A note before we start.

If you are new to this mailing list - welcome! You can find past editions of these ‘mindful letters’ on the Practical Guidance page of the website including how to savour joy, be kind to yourself and find resilience in the world of school leadership. But for now, let’s turn to today…

Workin' the whole day through
Tryin' to find lots of things not to do
We're busy goin' nowhere

Bing Crosby

The unease with “getting back to normal”

As we start to ease restrictions here in the UK that, and much else we have yearned for, will start to feel commonplace. Children no longer have to wear face masks in school. Can we take a moment to savour how it feels to see their faces again?

School leaders I am working with have commented that the world seems to have suddenly sped up, and because they are adaptive and resilient - so have they. But they feel caught on the horns of a dilemma. On one side is the tug often from parents, staff and governors to “get back to normal”. On the other, a deep sense of unease to rush into this, wary of getting caught up in busy-ness once again. As Darren an Executive Principal in Rochdale said to me this week '“as school leaders we get into the habit of moving through the day like a knight in shining armour" ticking off our to-do list, moving from task to task, meeting to meeting, conversation to conversation. In truth this busy-ness makes us feel safe, useful, in control and yes – as if we are fulfilling what’s required of a “leader”.

But if we are to lead our teams beyond COVID-19 then resisting that pull to snap back to “normal”, to be “busy”, is vital. Here’s how Mindfulness can help.

How Mindfulness can help.

I have never forgotten something one amazing school leader said to me 5 years ago -

“I want my school to be a place fit to house the human spirit.”

That seems to me to be a moral and bold ambition for our times but how can we achieve this if we are rushing around, speeding through days, barely coming up for air?

The practice of Mindfulness helps us to deliberately slow down. Now - it’s important to note - slowing down is not resting. It’s not a closing down. It’s an opening up, an act of renewal. An opportunity to be more connected to our purpose, to be more present, to know more and to stay rooted. To reconsider and reimagine the world we want to lead. To give ourselves space to shape the legacy we want to leave.

Slowing down as a leader is not lazy - it’s heroic and courageous. It is the greatest leadership act we can take right now.

Here’s how…

A note on this practices. These are very simply an opportunity for you to try a practice and see what happens without expectation. Self judgment and doubt may arise in thoughts such as “am I doing this right?” or “I am not sure this is for me”. Notice these thoughts and, as best you can, be curious, be kind to yourself and let them go!

Pause in…

Pause in the day;

When the world speeds up our minds speed up also and our tendency is to live even more in the future, thinking about that which has not yet happened.

So take a moment to pause and check in with yourself by asking ‘where is my body, and where is my mind right now?’ Can I stand and breathe and focus only on what I am seeing and hearing right now? The sounds from a classroom. My surroundings as a I wait for a meeting to start. Micro moments of pause and taking a breath, if only for a second, will help you ground yourself in the present moment - which is in the fact the only moment you have in which to lead.

Pause in conversation;

As school leaders, our days are often built on discussions that take place at speed. Try taking one of these conversations and slowing it down slightly, allowing pause and silence, giving time and space for others to speak, resisting the urge to interrupt. This will help to be feel fully connected with the individual or group we are engaging with and most probably lead to a better outcome.

Pause in a moment of decision;

We are creatures of habit. We hear what we want to hear, we see what we want to see. When we feel pressed for time our human response is to close down the amount of information available to us – we wear our leadership blinkers and look straight ahead. As the world speeds up we have a tendency to lean into what we know, draw on our (always insufficient ) knowledge and make a quick decision. 

Try instead pausing and asking; what’s really going on here? What more do I need to know? What assumptions am I making that might be limiting my awareness?’ Open yourself up to wondering.

If you have time to go further, why not listen to a podcast from Haenim Sunim? He worte ‘The things you can only see when you slow down’ and explores how those things that make us happy are experienced more fully when we slow down.

A poem to leave you with…

Want to develop your leadership practice further?

Just head to the Courses page of the website! Here you’ll discover bespoke courses suited to the needs of you and your team, designed to help build resilience, find gratitude and better serve the teachers and children in your school.

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Maggie
maggie@maggiefarrar.co.uk