Recently I met with a group of principals who were still relatively new to the role. In a general discussion about the challenges we all face, a predictable question arose: Given the incredibly busy context within which they work, how can school leaders sustain the effort necessary for getting the job done and for maintaining professional satisfaction? In other words, what’s the secret of professional survival? I suppose the question reflects the feelings we all ...

The pre-eminent Professor Viviane Robinson from the University of Auckland delivered the annual Ann D Clark lecture last week. It was a great honour to have both Viviane and Michael Fullan working with us last week. Prof. Robinson’s presentation was Five Dimensions of Effective Educational Leadership’ but perhaps I can summarise the key point in one sentence: school is about students and their learning outcomes not about adults. This is a very power concept I ...