I guess it helped that it was my second session working with the teachers at Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School.  They were open and honest and working with them was a joy.  I was reminded again that, although every context is different, there are many common themes concerning what gets in the way of teachers looking after themselves. It’s always a challenge to speak openly about what we may regard as our own inadequacies when the boss is in the room, but I was very pleased that Ed (the boss) was there too, making copious notes and modelling that whatever the position in school, everyone has something to learn. He was quiet for most of the session. As often happens, we got on to the subject of choosing how we respond to situations. I stated my position: ‘no one can make you do anything’; I sensed unease in the room. Inviting a challenge, I was told ‘Ed can make us do things’. With a smile and a look of genuine surprise he responded ‘Can I?’ as though someone had just revealed to him magical powers of which he was previously unaware.

At the end of the session, it became apparent how closely he had listened to his staff’s concerns: to how they found it hard to leave things, even though they know the job is never done; how hard it is for them to leave ‘early’ (defined by them as anything over an hour-and-a-half after the end of the school day) because of feelings of guilt; how difficult it is to spend less time marking even when being encouraged to do so by the SLT; how hard it is to say ‘no’, look after yourself and ask for help. At the end of the session, he summarised the learning with 10 Ls of wellbeing. They were unique to that session and that school, yet also highlight a number of experiences which are common to all schools I work with. I share them with you with his blessing.

Ten Ls of Wellbeing – for teachers everywhere

Learn to live with the undone (after all the job will never be finished)
Live and let live (support each other in work and well-being, ‘Have a great evening!’ rather than ‘Leaving early?’ will be so positive to hear)
Leaving buddies (walking out with a friend may make that ‘early’, end of day, departure easier)
Limiting time for tasks helps to create focus (we can achieve more in less time, leading to more time to do less – or different)
Lists (help us when we can prioritise the content and act on it, including the dull things we may choose to avoid)
Let’s say ‘No!’ (sometimes we have to be sensible with what we take-on for others)
Learn something new (maybe a skill, maybe about yourself, maybe to do something differently)
Look for support (before you need it, because it will help you and it can encourage and empower others too)
Look after yourself (because you are worth it and others will benefit)
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the fruit of the Spirit – our values – let’s live them.

Changing the habits of a lifetime is tough and we will often fail. With support from those around us (and especially leaders who model behaviour they want to see in others) we can change the culture where working hard and working long are regarded as synonymous.

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How many of us make a point of noting the good things that happen daily?  Often we dwell on the mistakes we’ve made,  the challenging conversations, or the difficult encounters.   No wonder we can sometimes feel as though the job is tough and we’re never enough.  We hang on to bad memories much more easily than good ones, because in evolutionary terms they were there to ensure our survival.   Memories of things which threaten our survival help us to avoid putting ourselves in harm’s way in the future (which, incidentally, is why it’s hard to approach with an open mind someone who has caused us hurt in the past).  Fear kept our ancestors safe.

One of the things that undermines our resilience is the sense of powerlessness: that we can’t affect what’s going on around us.  Here’s my challenge for #MemoryMarch: every day write down something positive that happened today which you had a hand in: a student who thanked you; a light-bulb moment for a child in your class; a grateful parent; a difficult meeting handled well.

At the end of the week review your list and remind yourself that every day, you make a difference.

The post #MemoryMarch first appeared on Chrysalis Leadership Development.

Too busy to find time to stand back?  Juggling too many priorities?  Want to ensure a sustainable future for your leadership? This workshop is for you.

In his book, Rethinking Educational Leadership,  John West-Burnham uses the metaphor of a reservoir to illustrate the impact of leaders constantly giving of themselves to others. ‘The deeper the reservoir, the more can be given, but eventually even the deepest reservoir will begin to run low’ …   ‘Effective leaders’ he says ‘need strategies to ensure that their reservoirs are regularly filled’.

Many leaders know this, yet find it difficult to prioritise their need for renewal when other issues seem so much more pressing.  The aim of the current workshop is to provide school leaders with an opportunity to invest in themselves so that they have something in reserve when others are flagging and tempers are frayed.

Based on extensive research, summarised here in Susan Young’s NAHT blog the workshop provides opportunities for learning, discussion and reflection in pleasant surroundings at an affordable price.

