by Simon Attwood
I landed my dream job. Of course, one could argue that, just over two months in, it’s still the honeymoon period, but actually, I’m not convinced that there is a honeymoon period. A school is like a machine – it keeps moving and going, and it doesn’t care what you feel – it cares about what you do. And that expectation is with you all day, every day. If there was a honeymoon period, it ended two days before the semester started, embroiled in some management territory-marking. Perhaps it ended even earlier when it became apparent that, nice though the newly constructed Early Years play area is, the water feature is a tragic accident waiting to happen and had to be rethought in a matter of days. There was the reallocation of some class teachers and wrestling with the demographic challenges we international schools face, of not enough foreign students and ever-decreasing numbers of foreign kindergarten-aged children.
Now What?
All kinds of other things came out of the woodwork from day one – can ECA function similarly in secondary and primary? (Answer is ‘No’ btw). Can we afford the time to send a group of teachers to the Apple Store for a workshop (Also, No). How about the canteen food? How about our SEN resources? Are we being selective enough in admissions? Will my lack of K-12 experience hold me back? (Also, no, because I have fantastic Primary and EY heads). Are we being proactive enough in marketing? And by the end of my first day, I felt as though I had been sleepwalking for the last eight years, because even though I am still working in the same education group, and had an excellent transition programme thanks to my predecessor’s diligence, I had completely underestimated the range and quantity of challenges. I was exhausted at the end of my first day. When I told my wife, she said, ‘You wanted this job and you took it, so now you have to do it.’ No one who knows my wife will be surprised by this tough love approach. Soviet-era upbringings do not result in fawning affection.
Thinking About It
At the end of my first week, I wrote a mini blog/essay/report, call it what you will, for the staff. I wanted them to know something of my thoughts. I thought I might do it weekly, but soon realised that it is unrealistic and probably undesirable, so I decided not to be too rigid in my timing. The end of the first month, just before the October holiday in China, is an obvious time. Firstly, I wanted to praise all the staff. For all kinds of reasons, I am the third Principal in three years, so you can imagine the nervousness of the staff who have been there two years or more. But every one of them gave of their best in that first week and I felt the blissful reassurance of joining a well-organised, highly competent team. This is new territory for me. By and large, I have come into either very new or very dysfunctional places. So, moving into a well-established school with a great reputation is a big step out of my comfort zone. Secondly, I am a strong believer in transparency as much as possible. How many times have we seen departments, teams, even schools crippled by communication failures? For me, they are the single largest enemy within.
A Smooth Handover
There is also a great resource at my disposal, which, like so many things in life, I didn’t realise I needed until I needed it – my predecessor. He has been retained as an honorary principal and, if you tuck in your ego for a minute, I urge all new principals to try to have this arrangement where practicable. I have known the school from the inside for less than two months – he has known it for eleven years or so. He planned the entire beginning of the semester for me before he left and continues to be available when I need a sounding board for my thoughts about matters large or small. For as long as I have been a senior leader, I have always encouraged staff to have a work buddy of some kind – it’s not a formal PD role, more of a safe place where you can say what you want without fear of reprisals or second-guessing a colleague’s likely reaction to your thoughts. More like a confessional box or therapy session. Even as a senior leader, I have had need of such colleagues. The fact that they are junior to you is not necessarily a disadvantage – they can often tell you more accurately the impact of your policies and help keep you grounded.
A Change Of Scenery
The final part of my new role worth consideration is the aforementioned transition from Vice Principal in a bilingual school to Principal in an international school. This is not a vertical journey but a diagonal one. Before I was cushioned above and below by layers of Chinese management. Now I am exposed at the top, and suddenly that old cliché about it being windy at the top is never more apposite. In many interviews over the years, I have been asked about the headteachers who inspired me. To this collection, I can add two Chinese Principals who have also made a massive contribution to my own development, not to mention my current Chinese Co-Principal, who is also outstanding. One of the most important lessons I learned in China has been to respond to problems quickly and effectively rather than burying the problem in policies and paperwork. The hardest thing to do, whatever your school, nationality or country, is to move on from people you like and respect. It is one of the ultimate tests of your leadership, but also one of the most formative experiences you can go through. Sometimes, teachers just don’t fit in a particular school, and the best you can do is help them find one where they do. This, amid many other challenges and triumphs, is always lying in wait, whether you have been a principal for five weeks or five years. But if there is one thing I learned in the last ten years, no one is bigger than the school, even a Principal.
Simon Attwood, Principal, Ningbo British International School (NBIS)
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