#SLTinfluencers
It's 3.45 pm, and the team are assembling for the weekly SLT meeting. It has been a long, difficult day but you have been waiting to share your thoughts on the new policy that was emailed out by the Head.
Before the meeting formally commences, discussions begin, sparked by the latest staffing crisis or student issue and numerous tangential conversations follow. The chatter is brought to an end and Item 1 on the agenda is launched in earnest.
Getting your point of view across during SLT meetings isn’t always easy. Unfortunately, at times, discussions and decisions are more heavily influenced by personalities and relationships than the merit of the argument. However, there are some tactics you can employ to ensure that your voice is heard.
Senior leadership roles and responsibilities are often well defined (particularly in larger schools). Therefore, it can be challenging when seeking to bring about change in an area that you do not lead. Despite being part of a ‘team’ with collective responsibility, senior leaders can become extremely territorial. Admittedly, when faced with what I perceived as criticism, I have been guilty of reactionary defensiveness. I have also made the error of raising an issue in a style that more closely resembled a complaint. On these occasions, I lacked the forethought required to consider how my message would be received and who specifically I needed to influence.
I recently spoke to a senior leader who had identified issues with the timetable but feared this sort of negative response from a colleague. I suggested presenting the problem and its implications and then inviting team members to suggest and discuss solutions. In my experience, working shoulder to shoulder with colleagues on a common problem is far better than going head-to-head.
The below phrases are suggestions on how you can raise issues and work towards solutions in a manner that builds trust, encourages collaboration and ensures a commitment to action.
'I am finding that...'
'does anyone have any suggestions for...'
'we can all agree that we want X but at present, X is preventing this...'
'who has capacity to ensure that X happens'
'X are you able to ensure that this is in place by X'
Give some of these a go, it might feel slightly robotic or artificial at first, but that’s all part of the learning process.
Do you have any go to phrases that get the desired effect?
What do you find most challenging about SLT meetings?