Our Managers within our schools shape and influence the way in which our departments and teams interact with pupils, parents and each other. We cannot underestimate the importance of training our Head of Faculty, Department or Year and House Parents in how to lead and manage their people.

Synergia bring a thorough and proven understanding of how to develop leadership excellence.

The fact that the Synergia team include retired Heads and Organisation Development experts, ensures the development of a robust Leadership Development Programme.

managing self

Each programme is tailored to the school requirements and the module can include the following:

Managing Self

Developing our own emotional intelligence, understanding our resilience and how to ensure we are at our best.

Managing Others

What does it take to be an effective team and how well do we understand the person preference and how we motivate and recognise their achievements to enable them to be at their best within the workplace.

Managing Performance

Starts with ensuring that each person understands what is required of them with their role from day one. Enabling these conversations to bring a constructive, future-focused developmental approach that encourages ownership and accountability.

Thus laying this strong foundation at the beginning of their leadership leads to reduced performance issues later in their employment.

Finding the time in the school timetable to conduct 1-2-1s aswell as team meetings is a challenge that can reap significant benefits to team management.

Synergia can help Leaders to help to find and establish these routines.

Creating Enabling Conversations

It’s important that we have the correct mindset when approaching these conversations, (hence the reason for the title, enabling conversations rather than difficult conversations).

Throughout this training we use personality profiles to understand how different people approach conflict scenarios. We train course participants in how to structure discussions using such techniques as:

  • Coaching
  • Re-framing
  • PINs (Position, Interests, Needs)

Change Management

Everyone’s approach to change is different and it’s our personality that shapes our reaction to change alongside our experience we have had. Using personality profiling tools we enable/encourage course participants to develop a stronger self-awareness of the impact change has on them and their team. This then shapes how they can manage a change programme to enable their team to work effectively through challenging times.

This will include basics around how to communicate the change to individuals, teams and organisations. All the while, considering personality preferences for communication.

We will follow this up by looking at a change process based on Kotter’s work; focusing on looking for clarity of vision, quick-wins and how to embed the change.

Coaching

This is the foundation of any effective leader or manager. The ability to ask questions and listen effectively is a crucial skill that is transferable from the leader to their team.

During this one-day programme we cover:

  • Emotional intelligence
  • Empathetic listening
  • Curious questioning
  • Transformational feedback
  • Building rapport and trust

All key skills that can enable a leader to engage with their teams authentically and effectively to enable the team to be productive.

Project Management

Ensuring that the schools projects, however large or small are implemented effectively with clear plans around:

  • Time
  • Cost
  • Quality

This can transform projects and their effective implementation for the school.

Problem Solving and Creative Thinking

When we face a problem we want to ensure we only have to solve problems once, however, we find ourselves working under significant time pressures which encourages us to find a sticking plaster for the problem, rather than a true solution.

Dedicating creative thinking and problem-solving techniques within an organisation encourages questioning and determination to solve problems fully.

Resilience

Enabling ourselves to be our best, both at home and at work requires a strong understanding of ourselves. With tools to review our:

  • Sleep patterns
  • Dietary requirements
  • Exercise patterns
  • Mindset – specifically developing a Growth mindset

These activities can help us to review our daily, weekly and monthly habits and establish approaches which set ourselves up for success.

We can cover other topics also, that may not necessarily be listed above.

To design and tailor your own Leadership Development Programme for your school, please contact Clare on 01785 711593.