The day will help you to understand why it is often difficult for leaders to prioritise their own needs, and provide you with strategies to develop habits which build resilience.   In a supportive group of  your peers,  you will have the opportunity to explore:

• What we mean by ‘resilience’ and why it matters
• Models of resilience for leadership
• The connection between emotional resilience, health and well-being
• Habits of thinking and behaviour which may undermine resilience
• The place of values in sustaining or undermining resilience
• Strategies for increasing resilience
• Next steps in sustaining resilience for yourself and your school

What are the benefits?

Increased resilience means more sustainable leadership, a greater capacity for supporting others and increased focus on prioritising the important over the immediate.

Comments from participants on previous resilience programmes

‘Thank you Julia. I have returned to work today with a new vigour and determined to change (nudge) my behaviour to make me more effective’  Primary headteacher, Somerset, following one-day workshop

‘I have very much enjoyed the programme and despite my scepticism, have found it beneficial.  I do believe that resilience can be grown.’ Gloucestershire headteacher, following  year-long team programme ‘Sustaining Resilience for School Leadership’

‘The content couldn’t have been more relevant …a lot of good pertinent and perfectly facilitated discussion and great strategies for self management forthcoming’ Section Leader, Bicton College, following ‘Being the best you can be: building resilience for managers’

The post Sustaining Resilience for School Leadership first appeared on Chrysalis Leadership Development.

Dear Vicki Davis (aka The CoolCatTeacher)

I’ve only just found your blog If I’m such a great teacher, why do I want to quit?   I’m sorry to be slow.  It took a long time to cross the pond.  I will now join the 100,000 followers.  I heard your cry and I want to tell you – like lots of your followers:  I’ve listened.   You and they know you’re not alone.  In fact, feeling as you were last April might even be normal.

Just because it’s normal, doesn’t mean it’s how it should be.

I don’t teach in a school.  I work with teachers – and more often school leaders. Sometimes standing on the touch-line allows me to see more of the game.  What I see is that schools are full of people who invest not just time and energy in teaching, they invest themselves, too.  They may not be perfectionists (and if they are, they will certainly be heading for burnout) but they live in a world where nothing is ever enough.  Scarcity breeds fear.   Fear gets in the way of becoming our best selves.  Helping someone else to realise their potential at the expense of your own is a poor choice, and when society demands that of us we need to say ‘no’.

I’ve just read your 12 Choices to help you step back from burnout.  It’s great.   Keep choosing to do the things that help you to stay healthy. But I want to say when we are exhausted, we lose the power to choose.  When we’re exhausted, we have no energy.  We need as much energy to stop doing something as we do to start.  So if we have no energy, and no power to choose – no ability to be our own advocate – we’re likely to get stuck on automatic pilot when actually, maybe what we need to do is to land the plane and take a short vacation.  Maybe you don’t need to quit.  What would happen if you pulled into a layby and thought about yourself?  What would happen if, instead of focusing so hard on helping others, you focused on helping yourself when you need it?

Then we get on to core beliefs …  How does this sit with your core beliefs and values?  How far do you value your own intrinsic worth – not your worth because you can be helpful to others, but the wonder that is you, body mind and spirit?  How often do you say to yourself ‘Today, I am enough’?

The term has just started.  You’re feeling resilient.  You know things will look different  by the time everyone gets to Christmas. Like runners in a marathon, you have to get through to the finish.  Why not make a pact with someone now?  When they see you hitting that wall which runners hit, get them to promise to ask you ‘are you sure you want to push through this?  Maybe your body is trying to tell you something’.  If your calling is to look after others, then put the oxygen mask on yourself before the plane spirals out of control.

Yours with great respect

Julia

PS Thanks for inspiring me to write this blog.

The post To CoolCatTeacher – and anyone else trying to balance doing their best with being their best first appeared on Chrysalis Leadership Development.

As a leader, you never finish the job.  Sometimes events overtake you, and you need to work into the small hours.  The point of growing resilience is that you have something in reserve for those times.  But getting insufficient sleep can become a habit.  If you work in a culture that demands you always put others first, you can add to ‘leaving things undone’ a sense of guilt which will also diminish your energy.

