
‘OMG, what have I done!’ I thought, during my first meeting with the Trust Head of Finance after taking up a role as a head within a MAT, after being an LA head for 5 years. I found it really hard to accept the lack of autonomy I was going to have in terms of managing the school budget. I was seriously doubting the decision I had made to change jobs.
The theme of my first couple of years as a head within a MAT was ‘how can I hold the Trust at bay and keep as much control over things as possible?’
Everything had changed by March 2020, 4 years after that initial meeting. Boris hastily readjusted the office furniture to accommodate the TV cameras and announced the first COVID lockdown. At that moment, I was really pleased to be part of a team of headteachers, and to have the tier of executive leadership above us with the CEO and the central team. Our zoom meetings at that time, as an executive team, felt collaborative and supportive. I wasn’t alone with the challenges I faced. I looked back on my set-up in LA headship and knew it would have been very different if I was experiencing this situation there.
Why hadn’t I realised sooner the benefits of collaboration? What had stopped me from embracing the support of the Trust rather than resisting it?
Part of the answer was that there were some things within myself that I needed to let go of. In her book, ‘Dare to Lead’, Brene Brown talks about ‘armoured’ vs ‘daring’ leadership. I feel as though I was pretty daring as a leader within my own school, but in my relationship with the Trust, I was armoured up.
What helped me to lose the armour?
Over the course of the 4 years, my relationship with the central team had its ups and downs, but ultimately, I learned that they were on our side, as a school, and when the chips were down, they wanted the same thing as me – the best for our pupils. I remember clearly a moment during our OFSTED, when we were waiting to get our feedback from the inspectors, and both the CEO and the Deputy CEO came into the school hall and helped us clear the tables away after a parent workshop that had been taking place. Little moments like that meant a lot.
In those years, I also had 2 different episodes of leadership coaching. The first set of sessions helped me to tune into my core values and make my leadership more aligned to them. In the second set of sessions, the coach helped me to find a fresh perspective on my relationships with trust leaders. I began to empathise more with their experience, managing to move away from the swirling thoughts in my head and take everything much less personally.
By the time COVID came around, I was able to step into my power as a head within a trust, having open and honest discussions with MAT leaders, holding boundaries where necessary, but also welcoming support and collaboration.
I don’t think that there is any perfect environment in which to be a headteacher. There are advantages and disadvantages wherever you find yourself. My own search for perfection as a trust headteacher got in the way of making the best of where I was. There were unhelpful stories and beliefs I was holding onto that coaching helped me to let go of. Nowadays, as a leadership coach, that's something I help other heads with.
When it comes to being a head within a trust, ‘managing upwards’ is a significant part of the job, much more so than when you’re a head within an LA. Leading a school within a trust can call on different skills and behaviours, such as diplomacy, persuasion and negotiation, whereas being an LA head often calls for standing your ground and being assertive. All those skills are really good ones to have, whatever your context. Knowing when to pull each one out of the bag is the real trick!
If I was about to apply for headship positions now, I’d be very circumspect. I’d probably be drawn to working within a Trust again: one with a strong support network. But I’d also be looking for values that mirror my own in every place I could. I’d be trying to see whether those values were lived and not just laminated, before taking up a post.
Where do you find yourself as a headteacher, or are you about to apply for a position? I’d love to hear your perspective on trust vs LA headship. Feel free to drop a comment in the section below.
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