Explore every episode of the podcast The Independent School Podcast with Juliet Corbett
Dive into the complete episode list for The Independent School Podcast with Juliet Corbett. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
Rows per page:
50
1–50 of 189
Title
Pub. Date
Duration
Leading through complexity: Conversations to spark your best thinking (Ep. 177)
05 Dec 2025
00:14:30
In this episode of The Independent School Podcast, Juliet Corbett returns to the microphone for a new series focused on real-world leadership in independent and international schools.
Juliet shares how her thinking has evolved over recent years through her work as a trusted advisor to experienced leaders, and her episodes of the Quiet Leadership Revolution podcast. She also introduces the ideas she has been developing for a book she's writing about leading sustainably through complexity and uncertainty.
Juliet explores three themes that will shape this new season:
Staying strategic amidst the daily bustle of leadership: Creating space to think clearly when operational demands never stop
Making high-stakes decisions in uncertainty and complexity: Understanding the difference between complicated and complex challenges
Creating and empowering high-performing teams: Building cultures of trust, clarity and shared ownership so leaders are not carrying everything alone
Juliet also offers a preview of the first interviews already recorded, including conversations with Louise Simpson (CEO, The British School in the Netherlands), Charles Bailey (Headmaster, Worksop College and Ranby House, UK) and Joanna Povall (Principal, Wales International School, Abu Dhabi).
This episode sets the scene for a thoughtful, reflective series designed to help leaders slow down, sharpen their focus and navigate complexity with clarity and courage.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
174: Solving for Value for Money
28 Mar 2024
00:28:00
Leaders in independent schools are having to make some hard decisions at the moment, especially those in the UK facing the possible addition of VAT to school fees.
Some of these decisions could be classified as ‘wicked’ - defined as a problem where multiple stakeholders want different, sometimes contradictory, outcomes.
In the last episode Juliet explored how NASA approaches this type of problem, drawing out lessons for school leaders.
In this episode Juliet explores further the three questions we finished with last time:
What ‘wicked’ problems are you trying to solve, and what contradictory outcomes do the stakeholder want that makes them wicked?
What system do you have in place to brainstorm new ways of doing things, anticipate knock-on consequences and rapidly revise the plans?
Are you and your team ready to embrace change that might feel hard?
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
165: My Solution to Overwhelm
23 Nov 2023
00:15:53
When overwhelm strikes me it feels like lots of bees buzzing around my head, each reminding me to do something, and a building sense of worry that I’m not going to get it all done.
While many of us don't talk about it openly, it's normal to feel occasionally overwhelmed. But if you're having this feeling frequently then that's not a fun way to live.
The key for me lies in doing one thing at a time. Research has shown that multitasking is not as effective as we often believe. So one way you could overcome overwhelm is to focus on tackling tasks sequentially, giving each one your undivided attention. Listen in for some more ideas to help you explore what works for you.
Key lessons from this episode:
1) Each person's experience of overwhelm and their solution to it will be unique.
2) Not everyone may use the term "overwhelm", but it is a common feeling among leaders.
3) I invite you to try out the three steps that work for me: 1: Get out of my head; 2: Prioritise; 3: Do one thing at a time.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
075: Bursaries and partnerships in the spotlight
17 Mar 2022
00:20:51
Join me in this episode for a round-up of the Bursaries and Partnerships Conference on 8th March 2022, hosted by HMC, AGBIS and IDPE.
I walk you through some of the themes that emerged from the conference and leave you with my main takeaway: We all have to start this journey somewhere. Don't give up - keep learning, keep sharing and together we'll make an impact.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
074: How to help the people of Ukraine with Emma Insley (Ukraine crisis mini-series 2)
16 Mar 2022
00:17:12
We're all watching Putin's invasion of Ukraine with horror and compassion for those directly impacted.
In my role as a school strategist, I support leaders to both secure their school’s future and help build a more equal and just world. Because of these values, I will be sharing a mini-series of special podcast episodes to help you navigate the wider impact this crisis will have on your school and provide relevant resources to support you as you lead your school community to help those affected.
In this episode I'm joined by Emma Insley, an international consultant and trainer who helps charities and social enterprises to achieve a sustained impact. We discuss how your school can help the people of Ukraine.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
We're all watching Putin's invasion of Ukraine with horror and compassion for those directly impacted.
In my role as a school strategist, I support leaders to both secure their school’s future and help build a more equal and just world. Because of these values, I will be sharing a mini-series of special podcast episodes to help you navigate the wider impact this crisis will have on your school and provide relevant resources to support you as you lead your school community to help those affected.
