1. Love Bombs. I would make a point of dropping pleasant little surprises on deserving staff members. It would have to be a priority for me to try to keep abreast of all of the activities and projects my staff are involved in, so that I can reward their hard work with an unexpected message of encouragement or a small gift of some kind. People like being made a fuss of, and they like the boss to notice when they do something well.
2. No Moan Zone. I would have a strict ‘no negativity’ policy. It is often too easy to complain, especially when the pressure is on, or near the end of term. However, if we let negativity continue unchecked, the result is an unhappy staffroom and a less productive working environment. Left unchecked, negativity spreads like a cancer. I appreciate that, from time to time, staff need to let off some steam, but even then, I would challenge them to match a complaint with a solution. Back-biting and rumour-mongering would be entirely off-limits. If people have to think twice before they moan about something, they tend to do less of it. As an additional bonus, I would get a steady stream of new ideas, probably on a daily basis, aimed at improving our school.
3. Develop Development. I would insist that staff endeavour to earn professional development points / badges for their appraisals by attending training sessions, going on courses, building their own PLNs and engaging with other teachers around the country, and around the world. I would try to encourage the same atmosphere of excitement at discovery and learning new things in the staffroom as I would like our students to have in class. Importantly, this is an ‘opt out’ process – that is, if staff do not want to do this, they need to explain why… in writing.
4. Showcase Talent. I would give my staff an opportunity to speak to larger groups about their personal interests. This can be in the form a masterclass for their peers or students, or simply an enrichment session at staff development seminars. Whether it is cooking Indian cuisine, creating iBooks or even something like Anthropology, I would encourage my teachers to follow their own interests and to share them with the rest of the staff. This would double as an example to our students of true life-long learning.
5. Short Sabbaticals. I would give miniature sabbaticals to those staff who seriously want to research an aspect of education that interests them, and which they can then share with their students and colleagues. These would be breaks of about two to three weeks, and could be granted during examination times. Alternatively, while staff are away on these learning breaks, we could have interns / substitutes running their classes, and perhaps even manipulate the timetable so that students go to other classes more frequently, and then catch up when their teacher returns.
6. Flip the Flippin’ Meeting. Anyone else tired of being talked at during staff meetings? Most of what is discussed could be emailed or put on the notice board. If I were running things, meetings would be flipped up-side down by allowing members of staff and even students to set the agenda. Even big decisions traditionally left to the ‘management executive’ of the school could do with staff input. I would encourage asking instead of telling, and preference questions over answers. Staff meetings would take on a similar feel and structure to how I would like my classrooms to work: less ‘telling’, more discovery, exchange and learning. Additionally, every meeting must involve some form of training and enrichment.
7. No Bananas. When presidents of countries are elected, it is usually for a term of four to five years – often less. CEOs of major companies have a similar term of office. They might be re-elected if they have done a good job and are clearly capable of continued good leadership. This encourages them to see their leadership roles as an active responsibility, not just as a title. Shouldn’t the institutions that nurture these future leaders be run the same way? Only banana republics and tailspinning companies refuse to rotate leadership roles, and as a result suffer from the stagnant ideas of tin-pot dictators. Do we really want schools to be m