Starting a new headship is a really exciting moment, professionally and personally.
As you embark on this new challenge, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on those factors which will positively affect the course of your headship. One key factor will be the nature of the relationship that you build with your senior team. This relationship is so important because if your senior team is onside, they will work, individually and collectively, to implement your initiatives and realise your vision. They will support you in your headship, cover your back, and drive the School forward.
So how do you go about forging a positive relationship with your senior team? In one sense, there will be little difference from how you previously worked with colleagues. However, those new to headship will need to understand that the relationship will be different because of your position. And, for all Heads, the onus will be on you from the very start to be proactive in relationship building, as will be explained below.
How long will it take for you to build a positive working relationship with your team? Hopefully, you will get off to a good start and your team will soon be working as you might have hoped. But that is not always the case, and in one sense, the process of relationship building is never-ending. It is something that you will consciously need to work on throughout your time as a Head.
For most new Heads, relationship building comes naturally. However, it is still worthwhile to reflect on what is considered good practice. So here are a few points of advice about building a strong relationship with your senior colleagues, which you will hopefully find helpful, either as prompts or reminders.
Relationship building takes time, positivity and effort
Building a positive relationship with your senior colleagues is not a straightforward process. How successful you are or how long it will take will, to an extent, depend on factors outside your control. These factors might include, as examples, the relationship your colleagues had with the previous Head or the wider financial context that your school is operating in. Whatever the situation, as you start in post, you should be mindful of the fact that you will need to invest plenty of time in relationship building.
It is a really good idea to be positive towards your senior colleagues from the very start. Go out of your way to praise and thank them in private, as well as in public. Praise and thanks can be delivered verbally or in writing: a quick word, a short note or a brief message are easy to deliver and their impact can be considerable. We all like being told that we are doing a good job, and we all like to be thanked for the work that we do. Of course, your praise and thanks need to be sincere and justified, but do not underestimate how any positive encouragement will be appreciated by your new colleagues and the difference in attitudes that it can make.
It will also be important that you try to get to know your colleagues. From the very start, show an interest in who they are and their circumstances. Ask after their partners and their children, if they have them. If your colleagues have personal issues, be sympathetic and caring. And do not be afraid to let your colleagues know who you are; they will appreciate that. By doing so, you will be showing your new colleagues that you are kind and emotionally intelligent.
Of course, there will, from time to time, be disagreements, and you will find building positive relationships with some colleagues easier than with others. Whatever the issues and obstacles, you should persevere. It will be worth it.
Clarify your expectations
Your senior team will be most effective if they work collegiately and with a sense of collective responsibility. From the very start, it will be for you to define what you expect in terms of collective responsibility; the onus will also be on you to emphasise the importance of ‘team’. From time to time, you should reiterate and explain, if needed, the importance of these concepts.
In addition, it is important that, from the very start, you are clear about the professional standards you expect of your senior team, as well as the wider staff. Such clarification will be respected and will mean you will potentially avoid problems later on in your headship.
Occasionally, you will need to have difficult conversations with senior colleagues, for example, if a colleague is not doing their job as you expect. It is important not to shy away from these conversations, even at the start of your tenure. The key will be to choose your moment and to plan carefully what you might say. It is often useful to ask for advice as to how and when you might hold such a conversation. You should also try to understand the context of your colleague’s behaviour before you invite them to meet with you. Whilst having difficult conversations with senior colleagues can be a daunting prospect, often such conversations have positive outcomes, and they can serve to clear the air.
Try to be inclusive and listen
You may inherit a leadership structure which has a core executive team and a wider management team. Whilst such a structure may work well in the context of driving forward strategy and facilitating decision-making, there is a danger that those members of the senior team who are not part of the core executive team might, to extent, feel marginalised. As such, they will need to be carefully managed. Remember, all of your senior colleagues will want to feel that they are important members of your team.
You also might inherit a leadership structure in which senior managers who are not members of the teaching staff are underrepresented. These colleagues might report directly to the Bursar/COO, but their work is of central importance to the School. If you do inherit such a team, you might wish to consider how strategically important non-teaching senior managers can become part of your leadership team in the short to medium term. Above all else, you should go out of your way to make them feel included, especially if that was not the case previously.
From the very start of your tenure, you should make a conscious effort to listen to your senior colleagues. Many of them will have worked at your school for some time and will be widely respected. They will often have invaluable insight and knowledge of your new school. Some colleagues will open up from the very start, others will take time. Again, you should persevere as listening to your senior colleagues will help you to get to know them and your new school better. It will also help to ensure your colleagues feel that you value them and their contribution.
Ensure that all meetings are meaningful
You will most likely meet formally with your senior team or teams on a regular basis. Do not underestimate how important these meetings are to your colleagues, as well as to you as Head. So here are some tips:
- Ensure that all meetings are properly diarised and that they run on time.
- Set meaningful agendas and identify clear outcomes for all formal meetings.
- Chair senior team meetings in such a way that encourages participation from everyone present.
As with formal meetings, the importance of one-to-one meetings with your senior colleagues should not be underestimated. Although such meetings are time-consuming and some colleagues might advise you that they are unnecessary, you should be wary of such advice. One-to-one meetings give your senior colleagues an opportunity for some of your time, to put their points of view forward, to ask for your advice and to get to know you. They are your opportunity to work with colleagues to drive forward your agenda. You do not have to meet every senior colleague every week, but when you do meet with them, make sure that the meetings are constructive and meaningful.
Ensure that you are visible and accessible
You will be rightly advised that it is really important that you are visible around school. Your presence will act as reassurance and will provide the opportunity for members of the School’s community to introduce themselves and get to know you. Likewise, it will be important that you are visible to your senior colleagues. One tip is that if you want to speak with a senior colleague, occasionally go and see them in their office rather than expect them to come and see you. If your senior colleagues have offices in a certain part of the School, it is always a good thing for them to occasionally see you ‘on their patch’.
In addition to the meetings described above, your new colleagues will most likely want to speak to you on an ad-hoc basis. Such contact is also in your interest, as regular, informal discussion is crucial in the process of building a relationship with your colleagues. The problem is that an ‘open door’ can soak up time, so access to you will still need to be carefully managed by your PA.
Empower your colleagues
From the start of your tenure there will be decisions which you as Head will need to make, usually after consultation with the relevant colleagues. However, you can empower your senior team by delegating to them the autonomy to also make decisions. You will want to be kept informed, and you will need to set the parameters of this delegated decision-making. You might also delegate the chairing of school-based sub-committees to various senior colleagues, giving them the responsibility to report back to you and the rest of the senior team. Ultimately, micromanagement disempowers and deflates; delegation empowers and encourages. Empowering your colleagues as suggested in this paragraph is one of the most obvious ways that you can build confidence and engender trust.
Conclusion
There will be plenty of the above which you already know, and you will probably have already planned to do at least most of what is suggested. The purpose of this note is to remind you that as you take on this new professional challenge, you should keep in mind the importance of building a strong relationship with your senior colleagues. In the first weeks of your new headship, and indeed thereafter, you should ensure that building the relationship with your senior team remains a priority.
I wish you the very best in your endeavours.
Martin Collier, Senior Advisor