In this episode, drawing on my experience and economics degree, I quickly run through the main economic issues we are facing as we experience the largest-ever use of sanctions and enter into unknown economic territory.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
072: [Replay] Community partnerships fundraising with Emily Clarke, Director of Development, Highgate School
10 Mar 2022
00:44:47
As we had the Bursaries and Partnerships Conference run by HMC, AGBIS and IDPE in London earlier this week, I thought it would be apt to re-share one of my most popular episodes around the topic.
In this episode, I talk to Emily Clarke, Director of Development at Highgate School, about fundraising for community partnerships.
Expanding on previous episodes about the building blocks of bursary strategy and my exploration of the real situation schools face getting bursaries established in my conversation with Bart Wielenga, the Head of Blundell's School, I move on to considering community partnerships.
This is an area that is potentially rich for fundraising opportunities, and the work Emily Clarke has been doing is an excellent illustration of this.
I also ask Emily about the fundraising journey Highgate has been on during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they have adjusted their fundraising to serve the increased need for support in their local community.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
071: Your strategy blueprint
03 Mar 2022
00:18:13
No one can tell you what your strategy should be, but there are critical components all strategies must have to be robust.
In this episode, I walk you through the four critical components that make a good strategy.
I also signpost you to lots of other episodes if you want to explore each area further.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
070: Your school's unique selling point
24 Feb 2022
00:17:19
In this episode, I discuss USPs (Unique Selling Points) which are features of your school that makes it stand out from the crowd. In such a competitive marketplace, identifying your school's USP is highly beneficial.
I start by detailing the key components of a good USP and the pain points that many schools encounter when trying to define theirs.
I then discuss the value of USPs and why they are worth pursuing and defining.
Finally, I conclude by sharing how you can find your school's USP and how you can utilise your school community to identify the emotion-driven aspects of your school that really make you stand out.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
069: Demystifying strategy
17 Feb 2022
00:20:15
In this episode, I strip away the jargon surrounding strategy and discuss what it actually is at its core. I share five statements that I believe summarise a good strategy and share key questions that all effective strategies will answer.
Discussions around strategy can often be confusing or overwhelming, the questions below should help you cut through the jargon and make your discussions more strategic.
There are five essential elements that I believe should be considered when developing a successful strategy. 1. It should take a long-term view, beyond the day to day tasks. 2. It should make tough choices about allocating scarce resources. 3. The main challenges you face need to be addressed. 4. It needs to be thoroughly developed and have a clear outcome. 5. It should be implemented in everyday school life.
These five essential elements and the key questions below should help to demystify and bring focus to your strategic plan. You can use these prompts to guide conversations surrounding strategy to ensure that all of the questions are able to be answered.
References and Resources
Key questions
How do these decisions position us for the longer term?
Is this the right place for us to focus our scarce time and money, and also are there better alternatives that we could be using this time and money for?
What is the problem we are trying to solve? What is the problem where this idea is the right solution?
Have we spent an appropriate amount of time considering the evidence on this issue? How can we communicate this decision or strategy clearly to people?
How can we encourage people to take the right decisions themselves?
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
068: Is your strategy disputable?
10 Feb 2022
00:10:33
In this episode, I discuss how you can interrogate your school's strategy to ensure it is disputable. Most people may think that a strategy should be accepted by all and so aim to please everyone with it. However, I often see ones that try to do too much and end up not making the tough decisions.
One way you can ensure your strategy is addressing the tough issues, is to ask if anyone would disagree with it? I discuss the idea of having a disputable strategy and how this can stop you from avoiding those tough decisions.
This means that it should be open to question and debate.
You want your strategy to have some people disagreeing. You want it to be disputable as evidence of the difficult decisions that you have taken during that strategy development.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
067: Divergent thinking
03 Feb 2022
00:17:57
In this episode, I dive into divergent thinking.
Divergent thinking is a stage in the strategic thinking process where you are intentionally creating lots of ideas without judgement. Many schools want to harness innovation and encourage creativity and this is a great tool to utilise for this.
I start by discussing how you can create an environment for divergent thinking to thrive and have narrowed it down into three areas: 1. Ensure there is diversity within your discussions 2. Separate divergent and convergent thinking 3. Make people feel safe to contribute
Once you have created the right environment for divergent thinking, you need to know how to generate the right conversations. I explore the three questions you can ask yourself to help guide divergent thinking.
If you are trying to increase the amount of innovation or just encourage change within your school, having a focus on this divergent thinking stage can really be helpful to supercharge your strategic thinking around certain issues.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
066: Endowment bursary fundraising with Susie Baker, Director of Waynflete Office, Magdalen College School, Oxford
27 Jan 2022
00:43:53
In this episode, I am joined by Susie Baker, Director of Waynflete Office, Magdalen College School, Oxford. We discuss a whole range of fundraising issues around bursaries and particularly focus on the shift from fundraising for immediate bursaries to endowment fundraising.
