Leadership Musings. And risotto...

On picking up the latest leadership book to hit the market I was looking forward to a refreshing and useful read, and I’m pleased to report that Matthew Evans did not disappoint! Evans comes to the field not only with a wealth of practical school leadership experience, but also with a particularly relevant disciplinary background stemming from an interest in business management developed early in life.

Unexpected Directions

As an experienced teacher of economics and business (and graduate in the field) I was intrigued to see how much Evans would draw upon the theories of leadership and management often presented in degree programmes or leadership training courses. His conclusions are in fact interestingly drawn more from the fields of cognitive science and evidence-based practice in teaching and teacher education. And this is one reason why all current and prospective school leaders should read this book. The critique offered of leadership even as a concept, in addition to our ability to understand it, practise it and teach it, is thorough, well-developed and consistently supported with evidence and logic.

Prior to reading this book, if I’m honest (and maybe somewhat due to my slightly vested interest in the matter!), I’d expected Evans to give heavier weight and importance to leadership theory and formal education and literacy in such matters. He often reaches different conclusions though and this is what I found most useful, interesting and refreshing. The weight Evans places on experience and practice in developing leadership expertise is significant and I drew the following five conclusions on reading…

1. How to Make a Leader

CPD leadership development programmes must be designed to include substantial practical elements. To develop skills and expertise, potential leaders need a far greater opportunity to expose themselves to real situations. Providers of such programmes should read this book and carefully evaluate their programmes of study.

2. The Devil You Know

Internal recruitment may be more valuable than school leaders realise. Evans puts great emphasis on drawing from knowledge about the particular school’s context in being effective as a leader of that school, not simply drawing on more general leadership knowledge, experience and skills which may have been acquired in different contexts.

3. Knowledge Management

Individual schools and the profession as a whole need to do a far better job of codifying and sharing the tacit knowledge that exists in the minds of our most experienced leaders. How can we expect to make progress as a body if we are unable to take this wealth of knowledge and experience forward and build upon it because it simply walks out of the doorway to another institution or into retirement?

The books I’d next want to read from Evans would be, ‘Leadership Screw Ups and How to Avoid Them’ or even the slightly more cringeworthily titled, ‘Twenty Great Leadership Decisions I’m Glad I Made’. Whilst of course I don’t think leaders can ever hope to learn exact ways of dealing with every potential situation by reading such books, I feel that at least being aware of what has and has not worked before (and why) is useful in informing future actions.

I feel I’m safer in a hot kitchen having seen a brutal health and safety video that warned me of the hazards of carrying a hot vat of oil across a dirty floor. I feel I make a better risotto having read Jamie Oliver’s writing and perused the various online recipe variations and reviews of this classic dish. The experience of others, bad and good, is really valuable. And actually sharing the bad experiences is probably even more important than the good. Creating a culture of humility where leaders do this (rather than simply extolling their self-measured successes) would be really valuable for the leaders and schools of the future.

4. Easy Tiger

Developing a career in education is about developing expertise. Whether it be as a classroom teacher, or with moves into leadership, seeking experiences to push yourself, learn and improve is the way to progress and succeed.

Schools (and other public sector organisations) can often be characterised in management literature as possessing hierarchical ‘role’ cultures where individuals must proceed up a series of (often linear) ladder steps to reach senior positions. This can be contrasted negatively with seemingly more modern and dynamic private sector organisations which organise differently, select individuals based on far more exciting sounding criteria such as ‘competencies’ or ‘aptitudes’ and can be seen advancing bright young graduates rapidly to senior roles if they present some sort of organisationally relevant X-factor.

Evans provides sensible and logical defence (maybe accidentally!) of the benefits of the type of culture found in many educational institutions though by shining light on the weight and significance of experience. It is not simply that individuals passively progress from one level automatically and inefficiently up to the next ‘grade’, it’s rather more the case that individuals actively need to develop leadership experiences in increasingly more challenging contexts in order to be able to survive and operate effectively at the top.

This should focus the actions of prospective leaders towards seeking opportunities where they can gain experience and also act as a reminder that patience is required and developing leadership expertise will take time.

