Last term I took up my first headship, in a new school and new local authority. I also hung up my doctorate boots and embarked on the national qualification for headship.
I anticipated that it would be a wonderful, interesting and intense experience getting to know a new job, new staff, new learners, and new ways of doing things. What I hadn’t really anticipated was that it might lead to a new way of ‘being’.
What do I mean with this new way of ‘being’? Well in previous roles I was always asking questions and not always having to produce a definitive answer… I was definitely a professional enquirer… and that slippery and sometimes elusive pursuit of knowledge was an easy reality for me to manage.
Now in the Headteacher role I have quickly realised that although I am still asking questions, enquiring and reaching for solutions through thought, reason, research, and dialogue, what is required of me now is a different way of ‘being’.
For me being a HT it requires being able to articulate an answer straight away in conversation and to be certain of the whys and how’s of a sequence of actions, (even when uncertain). Moreover, I have been required on several occasions by staff to ‘just tell me what to do’, or more recently, ‘I just need you to give me an answer straight away’. I realised am happy to provide support, for people need certainty and guidance, particularly in times of uncertainty and change, in which we still find ourselves. But it does go against my normal affinity with a coaching approach.
This orientation to pragmatic action may be defined by some as leadership, of embarking on strategic change, within a specific set of parameters, but to me as a new head it definitely feels like a new way of ‘being’. Our Standard for Headship calls us to act and therefore thinking and planning is not enough, as implementation is the proof of the pudding.
How do I square this with my previous professional persona? Well I am still asking questions, as I most certainly don’t know all the answers, I buy time and then ask the experts, and then, crucially I try to build in thinking time when I can. And I am endeavouring to model and encourage enquiry and questioning in the team around me. We value curiosity and creativity in our learners, and I believe that as professionals we need to value that in ourselves, giving ourselves permission to stop, stare, think and dream.
I am orientating myself now to the journey ahead, as well as where I’ll end up professionally. I am hoping that in becoming and ‘being’ a Headteacher, that although I need to lead with courage, integrity and conviction; that enquiry, questioning and curiosity will still very much be the heart of who I am, professionally and personally.
The Enquiring Head Teacher 