Pivotal times

Taking off the pressure

Helen Kavanagh of CHK Education speaks from first-hand knowledge and experience as she outlines a new package of support for  school leaders.

How it builds up

Over the years I have seen how the pressures on educators have grown, not least because of the 24/7 access these days which invades personal space and the increasing pace of requests and deadlines. Though we hear advice on how to strike a work/life balance at conferences or from coaches, it seems there are simply not enough hours in the day to meet range of different demands placed on us, let alone find time to recharge our batteries. To make matters worse, social media seems to show how others appear to be not only coping, but how capable they are! While platforms like LinkedIn help to keep ourselves on top of the latest ideas and initiatives, they can also add to the pressure, especially for people who are new in post.

Wanting to make an impression

Even in the days when life was not so fast, and access to a school leader was largely during the working day only, as a new headteacher, I seldom contacted others because I thought that would be a sign of weakness. I also wanted to impress the board and prove that they had made an excellent decision in appointing me – that I could deliver on all their aspirations and aims. Interestingly, a few years later when I took up my second headship, I found myself often on the telephone asking others for their views or seeing if they had read a certain document, or asking how they were going to adopt an idea or respond to a request. The reason for the change of course is that by the second headship I was more experienced in the leadership role and more confident of my own abilities. Asking questions was not a sign of weakness and I no longer felt the need to prove myself.

Slowing down or speeding up?

So where do we go from here? How do we support people in education, especially school leaders, to deliver optimum results, which, as we all know, means addressing their own well-being too. If it were easy, professionals would simply follow the advice given and carve out time for themselves, learn to say no, prioritize effectively etc., etc. but we know that this is becoming increasingly difficult. We are unlikely to be able to slow the pace of change, regulators are becoming more demanding and social media more pressing. So, do we continue trying to keep up and reminisce about the old days without creating a better context for our professionals to deliver on the KPIs which they no doubt have? I certainly hope not!