(The same applies with regards to risotto in case you were wondering. Judging the precise point where you have just the right bite that feels soft enough but also firm enough, and that will end exactly so after two minutes of resting, is an art form. You will likely need many attempts in order to have correctly refined your onion chopping, stirring and timing to such a point where you hit perfection!)

5. Changing the Status Quo

Evans also takes a larger and longer-term look at the system as whole, questioning current organisational design at school and national level. His suggestions are inspiring and hint at the potential for far-reaching systemic changes that could be made. Headteachers and national leaders have the potential to assess and implement these measures. There are other ways to distribute leadership in your school. There are other ways to ensure schools meet standards and make improvements. Be open to changing the status quo. Be creative.  

Don’t Burn Your Textbooks Just Yet…

At times I feel Evans slightly underplays the importance of knowledge relating to leadership and business management in general and I do wonder whether all senior leaders out there are as well-versed in the basics as they should be. One striking observation I have made across my career has been of the usefulness of my own degree background in helping provide me a view of leadership, systems, organisation and management that differs to others without such backgrounds.

For example, my personal feeling is that an absence of basic theoretical principles leads to some teacher-leaders unfortunately developing a management style by transferring across their knowledge and practice in the field of classroom discipline to this new domain. This can lead to an overly autocratic management approach that is potentially unsuitable. Even a cursory read of school textbook sections on leadership styles would highlight that managing highly-skilled professional adults would require a different approach to that of unruly youngsters, and thus some flawed practices could be eliminated with even just a little more theory in hand. (I should add that the likely outcomes of such transfer approaches do depend somewhat on the classroom behaviour management styles of those involved and you may well also question whether such autocratic styles are appropriate even in the classroom!).

Evans, and myself, are no doubt supported in our ability to observe, analyse, evaluate and discuss the leadership and organisational issues we encounter as a result of reading the propositions of Handy, Schein, Belbin, Drucker and others, but maybe these just exist to set the scene and help us survey the landscape. The sensible conclusion appears to be that you should certainly pursue some theoretical foundations (if only to avoid blatant pitfalls and to be conversant in the terminology of organisational culture, structure and change) but that you should also remain acutely aware of the limitations of such content and expect to build expertise through practical experience in your particular position and context.

Summary Musings

Overall, whether you are currently a senior leader (good luck as Evans makes you cringe at mistakes you may well have already made before inspiring you in a new way forward!), a trainer of leaders (be honest as you reflect on and evaluate your own programme) or a prospective leader (be patient as Evans implies you need to take time in developing yourself), you should read this book. 

You will ponder, you will reflect, you will be inspired and I am quite convinced you will act in different ways going forward as a result. I found the book to be an engaging and thought-provoking read and I shall no doubt continue to refer back to it again over time. Enjoy!

Further Reading

The Book Itself!

Evans, M. (2019). Leaders with Substance. An Antidote to Leadership Genericism in Schools.
Twitter: @head_teach

Leadership, Management, Organisation

The reading you undertake in this area could range from a simple coverage of some A level business studies content to a deeper investigation of undergraduate texts currently popular in business schools. You’re not necessarily reading this for the answers, you’re reading so you understand the landscape, language and can ask some of the right questions!

I read a former edition of this text in my university days, this is the latest edition.

Arnold, J. (2016). Work Psychology.

Risotto

This will get you started. You’ll need to have a fair few attempts to achieve risotto mastery though!

Oliver, J. (2000). The Return of the Naked Chef.

Teaching

Evans refers to reading this classic text from Hattie and Yates. I would certainly recommend it also and my prior reading of this helped provide a foundation which enabled me to more deeply appreciate the points Evans makes about developing expertise.

Hattie, J., & Yates, G. (2014). Visible Learning and the Science of How we Learn.

Cognitive Science

Please see references in my other blog posts which link to relevant theorists and recommended texts in this area.

Notes

1. “Going forward…?!” Seriously, did she really say that…?! Honestly. *Eye roll*. You can spot a leadership luvvie a mile off… ;-)

2. John Catt publishers – please put index pages in your books! I like to refer back to bits I have read in your books and yet I struggle to find them again! @JohnCattEd

3. Trust me, chop your onions for risotto really fine. I've learnt the hard way.