This book is brilliant; deeply honest, full of fascinating research and most importantly practical ideas to support school leaders navigating the stormy seas of working in Education. Sarah openly shares her leadership story, one which is dangerously close to that of so many fantastic school leaders and indeed my own.
It hits hard with vital messages for leaders currently serving in schools, and those who may have left their roles, about how to develop awareness of physical and emotional health and signs of burnout. She pairs the stark data with real examples calling out practises which are damaging to the health and wellbeing of educators across the country.
Sarah's exploration of what it means to align values, to belong, and to lead with compassion and kindness are refreshing and powerful. If you have left leadership read this to know you are not alone, and if you are still serving in Educational Leadership read it to better understand how you can protect yourself and your teams from some of the storms that threaten to engulf you.
Emma Lewry, Early Education Consultant and Former Headteacher, UK
I guess it depends if you are content with just forcing compliance or whether you have the appetite to strive for commitment? Your call?
If your staff are compliant to your wishes then you will never get there. If your pupils are compliant to your teaching, it will be hard work and their growth will be compromised!
But if you can gain the commitment from staff and pupils, then with commitment comes engagement, dialogue, ownership, innovation, well-being, happiness and performance. Now I reckon that is worth working toward and that is where compassion comes in. Sarah Hussey shines a clear and bright light on the power that a compassionate leader wields. In this excellent and most readable exposé, Sarah makes a compelling argument that leading with kindness, courage and purpose is precisely whats needed in our education system. These are super-powers, not weaknesses. Anyone can shout and demand, and they will get what they deserve. But to lead in such a way that through nurturing your understanding of others and then responding with positive intent you gain their commitment, their energy and their effort, is a no-brainer to me.
Now, I have taken on many challenges in my life, but I have never spent a wet Friday afternoon in a reception class with no teaching assistant! How would I manage I wonder? I know the outcome I would like (an enthusiastic sea of smiling, attentive faces hanging on my every word), and I believe that Sarah knows how to get there and how to help others do the same. Read on and you will too!
Manley Hopkinson, Director of the Compassionate Leadership Academy, UK
Reading Sarahs book feels like sitting with a trusted friend and putting the world to rights. It makes you feel seen and heard and reminds you youre not alone. It is a distillation of her wisdom, wit and warmth and chock-full of practical tips and rich research for exactly the kind of authentic and compassionate leadership our schools so desperately need today. For so long now, school leadership has felt for many an impossible step too far, requiring the sacrifice of any life outside school and the compromise of values but if you follow Sarahs guidance, you CAN make it work.
Dr Emma Kell, Teacher and Education Coach, UK
Lisainfo e-raamatute kohta