Sue Bull looks at ways to support your staff in making the leap to leadership.

Be a super model...

The process for identifying and developing potential future leaders of our schools and colleges is important and one in which all senior leaders should engage. As a member of SLT how are you spotting the talent among your own staff? What are you doing to encourage and advise your staff about making the leap?

In any career the step from middle management to senior leadership can seem daunting with many obstacles in the way. Individuals will wonder whether they are up to the job, even though they really want to progress. They will also worry about whether they have the correct skill set to carry out the role effectively and how others will perceive them. Sharing your own experiences will help to allay some of these concerns.

You may have identified colleagues in your middle leadership team as potential senior leaders. In their current role they will have experienced increased accountability, pressure and autonomy, all of which makes it a challenging but satisfying role. They are also often acting on the instructions from colleagues like yourself on the senior leadership team (SLT) who are working at a more strategic level. 

However, it is worth remembering that they are not only tasked with managing their department or pastoral teams on a day-to-day basis but are also strategically leading them and forward planning. So remind them that they have already made the transition from a role as a classroom teacher into one where they are leading and managing others.

As someone who has gone through this transition, you will be aware of how such changes affect the dynamics of relationships with colleagues. The skills that have enabled you to make the transition from classroom to management to senior leadership can now be used to help others achieve their career goals and aspirations.

Experience counts, so share Be prepared to share with colleagues your experiences of going through the selection process for senior roles and give examples of the variety of selection tasks and areas of questioning that they may encounter.

Encourage them to review a range of posts advertised before they are ready to apply. Job descriptions and person specifications for different jobs can be used to identify gaps and form the basis of an action plan to determine how the person will fill those gaps in their experience, skills or knowledge.

Help staff to work out ways, either through their current role or professional development (PD) activities, that they can gain more experience so they are best prepared for the next step.

What did you do?

What research did you do? Did you use Google to search for the school or college and look at its website? What made you want to apply for the job?

Give your future leaders the opportunity to arrange a visit in advance to the school to which they may apply. Encourage them to use their current context to get a ‘feel’ for the school while visiting.

They may need to think about:

• arriving early so students can be observed on their way to school – look at their behaviour; are they looking ready to learn?
• having a list of prepared questions that they need answers to
• the fact that first impressions count – do they receive a warm welcome? Are students moving around the building in a purposeful manner? Do they make eye contact? Do they say hello?

Offer advice on how to deal with more difficult questions. If they are concerned about the funding of the school then they may ask about projected numbers on role in Year 7 and post-16.

Observing lessons and seeing the school at break times and lunchtimes will give an insight into the day-to-day running of the school.

Make the basics count

When you have received completed application forms and letters for roles that you have rejected, what put you off? Advise staff to set aside time to carefully read (and re-read) the application instructions and forms and ensure that they check any application for accuracy before sending. School leaders often say that they receive applications for senior roles that contain spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, including basic things like misspelling the school’s name. 

Make sure that the responses given on the application are tailored to the particular role being applied for. It is obvious when the same letter or statement is used for different jobs. 

Remind your colleagues, too, that if they have used Google to find out about the school the school will probably do the same to find out about them. They should ensure there is nothing on social media that could jeopardise their chances.

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Sue Bull is Director of ASCL Professional Development

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How ASCL PD can help

ASCL PD organises one-day courses or consultancies that can help make the move to senior leadership positions. These include:

Confidence for Headship: is it for me? 23 April
www.ascl.org.uk/confidence

New to the Leadership Team, 8-9 May (residential)
www.ascl.org.uk/newtoteam

Aspiring to the Leadership team, 3 June
www.ascl.org.uk/aspiring

Heading for Senior Leadership, 12 -13 June (residential)
www.ascl.org.uk/heading

Ahead network

ASCL’s free support network for ambitious middle leaders – see www.ascl.org.uk/ahead

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