saying sorry when things do not go according to plan is not a sign of weakness or admission that things cannot be put right.

I witness a fair amount of ‘SLT bashing’ on Twitter, which always saddens me.  I fully understand that senior leadership is not about courting popularity, but it should involve the promotion of mutual respect and positive, constructive, working relationships. Remember:

Your working environment is up to you and the others working in your immediate vicinity. So get started changing that. As the leader, the work climate of your team is directly a reflection of your leadership.
Turn “us vs. them” into “we.”

I have tried to be supportive without micromanaging, whilst still quality assuring what we do as we are setting our own standards in each new task, process and system we create. I also plan to expose them to some of the areas of Headship that you do not experience as a Deputy Headteacher. Why do we have hidden aspects of the role? There are areas of my role I could have been better prepared for had I known what I needed to know. The 3 of us are really different but our experiences, qualities, skill sets and personalities compliment one another well.

Often you can have your team – the department you work with, those with similar classes, but that’s no guarantee that you’ll find someone to genuinely connect with. As a senior leader, as a headteacher, the pool of people available to share with shrinks further.

The aspect of ‘partnership’ that seems rarer and in danger of being overlooked is the notion of the ‘collective’ power of local partnerships: the simple idea that we are stronger together, that our voice is louder when we speak as one.