Leading With and For Well-being

Previously I introduced the SEARCH framework, and we have explored the pathways of emotional management, strengths and relationships and how they link with school leader’s well-being.

But before we continue delving into the remaining pathways I wanted to take a pause, to zoom out and look at the bigger picture, reconnecting with why school leader well-being is important.

As I stated in the first episode of this series, when I was exploring the research much of it looked at the impact school leaders have on the well-being of others with far fewer research papers studying the well-being of school leaders themselves.

A paper written by Mahfouz et al, on creating caring schools also highlighted that school leadership was an overlooked area of well-being in education and the paper states:

“Surprisingly, the social and emotional development and well-being of principals has received little attention.”

I think looking after your well-being as a school leader is important in and of its own right.

I also believe that you are best placed to lead for community well-being if you experience personal well-being.

Later on the paper goes on to state:

“Principals’ social and emotional competence, well-being, and leadership form the foundation that influences the effective implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL), school climate, teacher functioning and well-being, family and community partnerships, and downstream student outcomes.”

Schools are highly relational, emotional places and I think this quote demonstrates the interlink between well-being and leadership and highlights the positive impacts that school leaders feeling well can have on whole school communities.

While addressing this, it's crucial to embrace self-compassion. It's not about adding another burden; rather, it's a reminder that prioritising your well-being is paramount for yourself, and that will also benefit you in your role as a school leader.

With the peak times on a school calendar, and the myriad of unexpected events it won’t be a linear journey or look the same each week. It takes reflection, exploration and experimentation and as Ana Paula Nacif states:

“Wellbeing is not something we do on a Monday and we are done for the week…..Wellbeing goals may involve change that needs to happen over time to become sustainable, others require us to rethink long standing habits and/or challenge how we think and interact with the world.”

In the next episode we will explore the research on habits of self care for school leaders.

If you would like to know more about the Positive Leadership Hub, a community space of training, coaching and positive psychology that can support you in leading with and for well-being then send me a message via the link below.

‘For me, SEARCH and its 6 pathways provides a framework for organisational and school wellbeing that goes beyond self care and one-off gimmicky events. It’s targeting the real stuff that makes an impact. As educators, we appreciate the need for deeper learning over surface learning. So let’s also prioritise deep wellbeing structures over surface level tick box exercises. Thank you Jenny for facilitating so many insights and light bulb moments!’ International Educator