COACHING AND TEACHING MATTERS!

I have been doing some thinking, and some coaching and teaching over Easter, wonderful getting back to some good old A-Level Physics! And looking back the scary thing isn’t what we have achieved, but the potential we have to achieve so much more if only we can release the magic in our schools, in our colleagues and in our children and young people.

What always surprises me is how much potential there is out there. Our job as leaders, as managers, as coaches, as teachers, as parents, as people who care, is to help individuals set their goals, realise their enormous potential and understand that this is not as good as it gets! And, I realise more and more as I get older that it is all about co-operation, teamwork, networking and partnering. We must constantly celebrate our successes... I find that chocolate helps! We must continue to encourage the projects, challenges and initiatives that are making such a difference... send thank you notes, give stickers and say thank you as often as you can. We must declare war on bureaucracy, complexity and mediocrity and keep it simple and create simply beautiful systems alongside intelligent accountability. We must above all communicate and share! I have been to some incredible learning places and everywhere and wherever colleagues are releasing the magic, they are trusted, empowered and nurtured not bullied or intimidated. In so many places brilliant colleagues, working in schools and classrooms supported locally by focused and efficient teams, are releasing the magic and delivering world class outcomes.

AND surprise, surprise we know what it takes to build brilliant... 

• leadership really, really matters;
• enthusiasm is contagious;
• small is beautiful;
• relationships are key;
• passion is required;
• coaching counts;
• persistence and determination go a long way; and
• you tend to get what you expect.

This job we do is too important for what we do to be ordinary. We must all strive, each and every day, to be extraordinary, to be outstanding, to be brilliant... even if it's just teaching A-Level Physics!!

Chris