Why school leadership is a journey, not a race
At Academy21, we are always looking for ways to reflect on, refine, and champion high-quality leadership within the education sector. Recently, our very own Executive Headteacher, Amy Husband, sat down with Sam Strickland, Principal of The Duston School and CEO of the Luminara Education Trust, for an episode of the Staffordshire Research School podcast titled “Is Leadership a Race?”
This blog post captures the key highlights, core philosophies, and standout moments from their brilliant conversation. Whether you are an aspiring school leader, a newly appointed head, or a seasoned executive looking to reflect on your practice, the insights shared by Amy and Sam offer a grounded, realistic, and deeply supportive roadmap for navigating the complexities of modern school leadership.
Watch the podcast episode in full
The driving force: Supporting leaders in an era of crisis
Amy opened the discussion by highlighting Sam’s impressive track record. Under his stewardship, The Duston School was transformed from the lowest 20% nationally for GCSE results to the top 20%, alongside achieving top 5% status for A-Level results. Yet, despite these exceptional accolades, Sam’s motivation for writing his latest book, Is Leadership a Race?, stems from a deeply pragmatic desire to address the systemic challenges currently facing the sector.
When asked about his driving force, Sam pointed directly to the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges that plague contemporary headship:
“There’s a huge recruitment and retention crisis of heads, and it’s one of the biggest within the sector shortage areas… Headship’s the one that kind of sticks out as a bit of an island in many regards.”
Sam’s book was born out of a desire to create something genuinely supportive for those stepping into the hot seat, helping them “circumvent some of the training that actually isn’t there.” He observed that formal leadership pathways often lack the raw, practical reality of what it means to lead a school day-to-day. The ambition behind his writing is to help colleagues “feel a bit more comfortable in their own skin about being a head,” focusing on big-ticket themes that sound like common sense but are incredibly easy to lose sight of amidst competing school priorities.
The seven pillars of effective headship
During the podcast, Amy and Sam referenced the structure of Is Leadership a Race?, which is broken down into seven fundamental need-to-know chapters. These pillars provide a framework for reflection that traditional, tick-box leadership training often misses:
- Chapter 1: Know who you are.
- Chapter 2: Understand what leadership means.
- Chapter 3: Know and respect your context (a vital element under current inspection frameworks).
- Chapter 4: Know, respect, and support your people.
- Chapter 5: Positively drive behaviour.
- Chapter 6: Focus on the curriculum.
- Chapter 7: Build your own culture.
Amy noted that these pillars form a core reference point for her own senior team at Academy21, serving as a reminder that strong leadership begins internally before it can be projected externally onto an organisation.
The evolution of a leader: From 'doing' to 'empowering'
One of the most valuable portions of the conversation centred around how a leader’s self-awareness and emotional intelligence develop over time. Sam’s own career started as a history trainee under Christine Counsell, moving through head of department and lead practitioner roles, and eventually stepping into senior leadership.
He recalled a pivotal moment early in his career when he was appointed as an Assistant Headteacher and Director of Sixth Form. During his very first mentoring session with a wise deputy headteacher, he received a piece of advice that altered his entire professional outlook: “She sat me down, and she said… ‘Leadership is no longer about doing. It is about how you bring about the best in others.”
Sam admitted that while a certain “professional naivety” initially made him question the advice, it proved entirely accurate. As leaders climb the ladder, their remit shifts away from individual output towards adult-to-adult interactions, systems management, and strategic orchestration.
Amy echoed this sentiment, emphasising that leadership is a continuous journey of evolution rather than a destination:
"Nobody is ready. There isn't a tick-box list that says... 'I am ready now, and I'm the finished article.' Because the reality of school leadership in particular is that we evolve to the emerging needs of our context as well."
Whether responding to shifting student needs, curriculum reforms, or developments within multi-academy trusts, successful leaders must remain curious, humble, and open to continuous learning.
Shaping an educational and leadership philosophy
When prompted by Amy to summarise his educational and leadership philosophy into a few core principles, Sam outlined a multifaceted framework built on accountability, agility, and high expectations.
- Leading by example
A leader cannot expect others to do what they are unwilling to model themselves. For Sam, this means maintaining the ability to stand in a classroom, manage major safeguarding incidents directly, and make the difficult, high-stakes decisions when required.
- Professional agility
Education is inherently unpredictable. Leaders must possess the capacity to pivot “on the turn of a sixpence” to manage unexpected structural, financial, or political shifts without losing their legal or ethical bearings.
- Simple, transparent messaging
While the internal strategic thinking behind school improvement is often highly complex, the outward narration to staff, parents, and pupils must be clear and accessible. If messaging becomes overly dense or bureaucratic, you risk losing your community’s buy-in due to cognitive overload.
- Unwavering belief in people
Creating the optimal professional development climate, support mechanisms, and working conditions for staff is non-negotiable. When staff feel supported, they are better equipped to provide high-quality education.
- High outcomes and life chances
At the heart of everything sits the child. Sam firmly believes in driving outcomes because they serve as “the life chances… the keys that unlock the doors to the next thing they’re going to go on to do with themselves.”
Weathering the storm: Navigating the 'day four' crisis
Every leader faces unexpected curveballs, but Sam’s description of his first week as Principal at The Duston School serves as a masterclass in crisis management. Walking into a single academy trust that was highly vulnerable, Sam faced a truly apocalyptic scenario just four days into his tenure:
- A projected Progress 8 score of -1.8.
- An average Year 10 pupil grade of 2.7.
- Over 100 pupils routinely truant from lessons and walking the corridors.
- A looming £500,000 deficit spend.
- A third of the teaching staff leaving the school.
To top it all off, on day four, his PA informed him that Ofsted would be arriving the very next morning, closely followed by a root-and-branch DfE inspection notice. Sam candidly shared the emotional toll of that day:
“I remember driving home that night and getting home, and my dad phoned me, and he asked me, ‘How’s my new job going?’ And I’m not much of a crier… but this was one of them where I sobbed on my dad on the phone.”
However, he knew he had to gather himself for the morning ahead. To guide his school through the storm, he had to project confidence, back his own capabilities, and remain entirely true to his values. Amy drew an excellent parallel here using a brilliant aviation analogy:
"People are looking to you as a leader in times of crisis. They're a little bit like on an aeroplane - if there's turbulence, you look to the cabin crew to see if they're panicking or not. It's very similar in education. If you're calm and you're reassured and you have a plan and you elude confidence, then hopefully things go smoothly."
The Johari Window: A tool for shifting perspectives
The final segment of the highlights focused on page 27 of Sam’s book, which introduces the Johari Window as a model for leadership reflection. This cognitive tool splits self-awareness into four distinct quadrants:
Sam explained that as a leader grows in experience and confidence, the size and composition of these windows change. When you first start, your “blind spots” or “hidden areas” might be large. Over time, as your leadership traits embed, your reactions become routinised norms.
He advised new leaders to use this tool termly to evaluate their communication styles: Are you wearing your heart on your sleeve too much, or are you coming across as too robotic and steely? Striking the right balance requires a willingness to seek feedback and accept gentle nudges from trusted colleagues about how your presence affects the wider school climate.
Leadership isn’t a race
Ultimately, this episode highlighted that leadership isn’t a race to a finish line; it is a marathon of continuous adaptation, self-reflection, and systemic support. By prioritising self-awareness, leading by example, and maintaining an unwavering focus on student outcomes, leaders can successfully steer their schools through even the most turbulent waters.
We would like to extend our thanks to Sam Strickland for sharing his invaluable experiences and to our Executive Headteacher, Amy Husband, for leading such an insightful, timely discussion.
