My colleague Pat asked me if I was doing the right things and if I was using my time to best effect...

The scary thing isn’t what we have achieved, but our potential to achieve so much more if only we can release the magic and switch people on who are currently stitched off... switched off by a lack of interest, a lack of motivation, a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of energy and drive. We all have so much potential. Our job as leaders, as managers, as coaches, as teachers, as parents, as people who care, is to help individuals set their goals, realise their enormous potential and understand that this is not as good as it gets!

We must change the language and reinvent our vocabulary. We must scrap the language which carries so much baggage and history and start using more inclusive and supportive terms… learning places, learning teams, colleagues and partners. We must incentivise and reward co-operation, teamwork, networking and partnering. We must encourage BRILLIANT projects, challenges and initiatives. We must celebrate our successes with t-shirts, buttons, badges, wristbands, certificates, awards and chocolate! We must dig deep to find, nurture and sustain talent. We must declare war on complexity… keep it simple and create simply beautiful systems. We must above all communicate, communicate, communicate.

We must create opportunities and learn to understand that we all have our blindspots. We must trust everyone and give them total access to everything we have. We must admit it when we don’t know the answers. We must talk to each other, talk to everyone and constantly search for solutions. We must manage everything as close as possible to the young people, the schools, the parents and the communities we serve. We must partner with the best and learn from them.

Our challenges as many. We must...

• Be GREAT learners… by constantly questioning and asking why.
• Be GREAT performers… by being confident and energetic.
• Be GREAT storytellers… by bringing strategies and policies alive.
• Accept responsibility… for decisions and outcomes.
• Focus on what really matters!
• AND above all be passionate.

Chris