We understand about having our cars serviced regularly.  How many of us take the same approach to taking care of our bodies?  The importance of paying attention to our own wellbeing has never been more evident. Growing neuroscience is helping us to understand the connection between wellbeing and resilience. Reading Neuroscience for Coaches* has proved to be a great start for me:

The brain is an incredibly complex web of inter-related structures and systems, some of which are responsible for our automatic functions (like breathing, sleeping, etc), some responsible for functions which we learn, but then become automatic, and some (notably those located in the pre-frontal cortex) responsible for higher-order skills of thinking, decision-making, planning, etc.  Knowing more about the way the brain functions can help us to make decisions about our behaviour which support its effective functioning.

The pre-frontal cortex (PFC) is responsible for executive functions: our ability to plan, to make appropriate decisions, to align thoughts and actions with internal goals and for expressing personality. The PFC doesn’t perform well under stress. Stress can have a dramatic negative effect on our ability to function, e.g. problem solving, being creative and holding things in our short-term memory. The PFC is energy-hungry and gets drained quickly. A bit like the rechargeable battery in your camera when the flash is used, a burst of energy demands recovery time. Stress impairs its ability to use energy.  How much time do you take to recharge your batteries?

When the PFC isn’t working normally, it can lead to us feeling lethargic, uninspired, and overly emotional. We become easily distracted, don’t finish things, become forgetful and may fixate on negative thoughts. It’s easy to see how we can get into a downward spiral when the PFC isn’t working optimally.  When working well, it functions to allow us to focus and pay attention, to plan, and carry things through. The PFC functions best when it is focusing on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking reduces its effectiveness. For optimal achievement, intersperse difficult tasks with easier ones, to help your sense of achievement and allow the PFC to ‘re-charge’.

Neurons are part of the brain’s wiring system. Messages are carried from one neuron to another by neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain) which communicate across ‘synaptic gaps’. A bit like two people passing a ball between them, they might start slowly, and occasionally drop it, but as they practise, they get faster and faster. In the same way, neural pathways are built by repeating patterns of behaviour.

Cortisol is probably one of the best known chemicals in the brain, because of its association with stress. It is actually a hormone, which is secreted by the adrenal glands and its level increases when we perceive ourselves to be under threat. Its function includes blood pressure regulation, blood sugar level regulation, and it affects the immune function and glucose metabolism. It is implicated in eustress (short-term stress which give us the edge and gets us ready to take action) and distress, which comes from prolonged heightened levels of cortisol, leading to lower immunity, higher blood pressure and increased abdominal fat. Caffeine and sleep deprivation both increase cortisol levels; so if you drink coffee to keep yourself awake, you’re helping to increase cortisol levels twice over.   Physical activity can lower cortisol levels as can social connectivity, laughter, and listening to music.

Oxytocin might be seen as the ‘antidote’ to cortisol in that it reduces blood pressure and cortisol. It is released from the pituitary gland. It has an anti-anxiety affect and has been associated with stimulating positive social interaction, and increasing trust. It suppresses the activity of the amygdala (the brain’s alarm system). It is released through connecting with other people (in the virtual or real world). It is believed that oxytocin helps the processes of learning and memory specifically for social information. Release oxytocin by shaking hands for 6 seconds, or giving someone a hug! It’ll improve your own oxytocin and that of the other person, (as long as you have their permission!)

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in how we think, feelings of motivation, reward, attention and our behaviour. When we get a pleasant surprise dopamine neurons in one part of the brain are activated. When something bad happens dopamine neurons in another part of the brain are activated. Increased dopamine leads to prioritising instant gratification rather than longer-term benefits. ‘Treats’ as a reward, for example, for hard work or a goal achieved, can lead to increased dopamine.  A glass of wine as a reward for getting through a stressful week?  Well, just the one, then.  As we become more used to the pleasure these treats provide, we need more to get the same level of dopamine release. Exercise increases blood calcium levels, which stimulates dopamine production and uptake.

Adrenaline is a neurotransmitter and is activated as part of our emotional response to things. It is most readily observed in response to fear. It acts on nearly every tissue in the body. It regulates heart rate, blood vessel and air passage diameters and in the liver breaking down glycogen to make more glucose to release a burst of energy. It features in fixing of long-term memory of stressful events.  In evolutionary terms, you can see how that might be helpful in keeping us safe.  Being chased by a wild animal is pretty stressful, and if you remember it, you’re unlikely to put yourself in that position again.  If we never ‘come down’ from the adrenaline high, our health may suffer.  While memories of negative events stick like velcro, memories of pleasurable act like teflon.  They don’t fix themselves in our memories in the same way (why should they?  They don’t keep us safe).  Focus on pleasurable events or their memory for 20 seconds in order to store and come back to them and to increase seratonin levels.

