It's been a funny day... meeting after meeting after meeting... another of those days where you wonder whether you are making any difference where it matters... in classrooms with children and young people. It's funny but the Guardian reported that the single most important factor colleagues want to see in their leaders is inspiration and it's the message I often get from colleagues in schools and across Education Leeds.

The world is shifting and the DfES and OfSTED and everyone else are raising the bar. What was OK is now unsatisfactory... and increasingly it's not enough to be good you have to be outstanding! The usual leadership and management models simply won't do in this new world because they tend to limit, control and confine people's creativity, imagination and talent. PwC identified the characteristics of a non-creative organisation... prescriptive, centralised, risk averse, hierarchical, status conscious, low trust and with poor communications. Do you know any organisations like that? What we need is unusual leadership... what we need is inspirational leadership and interestingly I have been reading a really good book.

The Seven Secrets of Inspired Leaders is by Phil Dourado and Phil Blackburn of The Inspired Leaders Network. What are the seven secrets... well they actually identify eight!
Secret Number One...
Inspired leaders let their colleagues get on with it... our job is to create more leaders, not more followers;
Secret Number Two...
Inspired leaders ditch all the games... our job is to reveal our real authentic and individual selves;
Secret Number Three...
Inspired leaders engage people's energies, talents and beliefs... our job is to create meaning and purpose for our colleagues;
Secret Number Four...
Inspired leaders are innovators and creators... our job is about being different and making a real difference;
Secret Number Five...
Inspired leaders run edgy organisations... our job is to understand that the action takes place at the frontline where is where you should find us;
Secret Number Six...
Inspired leaders see the world differently... our job is to see that it's not out there, it's all around us;
Secret Number Seven...
Inspired leaders know that nothing is impossible... our job is to think the unthinkable and do the undoable.
Secret Number Eight... the bonus secret...
Inspired leaders see their organisations differently... our job is to turn our structures on their heads and see ourselves as the support team!

Our challenge as always is what are we going to do about it.
Be inspired!
Chris