WELLBEING Leadership competencies to reduce staff stress
• Whether or not they have genuine opportunities to give feedback and question leaders and if they feel listened to and supported
There are many others we could consider, but the one common factor across the majority of them all is they involve interactions, or a lack of them, with a line manager or other leaders. Do your leaders in your MAT or school have a high enough awareness and understand the direct impact they have on others? Too often the answer is no.
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his month, in his regular column for Education Today, MARK SOLOMONS, CEO of School Wellbeing Accelerator - an acclaimed wellbeing expert with over 12 years’ experience developing leadership and culture in UK schools and creator of Welbee a highly effective online evaluation and staff wellbeing improvement tool, winner of the ERA 2022 Wellbeing Award – discusses leader competencies to help prevent and reduce staff stress.
There is a competitive, moral and financial imperative for MATs and schools to become an ‘employer of choice’ for existing staff and potential recruits. It is essential to establish an effective people strategy and build a culture where staff really matter and can do their best work. Staff who feel supported by their leaders and believe they have their best interests at heart, are naturally more committed and will want to stay. This helps create a positive environment and will improve student wellbeing and attainment.
Your people strategy
Developing a people strategy is a 2022/23 priority for many MATs and larger schools. It requires resources and a strategic as well as operational focus, and therefore is often led by an HR Director or equivalent. This is because it covers all seven elements of the employee lifecycle: attraction, recruitment, onboarding, performance, development, retention, and farewell. It often takes the form of talent management and succession planning as a means to improve retention.
The eighth area that I always introduce and that should sit at the centre of this strategy is the everyday culture – how staff feel they are treated and whether they enjoy their work. References to staff wellbeing are often evident in the vision and values of most MATs and schools, however for it to be effective, it must be visible every day. The behaviours that underpin a culture where staff matter, need to be clearly articulated and shared, modelled
by leaders, encouraged, praised to reinforce practice and challenged when they are not shown. When a culture of wellbeing pervades, teachers take the cue from leaders and model it with their students, and in turn, students with their peers. Culture is powerful.
Becoming people experts The place to start is with the behaviours of leaders. During many interactions with headteachers, principles and CEOs, one overriding factor present in our discussions on developing school culture, are the heavy demands placed on them and the lack of available time - leaders are constantly racing against the clock. Carving out time to build a strong culture, will reap huge benefits in the long-term, with a more effective and efficient workforce.
Time and capacity are obstacles for all line managers. In too many cases they receive little to no leadership training or professional development that focuses on people skills – they go from being a teacher one day, to year group or key stage lead or department head the next. Often they continue much of their previous role and juggle teaching with leadership responsibilities. They are undoubtably experts in their subject or specialism - as leaders they also need the time and opportunity to be trained as people experts. The same is true for those progressing in important support staff roles. We continuously make judgements - consciously and unconsciously, about our everyday interactions and situations and how we feel about them – our ‘moments of truth’ – and this includes experiences in our workplaces.
Some of the ‘moments of truth’ your staff experience every day include: • The behaviours of leaders and colleagues - how they are greeted at the start of the day, talked to and more • How workload is distributed and managed • The degree to which they feel involved in decisions affecting them
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Extensive research from Goldsmiths1, University of London, funded by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Investors in People and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), identified twelve leadership competencies across four areas that prevent or reduce stress in those they lead. Refined management competencies for preventing and reducing stress at work. Self-assessing against these competencies is the easy bit. Supporting leaders to choose to adapt and change behaviour is a more difficult task. People have deep and long-held beliefs and in order to change, they must first understand why they should, and then begin regular and deliberate reflection and practice, to develop improved habits.
Here are some sample questions which can serve as prompts for self-reflection on these competencies:
I am someone who: • Does what I say I will • Gives more positive than negative feedback • Never talks about team members behind their back • Allows my team some freedom in how they choose to work • Does not see feedback as challenge and criticism • Asks for help when needed
You can discuss as a leadership team how well these competencies are modelled within your MAT, school or college, and agree actions so they become part of your culture. Senior leaders become role models and encourage and coach middle leaders to copy - without making these behaviours an explicit focus and having support in place, nothing is likely to change.
Assessing, developing and evaluating these competencies has a direct impact on staff and student wellbeing. Identifying and developing them provides an effective cornerstone on which to build your people strategy. It is the most effective way to improve staff experience, improve retention and provide more positive ‘moments of truth’.
For further information, support and advice about developing effective leadership competencies, please contact
uWelbee.co.uk
Notes: •
https://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr633.pdf
November 2022
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