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WELLBEING Looking after the leaders


Here are my top five tips to help leaders manage their energy:


1. Don’t make emails the first thing you do each day. Switching on and hitting send/receive is likely to sabotage the day you had planned - instead of following your agenda, your focus is likely to be scattered (Mind) and you run the risk of generating wasted energy (Emotion), such as anger, disappointment, frustration or overwhelm as you read through your inbox. Start your day completing your most


important task(s) first. What will have the greatest impact for yourself and others and what you are trying to achieve? Then move to the next most important task. Sometimes these may be small wins finished


in limited time - by keeping focus, whatever the rest of the day brings, you have completed the most important work.


I


n his regular column this month on wellbeing across the education sector,


Mark Solomons, CEO of School Wellbeing Accelerator, discusses the importance of ensuring the wellbeing of school leaders. A recent research report from the National


Association of Headteachers (NAHT 2021) presents a daunting forecast on the dwindling number of teachers aspiring to become middle leaders, and middle leaders considering a move up the career ladder to senior leadership positions or headship. At the top of the list of deterrents, cited by 87% of assistant heads or deputies and 86% of middle leaders, were concerns over risks to personal wellbeing. The DfE Education Staff Wellbeing Charter


(2021) acknowledges the importance of leader wellbeing - to a degree - with Commitment 10 - ‘a subcategory for protecting leader wellbeing and mental health….. We will ensure that all those with strategic decision-making responsibility…should collaborate to develop a sub strategy specifically for protecting leader mental health.’ Just as the pre-flight safety announcement


on a plane asks you to put on your oxygen mask before helping others, effective leaders need to put their own wellbeing first, so they can then consistently support their team. The best place for leaders to start, is to


identify tasks that have the biggest impact on their energy and wellbeing, and then build the knowledge and skills needed to be fully engaged and perform regardless of the conditions. The greatest pressure often comes from a


lack of time - or a perceived lack of time - to get everything done. This is often referred to as time management, although no one can actually ‘manage’ time. A clearer way to think of this is as energy management.


We have four intelligences (factors) that affect energy levels and effectiveness:


• Body - Physical Intelligence/Quotient (PQ), at the most basic level this provides a quantity of energy which is dependent on hydration, food, exercise and sleep.


• Emotion - Emotional Intelligence/Quotient (EQ), is the quality of energy you have - energy levels are impacted when a person feels sad, annoyed or frustrated.


• Mind - Intelligent Quotient (IQ), gives focus - being guided by a plan and prioritising work increases productivity.


• Spirit - Spiritual Intelligence/Quotient (SQ), gives energy its power - having a clear vision or purpose helps to overcome challenges and deliver outcomes.


How might leaders support themselves across these four energies? Demands on personal capacity and levels of energy change throughout the day depending on workload, student behaviour, leaders, colleagues, satisfaction levels, deadlines, lack of flexibility and more. Recognising and understanding your energy ‘supply and demand’ and its impact on your wellbeing, can help your performance each day. We all know that looking after ourselves


physically is important and the basics - eat well, hydrate regularly, exercise, take a break and get enough sleep are all key elements. However difficult it may be, everyone needs to take responsibility for these and particularly to carve out time to take on the fuel their bodies need.


12 www.education-today.co.uk


2. Prioritise your work. Start with high impact tasks that use low energy and try and complete each one before moving on, easier said than done in education! Chunk tasks together and block out time for key actions to avoid interruptions as much as possible, as these add significantly to task completion time. Plan your visibility and share the schedule so


everyone knows when you are available and when not, with the expectation that when the door is closed you should only be called upon in case of an emergency.


3. Ensure you have breaks. While it is not always easy, even short breaks will improve your performance. Make time to disengage from the challenges of the day - walk, listen to music, have a conversation, read, or even just switch tasks. You may cover duties to ensure others have breaks - if so, take time later - constant engagement throughout the day is not sustainable.


4. Focus on what you can control. Worrying about things that may or may not happen, dissipates your energy, so consider facts not perceptions and work on what you want to achieve today. At the end of each day remember to reflect on everything you have achieved, rather than focus on the jobs that are still left to do.


5. Build an effective support team. Who you hang around with matters. Colleagues and friends who are positive and supportive give energy, while negative ‘mood-hoovers’ drain it!


Leaders are often selfless, putting their duties


to students, staff and parents, ahead of their own needs. In fact to ensure they are fit to lead effectively, they should be putting themselves first so they can then be available to help others consistently and sustainably, and consequently increase the wellbeing of those around them. Remember - put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with theirs.


June 2022


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