Why Should Parents Care About School Leader Wellbeing?
The media is filled almost every day with reports of increased stress and mental health issues that schools are facing in the wake of the current pandemic crisis. Most focus on concerns about the wellbeing of children and young people, while a smaller number seek to highlight the issues surrounding teacher stress. Very few pay…
School Leader Voices Tell the Real Story of Pandemic Stress
In my recent study into school leader wellbeing during the COVID 19 crisis 70% of the 721 school leaders who took part say they have come close to breaking point at some time during 2020. Even allowing for a response bias, that figure is worryingly high and is worthy of closer examination. In my article…
School Leader Wellbeing Survey Reveals Worrying Pandemic Stress Levels
Many thanks to all those 721 school leaders around the world who took part in my online survey last month. I have prepared an infographic to share the highlights. A complete report, which will include full demographic information as well as an analysis of the qualitative data, will be available sometime in December. To ensure…
How Can We Persuade School Governors/Trustees to Take School Leader Wellbeing Seriously?
On Thursday I led a Zoom town hall discussion with a large group of Montessori school leaders from across the USA who had reached out to ask for my support. The first question was “how can I make the board of governors/trustees listen and take my wellbeing seriously? The principal asking this question told the…
Leading Through a Pandemic: Building School Leader Resilience
The COVID 19 crisis is increasing the huge levels of stress already experienced by international school leaders. While some are thriving in the face of the challenge, many are overwhelmed and coming close to burnout. There is no hard data yet on the impact of leading through COVID but anecdotal evidence mounts on a daily…
Leading Through the Pandemic: Is School Leader Loneliness Increasing Under COVID?
My article The Loneliness of the International School Leader from 2018, is by far my most read and commented upon post, striking a chord with school leaders around the world. Since the publication of Is an Epidemic of COVID Burnout Awaiting our School Leaders?, I have been contacted by many wanting to share their own…
Leading Through the Pandemic-Is a Sense of Over-responsibility Harming School Leaders?
In my doctoral research “International Schools as Emotional Arenas: Facing the Leadership Challenges in a German Context” (2017) an emerging theme that went largely unexplored was the heightened sense of responsibility or “over-responsibility” that some school leaders feel. In considering how school leaders may alleviate the overwhelming stress that many of them are experiencing at…
Leading Through the Pandemic-Is an Epidemic of COVID Burnout Awaiting our School Leaders?
A year ago, at the start of the 2019-20 school year, I took the decision to retire from work at the end of the year, at the age of 56. I feel no shame in admitting that 15 years as a senior leader in international schools has taken its toll on me. In May 2019,…
Overcoming Loneliness as an International School Leader
In a previous article, The Loneliness of the International School Leader, I wrote about the professional and personal isolation of principals and heads around the world. We are built for social contact and there are serious, potentially life-threatening consequences when we do not get enough with loneliness being as damaging to our health as smoking…
