Age versus Experience

I have worked with a fantastic bunch of school leaders over the years. I count myself lucky to have learnt from all of them. I am a better school leader today because I have had the time and space to set my understanding of their differing approaches against what I was keen to explore off my own bat in terms of effective school leadership theory and practice. How I lead the school where I work now, and how I govern in the two schools where I am lucky enough to do so, has most definitely been determined by what I have learnt from others.

I was pretty keen to get to a senior school leadership role and came to my current headship at a not untypical age, I’d say (mid-forties, in case you’re interested). I am currently old enough (as we have worked out – to both their horror and mine) to realistically be the father of at least two of the members of my senior team. I also govern in two other schools with a number of fantastic individuals, some of whom have enjoyed plenty more years round the sun than me, some of whom haven’t.

So what…?

Aside from being able to demonstrate mastery of the mechanics and operational ‘must do’s’ that come with running a school (all of which can be learnt) any school leader’s most significant impact – in my view – ought to be visible in terms of how they develop the culture, values and ethos of the school they are running. Whether you’re young and keen or old and experienced, the ‘feel’ of the school experience for the children and adults present will have a massive impact upon how successful their life and time at the school will be. Shaping the cultural dimensions of any outfit, schools included, is however a tricky one.

There are all sorts of personal qualities and dispositions that will get you off to a pretty good start in that respect though, a large dose of ‘chutzpah’ being chief amongst them. Being a brave leader will get you so far down the effective school leadership line. There also needs to be plenty of humility and genuine self-awareness included in the mix. You need to know when you’ve got it wrong, and not just how to salvage any errors, but how to learn from your mistakes, and fast. The most experienced school leaders don’t always get it right, including the old ones.

And then there’s the joy. Every school leader needs, in my view, to commit to seeing the joy that comes from working with the young people in their care. I’m talking here about the tiny moments that if you’re not careful can pass you by, but are nonetheless moments of joy which are critical to the ongoing development of (here it comes – the big one!) the resilience required to keep you going as a school leader, when really, you sometimes might feel you can’t. Old or young, remaining alive to how joyful your days at school should be matters a lot.

I wish to be very clear now: school leadership is not easy. No matter how bloody and bruised you may feel after a hard day’s ‘school leadershipping’ you have to be able to get back up the next day and carry on, for your pupils, for your colleagues, and for you. School leadership theory aside, safeguarding what already works well and making relevant changes to the bits of a school’s culture that aren’t so great requires a huge amount of personal investment in your own leadership capabilities.

Age shouldn’t be a barrier to wanting to run a school, or wanting to join a team that’s running one. If you’re good enough, in my view you are old enough. The sweet spot in all of this for truly excellent school leaders though, no matter how old, young, experienced or not, is about remaining alive to what good actually means, and maintaining the ability and foresight to understand how to become even better.