What is a leadership story?
Teachers who aspire to take on leadership roles in the schools are often encouraged to craft their application with compelling leadership stories. But what exactly is a leadership story, and why is it so crucial for aspiring leaders? In this article, we will delve into the significance of leadership stories and how they can be a game-changer for teachers aiming to advance their careers. So what exactly is a leadership story?
What is a Leadership Story?
A leadership story is not just a narrative; it's a powerful tool that illustrates how you have led improvement or change initiatives in your educational environment. These stories should highlight your contributions in ways that benefit both students and staff. Leadership stories are essentially accounts of your actions and impact as a leader, showcasing your ability to collaborate with colleagues and drive positive change.
Why do you need leadership stories?
Applications: One key reason you need leadership stories is to craft compelling job applications. Whether you're applying for a promotion, a leadership position, or even a teaching role, demonstrating your leadership abilities through stories is essential.
Interviews: Additionally, leadership stories are invaluable during interviews. When you share your experiences in a well-structured narrative, you not only exhibit your skills but also engage your interviewers, making a lasting impression.
I'm going to use the word audience often in this blog because the person you're interacting with may be a reader or a listener of your story.
What makes a good leadership story?
A good leadership story is a clearly articulated narrative about how you lead staff to fix a "problem" occurring at a student level, with data showing the problem improved because of the actions taken by you and the staff.
The "problem" is in an area of priority for the school/department and relevant to the job description and selection criteria for the role.
If you can't make a leadership story out of a situation, it’s because it’s an example of being a good manager, rather than a leader. In a school leadership role, at any level, our roles are made of management and leadership. Management is a set of tasks that you do to keep everything running. Leading are actions that may not have frequent reoccurrence but do move an agenda item forward.
A leadership story is a story about improvement, thereby moving an agenda item forward. That agenda item can be on the school strategic improvement plan, it can be building a team’s culture or specific improvement your team has identified.
Human brains love stories.
Before humans could write, we communicated vital information through stories around the campfire. Stories are a fundamental tool for sharing information, conveying lessons from the past, and ensuring our safety in the future. We have evolved to love stories.
A strong narrative takes the audience on a journey with you. You get drawn in. The story has a beginning middle and end. There is something to learn or an outcome at the end of the story.
When we are listening to or reading a story, the brain is looking for points where the story is relevant to them. It asks, "How does this apply to me?". The panel will be engaging with your story, looking for points where they can see you are leading and driving improvement so you can get the role.
Backstory is key
Often people in applications and interviews jump straight into what they did so that they can demonstrate their leadership actions. It can feel like an application needs to show the reader everything you can do. In an interview, you need to convince the people on the panel that you are the best candidate, so you need to spend more time on 'selling' yourself. Doing this will allow the reader or panel to see you have the skills to lead but leave them clueless as to why you did what you did.
Why was this story about your leadership project important to tell?
Context is key. As with any good story, the backstory is the important context the audience needs. Setting the scene for the audience and filling in the gaps as to the relevance of the job you're interviewing for.
Without a backstory in your application or interview, you are not taking the audience with you on the journey. Without the context, your leadership actions may sound amazing, but without the backstory, your audience may not see the connection between what they need and your skills. So you'll end up undervaluing yourself and potentially, missing out on the role.
Balancing the leadership in the story narrative
A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Whilst you are telling a story, you are not doing it in the structure of a short story. Because of the short work or page limit you have, the STAR(P) model will help you tell your story.
The beginning of the story is the same as the Situation and Tasks in the STAR(P) model. This is the backstory part of your narrative.
In the middle of your story are the actions you took to lead this project.
The end is the results you reached at the end. It's the impact your leadership had on the outcomes of the staff and students.
So in conclusion, a leadership story
- Is about how you lead staff to make an improvement in student outcomes.
- Is important for your application and interview.
- Follows a narrative to bring the audience on a journey with you.
- Provides context and relevance for the role you want.