Serotonin – a neurotransmitter which links to feelings of happiness. It’s important in mood regulation, appetite, sleep regulation and circadian rhythms, memory and learning. It is made from tryptophan (found in the diet in bananas, dates, yoghurt, milk, chocolate, sesame, sunflower & pumpkins seeds and poultry). Alcohol decreases levels of tryptophan. An average amount of alcohol leads to a decrease in tryptophan of about 25%, which leads to similar reduction in serotonin. Serotonin levels can be raised by getting enough sleep; calling to mind a happy event (similarly, calling to mind a negative event can reduce serotonin levels). Being conscious of your thoughts, such as in the practice of mindfulness meditation, can help you to systematise them and get your biochemistry to a place where you have a greater sense of wellbeing. Exercise has been shown to be important in serotonin production and release. Low serotonin levels make it harder to achieve goals or delay gratification. If you focus on times when goals have been achieved, that in itself will raise levels of serotonin.

There are many experiments which reveal the impact that human beings can have on changing the way their own brains are wired.   However often you have your car serviced, you’ll never turn it from a Lada to a BMW.  You can improve your model of leadership by servicing your brain regularly.

*Most of this information comes from Neuroscience for Coaches, Brann A, 2015, London, Kogan Page.  I have summarised it here primarily for the Chrysalis Developing Emotional Resilience for Leadership programme.  It is intended to raise awareness and prompt discussion and thus simplifies some of the detail of the scientific facts.

The post Developing resilience: begin with the brain first appeared on Chrysalis Leadership Development.

My contribution to the TES’s What keeps me awake at night (10 October 2014) pointing to the potential  impact of leaders on teachers’ stress levels,  is complemented by Tom Bennett’s contribution in the same edition concerning work-life balance (Champion of the world(s)).  Teachers have always worked hard.  Now, he points out, the pace is frenetic (my word, not his).  My experience as a leadership coach and governor tells me that this frenetic lifestyle is now accepted as part of the culture.  Like those in the US survey, teachers can’t see that their lifestyle is unhealthy.  What is ‘normal’ isn’t necessarily desirable or productive.  A recent report from the University of Lancaster’s Work Foundation  reviews the research evidence for a link between teachers’ wellbeing and students’ attainment.  While further work needs to be done, the report points to an earlier study by Briner and Dewberry (2007)  which concluded that

‘ if policy makers want to improve student outcomes, then the health and wellbeing of teachers should be considered.’

With the promise of further budget cuts to come, we have to take this seriously.  Teachers, leaders, and (what a thought!) even the government needs to cut a little slack.  Constant pressure is counter-productive to the conscientious (who already put themselves under pressure) and ineffective in the long term to those few who don’t.

Changing culture takes time and a commitment from everyone to avoid becoming a victim of the system.

Leaders can help by

• Reviewing and, where necessary, adjusting systems: what are the costs (time/energy/finance) against the benefits? And getting staff to do the same
• Creating a coaching culture, which supports individuals in taking responsibility for themselves
• Communicating clearly and consistently, seeking and accepting feedback (which gives you the choice of whether to act on it)
• Investing in and valuing high quality administrative support
• Accepting that sometimes good enough is good enough
• Never using the ‘threat’ of Ofsted as a motivator for change. It creates a climate of fear: people want to feel safe.   It also communicates to staff that Ofsted are in control: you’re not.
• Allowing staff to work at home when appropriate. If you don’t trust them to do so, what does it say about your leadership?
• Modelling the importance protecting time to think through regular sessions with a skilled coach
• Making an effort (and it does require effort) to build and sustain their own resilience and supporting their staff to do the same
• Championing the cause of reducing the pressure in the system

Sometimes, it’s okay to be the only one in step

The post Colluding with an unhealthy culture? first appeared on Chrysalis Leadership Development.