Susie has raised £3 million to build a sixth form centre and is now working towards an impressive goal of £15 million, specifically for endowment to secure the future provision of bursaries.
We discuss how to build effective partnerships with donors to make them feel that they are truly playing a role in the school's success.
The key to this is being transparent in letting them know where their donation is going and the difference it is making within the school community.
We also talk about the power of storytelling in a fundraising campaign and how it can compel people to get behind your cause and become donors. This emotional narrative can be used to tell stories from different parts of your community and how the fundraising is impacting them.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
164: Fundraising Campaigns: Breaking the Rules
16 Nov 2023
00:24:05
This is the second in my two-part series about Fundraising Campaigns, and in this episode it’s all about breaking the rules!
Having discussed the five essential phases of a campaign last week, this time I’m taking you a step further to explore how these phases can be adjusted. Warning! Some caution is needed in breaking these rules, so listen in to hear more.
Key Lessons from the episode:
1) The best practice structure for fundraising campaigns includes distinct phases: planning, feasibility, quiet, public and stewardship.
2) If you're going to innovate with this structure then you need to understand the strategic role played by each phase.
3) For example: The planning phase helps you clarify your fundraising priorities; the feasibly phase ensures that you listen to the views of prospective donors; and the quiet phase encourages you to focus first on those capable of giving leadership gifts.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
065: What happens in a strategy void
20 Jan 2022
00:14:53
In this episode I discuss the implications of not having a strategy.
Having a strategy will tell you where to place your focus, what you're going to do and what you're not going to do.
A strategic void often occurs when either there is a lack of strategy altogether or when there is a strategy but lacks focus and direction.
More and more schools now realise that strategic plans are essential for their schools to succeed and progress. They need to be written and created in a way that involves lots of people to ensure that it is put into action.
I then explore the three most common things that happen in a strategy void.
Good people get frustrated with the lack of direction and vision
Good people create their own direction, often through guess-work
Everyone else sticks to the status quo, repeating what's happened before without questioning it
This can be really harmful to your school, not least because you risk losing good people due to frustration.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
064: Creating an impactful case for support
13 Jan 2022
00:17:41
In this episode I discuss how you can create a case for support, which is the narrative surrounding your fundraising project. It tells people what you are hoping to achieve with your fundraising and why they should care.
Your case for support is an internal working document where you put all of the relevant information about your fundraising project - anything from testimonials, to raw facts and figures and any targets/ timescales you want to achieve.
I share three ways to create an impactful case for support for any fundraising project:
1. Why is this project strategically important for your school? Brainstorm all connections to your strategic plan
2. What do people care about? Think of the stakeholders: What's important to them? What questions will they ask?
3. Balance rational data and the emotional narrative
Your case for support should detail the importance of your fundraising goals for your school's strategy and to the stakeholders involved. Storytelling can be really effective in getting this message across, particularly if it has an emotional pull to grab attention.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
063: Mastering Key Performance Indicators
06 Jan 2022
00:13:56
In this episode, I discuss KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that are used to measure the success of various activities which are undertaken across schools. But they're also often detached from the strategy or measuring things for the sake of it, rather than being aligned with strategy.
Firstly, I explore why KPIs matter and why they can be beneficial for schools. KPIs influence behaviour and allow you to measure progress on projects. They are a great way to guide where focus should be placed and see how effective the strategy as it's being implemented.
It is important that your KPIs are aligned with your strategy, otherwise, they will not be indicating success in the right way. I share the three areas you need to think about when constructing KPIs.
1. They need to measure outcomes that you actually care about 2. They should measure outcomes across the stakeholder groups that you work with 3. They need to cover all parts of the strategy from the big goals to the smaller ground-level aspects
When you are thinking about KPIs, you are looking for simplicity, focus on the things that are actually really important this year for your school and to make sure that what gets measured, gets done.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
062: Craft your 2022 strategy
30 Dec 2021
00:12:39
In this episode, I discuss how you can develop an effective strategy that is easy to implement, to set yourself up for success in 2022.
Each year I create a strategy for myself and I want to share the four steps that I use to help you craft a strategy for yourself/ your work and how you balance the two.
The first step is to visualise where you want to be at the end of 2022. It's good to get a balance, you don't want to be overly ambitious and want to change everything all at once but also don't be afraid to dream big.
