Teach Middle East Magazine Jan - Mar 2020 Issue 2 Volume 7 | Page 38

Sharing Good Practice
MIND THE GAP!
MOVING FROM MIDDLE TO SENIOR LEADERSHIP
BY: STEVEN LUPTON
A
re you considering leaping
middle leadership to senior
leadership? Some days the
gap feels like a natural step
and on others a cavernous gorge!
While travelling on the London
Underground, you are constantly
reminded to 'mind the gap between
the train and the platform'. Gaps
between the platform's edge and the
railway car, occur because the railway
carriage has straight sides, while the
platform edge follows a curved path.
It, therefore, implies that if one part of
the carriage is right next to the curved
platform, then other parts cannot be.
The problem arises at the doorways,
spaced evenly along the train, resulting
in some doors being right next to the
platform's edge — the ideal position —
while others will be an unnaturally a
long way from the curved edge. And
so, the possibility arises that someone
who is not looking, may lose his or her
balance, and fall into the gap. Hence
the warning — 'mind the gap'!
The above scenario forms an accurate
analogy of moving into senior
leadership.
Traditionally,
people
were thrust into senior leadership
because they showed above-average
ability as a teacher, but recently the
identification of leadership potential
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Term 2 Jan - Mar 2020
The power of self-reflection becomes
even more important with the
increasing
autonomy
and
self-
regulation that senior leadership
entails. Whilst reflecting on my journey
to this stage in my career, I pondered
on what I might have known about
senior leadership prior to this point,
which may have curved the edges
of my carriage a little. I occupied a
variety of middle leadership roles in
top-performing schools in the U.K.
and Australia for over ten years, before
deciding to make the leap into senior
leadership in the UAE. I am now into
my third year of senior leadership, and
the learning curve continues to be
steep.
over teaching talent is becoming
more refined. Many potential leaders
are completing additional leadership
specific, postgraduate studies, such as
a masters in leadership or equivalent.
However, much of this learning
accentuates the straight sides to our
experience/knowledge carriage. It
does not sufficiently equip us for the
curved platform of senior leadership
or the unpredictability of where the
doors will open on our leadership
journey. This is not an indictment of
postgraduate leadership courses, but
an identification of a gap formed due
to the varied nature of leadership
in schools - which may be further
magnified in an international school
setting.
As the Deputy Head (Curriculum) at
Repton Abu Dhabi, my role spans
across two campuses, namely Rose
Campus (Nursery – Year 1) and Fry
Campus (Year 2 – Year 10). We have a
school population of 1,400 students
and 180 staff. Every day is varied and
makes me love my role at the school
- for example, one-day last week I was
hiding 'under' a desk with an FS2 class
at 9 am as their teacher introduced
them to prepositions, and by 11 am
I was at ADEK headquarters for a
meeting with education policymakers.
Class Time
I've learnt a lot along the way, but have
equally realised that you can never
learn enough! Below are some of the
things I have learnt along the journey
that may assist you in narrowing the
gap between your carriage and the
senior leadership platform.
Character – Be clear about who you
are - As Andy Buck (2018) eloquently
puts it in his excellent book 'Leadership
Matters', 'Know thyself', one of the
greatest challenges for every leader is
to know their strengths, development
areas and what arouses strong
emotions in themselves, and how to
manage those feelings.
Moral Compass – where is your true
North? – "Managers are people who do
things right, while leaders are people
who do the right thing." — Warren
Bennis
You will be pushed and pulled in
many directions along the journey, be
very clear of your moral purpose, your
inherent value set and your ethical line
in the sand.
Compromise on timelines, but never
on quality - As a leader, invariably you
will have to set deadlines and due
dates for tasks. Due to the nature of
teaching, sometimes those due dates