Maintain your confidence, clarity and sanity when things get hard.
How to build your signature 'Clarity Maintenance Kit' to keep your strategic focus sharp.
Have you ever felt leadership in a school would be a lot easier without other people getting in the way? You find the clarity you need, design a strategic approach only to find a few days later the plan didn’t land the way you imagined or new problems have now arisen that you weren’t expecting. This is the reality of school leadership. It is a constantly shifting dynamic. It is for this reason, I am taking the time over the coming weeks to focus deliberately on supporting your Clarity Maintenance Kit - practical routines, rhythms and processes you can use, adapt and make your own. These go a long way to maintaining your confidence, clarity and not to mention your sanity, especially when school life gets complicated.
Clarity is not a perpetual state. It needs maintenance
Just over a week ago, I hosted a reset session, where I led subscribers through processes that would help prepare for the term ahead.
When your energy levels are high, your activities scheduled and your task list is focused on the things that really matter, it is easy to act with clarity and confidence. However, in schools, things rarely remain this simple for long.
You get sick or other stresses get in the way. The time you scheduled to work on a priority project gets sidelined by an unexpected crisis that needs attention. The plan you set for a team meeting doesn’t quite land the way you hoped. Other circumstances out of your control swerve into your path and you have to suddenly course correct. Feeling resilient amongst these constantly changing conditions and remaining agile in the face of them is a trait I admire in many school leaders I know or have had the privilege to work with. However, if you are not careful the reactivity loop can soon become the norm and it is a very difficult state to find an escape from.
In education, we often talk of ‘the learning pit’ - the point where the learning gets hard and it is easy to feel like you want to give up. Well, there is a ‘leadership pit’ too. It is a symptom I have seen in leaders I have worked with in 1:1 coaching. At some point, maintaining momentum and leading becomes hard, and there is a temptation to feel it is too difficult to recover.
As a result, the important, long-term, strategic focus can become stalled or derailed altogether which only serves to shatter your confidence.
Your clarity of the situation, understanding the shift you are driving and why it matters, along with your ability to take decisive and strategic action are not ‘nice to have’ attributes. They are the foundation for achieving lasting, positive impact on the lives of your colleagues, students and school - especially when things get difficult.
Getting a clear view of your situation it is not a one off process. It requires regular maintenance to keep the view clear. Building your own clarity maintenance kit using effective, routine practices along with consistent rhythms enables you to act with clarity, confidence and strategic intent.
This message should ring loudly. You have agency. You have choice. You also have a responsibility to steer the course when things get difficult. Don’t wait for the problems to come before you respond. Protect your view, use your Clarity Maintenance Kit to keep your focus sharp on the things that matter, why they are important and what is needed of you - day to day, week to week, month to month, each term, and so on.
How do you start building your kit? I am glad you asked!
Three immediate solutions to help build your ‘Clarity Maintenance Kit’.
I am not interested in poking at your leadership pain points for cheap clicks. I have spent considerable time examining the routines, skills and habits that support leaders achieve long term impact. By enacting these practices in your leadership, they have a flow on effect for those in your team. When team practices shift, they can have ongoing impact, given the right circumstances, on classroom learning practices and behaviours.
To make a start on building your own signature ‘Clarity Maintenance Kit’, here are three immediate solutions to help you make a start.
1. Clarity Audit - Figuring Out Your Routines and Rhythm
The first part of this solution involves examining carefully what you currently do to keep your understanding of your situation clear. This is an “as needed” process. When your rhythm for maintaining clarity in your leadership, team or shared priorities is feeling lost, a clarity audit will help.
Write a response to the following questions.
How often (and specifically when) do you update your thinking on your strategic priorities?
How often (and specifically when) do you check in with your team, shared priorities and projects?
What practices/routines do you use to achieve these?
The second part of this audit explores the practices that are needed to maintain your leadership clarity. There are three important factors to consider here. For each consider the practices/routines you need and the frequency required.
Your Leadership Priorities: What do you need to maintain clarity and lead effectively?
Your Team: What do your colleagues/team need to take action and feel supported?
Shared Priorities/Projects: What do the shared priorities/projects you are leading need, to be successful?
The rhythm is totally dependent on your situation, the meeting architecture and activities in your school setting. For example, daily routines would be overkill and unsustainable for meeting with your team or in managing your projects. Keep the expectations sustainable and achievable.
Commit to Your Rhythm and Refine It
When you decide on the rhythms needed, test it out. Mark it on your calendar. Make a commitment, keep it and review. Adjust your timings and processes accordingly to ensure they are effective and achievable.
Download your ‘Clarity Audit’ template below:
2. Weekly Reflection and Reset
This is a routine reflection for the week gone by. The routine helps to refresh your clarity for the week ahead so you can use your time effectively and act with strategic intent.
Timing Tips
You could complete this either late on a Friday afternoon (if you have the energy) or late in your weekend as you start to turn your attention to setting yourself up for success.
Step 1 - Reflect
What were the wins?
What didn’t we achieve that we hoped to?
What is needed or different now?
What are my priorities (and supporting actions) for this week?
Step 2 - Reset
Make a list of your priorities for this week in your diary, chronicle, planner or journal. Allocate the supporting actions you need to take to the days and times where you will do them. If you need to schedule this time into your electronic calendar or set up meeting times, now is a good time to do this.
Remember, it is doing the maintenance to keep the view through the next week clear.
Download your ‘Weekly Reflection’ template below:
3. Monthly Reset Live Stream
As we get closer to the end of the month, I will share some tips for resetting your focus for the next.
Let’s do better than that though! Do you prefer to engage in your strategic thinking/planning in a supportive environment? Sometimes having the accountability of showing up in a space that someone else has created takes the pressure off you needing to create your own rhythm. This is why I am hosting reset sessions. On Friday 31st July, I will be leading a Monthly Reset Session. In this session you will:
Reflect on the learning from the work in July using effective prompts.
Assess your progress and priorities while shaping and refining your strategic focus for August to support them.
Have the chance to share your thinking for shared accountability and feedback.
See me model one way you can set up your month to track your priorities and progress as you continue through the month.
An invitation will be sent to all subscribers this week. This first Monthly Reset will be an opportunity to treat this as a ‘taster’ session. If you find it useful, please consider subscribing so you can have access to future streams and the recorded replays.
Give the session a go! It will help you set up your own rhythm for maintaining your leadership clarity, staying on track with your priorities and protecting your sanity.
School life can get complex very quickly as the term gets underway. Start building your ‘clarity maintenance’ routines and rhythms now to keep your strategic focus sharp and leading with intent.
Tried this? I would love to hear from you
I am still learning the ropes here and finding the things that are most helpful.
If you have any questions or tips that will help make this process even better, please Contribute to the comments below.
AI Disclaimer
100% Human Creativity and Content: Every word in this article is written and crafted entirely by a human. No artificial intelligence is used to generate the text, tools or ideas it contains. All illustrations and images are by the author, used under license or with permission.