Leading a school team means juggling timetables, curriculum planning, staff development, pupil needs, parent concerns, and endless paperwork - all while maintaining your sanity... and remembering where you left your coffee.
All these things take a lot of brain power – and a leader can’t possibly always be all things to all people. The good news? Your staffroom is full of brilliant minds just waiting to be tapped.
The Magic of Asking, Not Telling
How often when a team member comes to you with a problem, do you automatically default into trying to fix the problem? This comes with good intentions, of course, but a cycle of ‘fixing’ can result in team members coming to you with every problem under the sun, rather than you supporting them to create their own solutions.
So how do you empower your team to share their ideas and find their own solutions?
The first step is to embrace one of the most powerful tools a leader can use - a simple open question:
"What do you think?"
These four words shift the dynamic from "I'll fix that for you" to "Let's figure this out together" - showing your staff that their expertise in the classroom, playground or school office is valued and trusted.
When you ask your teachers or support staff for their thoughts, it shows that they matter and trust them. A study by Salesforce highlighted that when teams feel heard they are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to do their best work.
Practical Tips for School Leaders
Here are some simple ways to use questions to empower your school team:
Make "What if...?" the norm in staff meetings
Create space where teaching assistants, ECTs and experienced staff alike can share ideas without fear of judgment. Work with the intention that no idea is a silly idea and encourage them to give things a go, laying foundations that if it doesn’t work there will be some great learning that can come from it.
Listen like you mean it
When a staff member brings an idea, really tune in. Showing you value their input (through follow-up questions and genuine interest) encourages others to speak up too - gradually building a school where idea-sharing becomes second nature.
Ask curious questions
While it’s important to provide direction, giving your team the space to explore solutions enhances their growth and confidence. Give these questions a go:
- What are your thoughts on this?
- What haven’t you tried yet?
- What could you learn from this experience if it doesn’t go as planned?
- How might someone else view this with a different perspective?
Embrace team collaboration
Encourage teachers to observe each other, share successful lesson ideas, and build on each other's classroom wins. Two teachers thinking through a behaviour management challenge together often find better solutions than either would alone.
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.”
Asking "What do you think?" is more than just a question. It’s a leadership tool that could help you to drive engagement, creativity, build trust and empower your teachers and support staff to take the initiative.
By doing so, they can contribute meaningfully, resulting in a stronger, more motivated and forward-thinking team.
If you would like to find out more about how to harness the power of your team's creativity and problem-solving, speak to our Doug who’ll share how we can help – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also take a look at our Top of the League leadership workshop.
