If Headship Seems Daunting But Exciting, You May Just Have What It Takes
A degree of humility makes you a better leader, not a weaker one
- by Jill Berry
I was a deputy head for five years. I realised that I wanted to make the move to headship when I reflected on the fact that when the head was out of school and people were looking to me in her absence, I actually liked it.
I admired and respected both of the heads I worked with as a deputy, but over time I began to appreciate that if I were sitting in the chair, I would fulfil the role in my own way. I became increasingly excited at the prospect of having the opportunity to do so.
So, how do you know whether you’re cut out for headship, and when or if you’re ready? The honest answer is that you can’t know this completely.
And even when you’re in the role you will still have moments of self-doubt – ‘imposter syndrome’ may never be far away. However, in my opinion a degree of humility makes you a better leader, rather than a weaker one.
The school leaders who concern me are the ones who never seem to have a moment of self-doubt. As a head, I had days when I felt, ‘I’m actually quite good at this’, followed by days when I thought, ‘Who am I kidding? I’m barely getting away with it and someone is going to find me out.’
And yet, headship was definitely the most satisfying, rewarding and joyful of the seven jobs I held across six schools over a thirty-year period. I had far more positive experiences and good days than the reverse, and I am aware that, despite the challenges and pressures of the role, most of the heads I know say the same.
I don’t remember ever hearing a head say, ‘I wish I were still a deputy.’
To some extent, many of the skills you need to master as a head are developed over time – and you will have been acquiring them throughout your years as a teacher, middle leader then senior leader.
In my view, leadership is about getting the best from those you lead by finding a judicious balance of support and challenge, winning hearts and minds, and ensuring that you recognise and make the most of the complementary skills of all the individuals within the team, so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
If you have done this successfully as a middle and senior leader, you are honing the skills which should make you an effective head. You will have new responsibilities and will need to build your knowledge, expertise and confidence in a range of other areas, but if you are keen to listen and willing to learn, this will develop over time.
You will have been learning from positive and negative role models throughout your career. Reflecting on which leadership behaviours you will emulate – and avoid – will help to develop your sense of the head you wish to be, and how you can get there.
This will be based on your own vision and values, and your sense of moral purpose, as well as on a strong understanding of the particular needs of the school you will be leading. Choose the school carefully – you need to see that there is a match between your own educational principles, the views of the governing body and the legacy you will step into.
I am a great fan of Robert Quinn’s words (2004) that we ‘build the bridge as we walk on it’. Much of headship you will learn by doing the job – including making mistakes, reflecting on and learning from them, and developing your practice accordingly.
If you can see this is a potentially daunting and weighty responsibility, and yet still feel a sense of excitement at the prospect, it suggests you may have what it takes. And be sure of this: headship will give you the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of children and adults on a scale you have never known before. It is the best job in the school.
Jill Berry’s new book Making the Leap: Moving from Deputy to Head is available now from Crown House Publishing.
