no matter what type of organisation they lead? The first 10 years of my career have been in


healthcare leadership in a variety of strategic roles, culminating in my most recent position as manager of a private hospital, based on the site of an NHS hospital on the south coast. Throughout this time, I worked for a fantastic


organisation which aligned directly to the mission and values of not only patient care, but also care for staff and their development. Growing up, I have been surrounded by several


educators who have spent many a year encouraging me to move into schools, and until recently I have resisted, enjoying the satisfaction of developing successful and high-performing hospital teams. However, when I saw an advertisement for the


Future Leaders school leadership programme, which posed a series of evocative questions, I found myself answering yes, yes and yes! Here was an opportunity for me to move into a


world I have always been passionate about while at the same time using the skills I have gained as a good leader – perfect! The changing landscape of education made


this proposition further attractive; I now have the opportunity to transform challenging schools into successful organisations for students. This echoed the prospect I faced in leading my first hospital: the need to transform an established culture and to


create a pace of change that was needed to ensure the hospital shifted its performance. I can draw many parallels between hospitals and


schools, not only in structure and leadership, but in moral purpose, which has made my transition into schools fairly smooth. In school leadership there is a need for clear and


consistent messaging, the same for all successful organisations. However, there was one gap in my experience which became apparent very quickly: as I only recently took my PGCE, I found it difficult to grasp the day-to-day realities of being a teacher. The tacit knowledge gained in a school does not develop overnight, however I took the decision to go for it and have not looked back. My beliefs are that leadership traits are


durable across any context; that if you are good at understanding the complex set of practices of an organisation, and at motivating and aligning people to your vision, then you will be successful as a leader. The Future Leaders programme has offered me a


vehicle to transfer my leadership skills into education. I’ve just started my Future Leaders training and I can already see how the moral purpose that has driven me in career choices so far, can be readily exported into teaching, and in particular into challenging schools where the opportunity to make a significant impact is greater. While I had a good grounding working my way


up the management ladder in healthcare, I was propelled into senior leadership within just five years and had to find my feet very quickly. I anticipate the same lies ahead through my Future Leaders path to headship. It will be intense, however this time I feel more prepared and supported. As I reflect on my leadership journey, I believe


now more than ever that “if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” regardless of the context, and I will ensure that I carry out my leadership duties to help narrow the achievement gap in my school with conviction and clarity.


• Naomi Eglington started on the Future Leaders programme this summer and begins her journey to headship in the senior leadership team of Brighton Aldridge Community Academy in September. Future Leaders develops school leaders to work in challenging schools. Visit www.future-leaders.org.uk


SecEd • July 5 2012


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