The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Liz Worthen

Leadership shorts: holding honest conversations as an executive headteacher

Letting go of the 'super exec head' armour can seem like a path to crisis. In this podcast, we consider how executive heads can empower others while maintaining ultimate accountability. 

In this conversation with Viv Grant, executive coach and director of Integrity Coaching, we explore the difficulty executive heads can face in handing over responsibility to their headteachers while maintaining overall accountability.

Distributing leadership can instill confidence in your headteachers and show them that you're willing to offer trust.

Needless to say, it can also provide a large boost to your own productivity and help you avoid burnout!

We discuss the importance of open, honest communication, with Viv offering insights from her work in helping executive heads successfully navigate distributed leadership and fulfill their schools' visions. 

For more advice on maintaining wellbeing as a senior leader, watch Viv's webinar on 'Stress reduction for new senior leaders

More from the Optimus blog

Similar Posts

John Dabell

Is your school safe and happy?

Schools need to be a safe space for staff and students to thrive. John Dabell discusses the positive outcomes of good collaboration, safety and trust . Leaders must safeguard their school population, but discussions are typically geared towards students and their wellbeing. But what about the...
Read more...
Sara Alston

Don't use your TA friendships for the wrong things

Do you depend on personal friendships with TAs to get things done? Sara Alston discusses how to utilise working relationships with TAs effectively. In any school, there are close friendships between some teachers and the teaching assistants (TAs) they work with. The realities of school mean that...
Read more...
John Dabell

Swiss cheese leadership

What does it mean to think like Swiss cheese? John Dabell discusses how the Swiss cheese model can be used within schools to help eliminate error and risk. Leaders must be brutally honest with themselves and acknowledge what they know, what they don't know and what they partly know. This involves...
Read more...