‘Think of  a reservoir high in the mountains of central Wales.  At one end of the long submerged valley is a dam with the technology to control the flow of the water.  The rest of the lake is the most evocative and powerful combination of natural features – rock, trees and water  …  All around the lake are small rivers and streams flowing down from the surrounding hills.  In many ways I see this scene as a metaphor for the inner-life of transformational leaders.

Each working day school leaders have to draw on their personal reservoir – on some days a steady flow will suffice, on other days the floodgates have to be open as energy, compassion, creativity, optimism, courage and hope are called on.  The deeper the reservoir, the more can be given, but eventually even the deepest reservoir will begin to run low.  A period of drought can transform a rich reserve into something arid and barren, incapable of nurturing and sustaining growth … ‘
from Rethinking Educational Leadership, West-Burnham, 2009

I was working with a headteacher.  ‘My resilience is low’ she said.  ‘I know I haven’t been looking after myself as well as I should, but there’s just been so much on’.  I have worked with this headteacher regularly over the past year.  At the heart of all she does are the needs of her pupils and staff.  Perhaps that’s part of the difficulty: they’re in her heart rather than in her head.  We have talked about her taking time out – and to be fair, she has put aside some time to work with her coach (not myself).  In many cases, though, time out of school has been with like-minded colleagues, most of whom ‘know’ that at this stage of the term, it’s ‘normal’  to be flat on the floor with almost no energy to get through the last 2 weeks.  What a year it’s been: at least 2 Ofsted frameworks; changes to the National Curriculum; the sudden and unexpected introduction of free school meals for children in Key Stage 1 (and who saw that one coming?); changes to the special educational needs code of practice; changes to assessment; reduction in staffing in other agencies leading to increased pressure on schools; and increased pressure on school budgets with more to come.   The pressure inevitably builds on the headteacher, particularly in primary schools, where the head may be the only person not in front of a class.

For possibly the past 5 years, at this time of year, headteachers I’ve spoken to have said ‘I’ve never known a year like it; it’s just been so full on’.  How many of them, I wonder, have increased their investment in themselves?

Last week, at the University of Worcester Festival of Leadership Learning we listened to Floyd Woodrow talk about elite leadership.  Given the audience where ‘elite’ often means ‘privileged’ and ‘better resourced’ I wondered how everyone would react.  What I took from his explanation of the term, however, is that we can all work to reach elite status, given  motivation, drive and practice.  The elite perform exceptionally because they practise.   Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers tells a similar story.  Those at the top of their game, whether in the field of sport, music, or battle: all practice.  Gladwell talks about practising for 10,000 hours. Leaders are no different.  Floyd talked about training your mind: drilling it, to prepare for the unexpected.    If you want to move from the transactional to the transformational as a leader, you need to be prepared to invest in yourself.

Headteachers have it tough.  High accountability, high profile, working in a system that expects them to fix society, where (as we discussed afterwards) if you get it wrong, you can quickly forfeit your career.  Floyd held the attention of 50 headteachers for 2 hours.  In the world he referred to, it isn’t just your career you forfeit if you get it wrong, it’s your life – and potentially that of many others.  It doesn’t get tougher than that.

He talked a lot about building resilience.  In a small group conversation afterwards we confronted the reality of what that means.  It means practice.  Practice is what builds new neural pathways; it’s what moves us from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence.

When I was asked to run a 2-hour session which would result in headteachers recognising when they are stressed and doing something about it, I politely (I hope) pointed out that it takes more than 2 hours to effect behavioural change.  You cannot build resilience with the ‘sheep-dip’ approach.  It takes time, commitment and practice.   Next term I shall be working with a headteacher and his senior leaders on developing emotional resilience for school leadership.  It’s a year-long programme.  As a leader of learning, he recognises that embedding learning takes time.  As leaders, we need to listen and attend to our own needs.  The alternative is to project them on to others so that we can take care of them, and risk infantilising our colleagues, and exhausting ourselves at the same time.

I challenge you to finish next school year with something in reserve.  To do that, you need to plan and practise.  Do something each week which will support your resilience.  Resilience is intensely personal.  Only you know for sure what supports and undermines your resilience, so do more of the former and less of the latter.  If only it were that simple…  You have to be prepared to invest in yourself.  More about that anon.  For now, consider some of these behaviours that might help you in building resilience.

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