Thursday 15 March 2007

"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle

Anyone who has achieved anything significant has had to put up with people saying that it couldn't be done. Most of us dislike change but wht we do is all about change and the management of change and we should constantly challenge the status quo and refuse to take no for an answer!

We have to think differently…if you go on doing what you have always done you will go on getting what you have always got… and it can’t be about simply making do and it can’t be about hoping things will get better. In the real world people need to have 85% well developed attitudes and 15% knowledge and skills. So it's true that attitudes can change the world.

We must work to create an approach where there are no excuses and where we constantly learn from our successes and from our failures and setbacks. It is important that we lead by example, continue to develop relationships and trust with our colleagues and our schools, our stakeholders and our partners. And talking about brilliant learning places...

My colleague Graham Sephton, Team Manager in Personnel was out at Valley View Primary School with Sarah Griggs and her team on Wednesday. The school had a training day and Graham and colleagues had been asked to go in and do some team development work.
Graham tells me that they had a brilliant time and that the team there are really something special. They have managed, in just six short months, to build one of the most fantastic teams Graham has ever seen. Some words spring to mind about what they've got....... fun, spirit, all-for-one approach, energy, honesty, unity, passion, togetherness. Graham was 'blown away'.

It's very clear, from Sarah's work at Valley View Primary School, that leadership is about unleashing people's passion. challenging their beliefs and giving them a sense of self and purpose. This isn’t a sometime thing it is a passionate commitment to excellence in everything we do, including looking after our colleagues, ensuring their worklife balance and that they spend time with the people they care about and love.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed people can change the world.
Indeed it's the only thing that ever does!"
Margaret Mead

Keep the faith
Chris

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