The second step is to evaluate your accelerators and sticking points. Start by looking at what already exists that will help drive you forward to achieve your goals. Then think about what is holding you back and preventing you from making changes.
The third step is to really focus on your accelerators, think about how you can use them to overcome your sticking points. Aim for an achievable list of 3-5 general goals.
The fourth and final step is your action plan, break your goals down into achievable steps and allocate them to each month/quarter to stop you from feeling overwhelmed. Make sure these link back to your 3-5 main goals.
These steps are part of my Four Building Blocks of Strategy which I use in my work with clients and on whole-school strategies.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
061: Sharing gratitude
17 Dec 2021
00:11:49
In this episode, I reflect on 2021 and share my gratitude for those who listen to this podcast, my fantastic guests and the many wonderful clients that I have had the pleasure of working with.
I also discuss the role that gratitude has in both leadership and fundraising - it is a critically important element of both.
Within leadership, a good leader will be authentic and involved with the community they are leading. Part of this is showing gratitude to those who have played a role in your success. This can be beneficial as it fosters teamwork and co-operation but above all, it shows you care.
Within fundraising, it is always good practice to thank those who have donated. Thanking them authentically and publically makes your donors feel seen and as a valued part of your community.
It all comes down to being mindful about the way we interact with those around us and taking the time to appreciate the people and things you are grateful for.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
060: Social mobility with David Goodhew, Head, Latymer Upper School
16 Dec 2021
00:36:59
In this episode I am joined by David Goodhew, Head of Latymer Upper School, to talk about what they have been doing to advance social mobility.
David is committed to advancing social mobility and has been doing so through his school's impressive bursary programme.
David talks about the Inspiring Minds campaign, launched in 2017, which aims to raise £40 million by 2024. The campaign will offer means-tested bursaries to 1 in 4 pupils, and they are almost at their target with three years still to go. Their mission is to open up access to the school as much as possible, to pupils from all socio-economic backgrounds.
We then talk about education, not just in the sense of formal learning but the social side of it. A school enables young people to interact with their peers and learn life lessons in the company of others. David and I discuss how hugely beneficial it is to do this within a diverse group of peers.
Latymer Upper School is a great example of a school that has developed its bursary programme as part of a real partnership with the local community. They not only offer bursary places at the school but are also proactively partnering with other schools and community groups to offer catch-up tutoring and activity days for local children.
A real sense of partnership and authenticity emerge from my conversation with David Goodhew, along with inspiration for any school just starting out on their bursary and partnerships journey.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
059: Turning strategy into action
09 Dec 2021
00:15:56
In this episode, I discuss turning strategy into action. Taking action is the essential ingredient of any good strategy. The best strategy in the world will make no difference if no action or inconsistent action is taken.
I start by talking about the three things that often go wrong in strategy implementation.
The first thing that often goes wrong is that strategy conversations are focused around the wrong thing. I talk about the importance of ensuring that the focus is on the things that actually matter to the school community.
The second thing I discuss is the lack of agreement on which action to take or lack of agreement to take any action at all. This can result in strategy discussions going round in circles without resulting in any agreement.
The third thing that often goes wrong is that strategy conversations end too soon, never resulting in any action. One thing that you can do to combat this is to end a strategy conversation with agreed next steps with allocated people, resources and timeframes.
It is so important to follow strategy all the way through with action points to ensure that it is properly implemented so that it can have the greatest impact.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
058: Don't wait to make your (strategic) move
02 Dec 2021
00:14:08
In this episode, I discuss how many of us wait to make strategic moves as we believe that they are conditional on other tasks being completed first. This conditional thinking often constrains actions and prevents us from moving forward, completely unnecessarily.
I talk about examples I have come across where individuals and schools as a whole are waiting to take action because they don’t believe they are in the ideal position.
One example I discuss is a school saying that they will think about innovation once they have more financial resources. But what happens if they never believe they have enough financial resources... they will never innovate and perhaps innovation is a key step to creating more financial resources.
These pre-conditions can prevent us from ever taking action. In this episode, I share how you can spot these false conditions, act strategically and avoid procrastination.
To not wait to take strategic action you should-
Spot its happening
Question whether the second thing actually needs to wait
Ask yourself ‘is there something else holding me back?’
Unless it is absolutely necessary, don’t wait to take action. Step outside of your comfort zone and make changes that will benefit you.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
057: Pushing beyond your comfort zone
25 Nov 2021
00:16:46
In this episode, I discuss the idea of stepping out of your comfort zone and how you can push beyond the things that you already do well. Stepping out of your comfort zone is not exclusive to individuals, it can also play out at the organisational level when implementing strategic changes.
I start by using examples of times when I have come across individuals and even whole schools who are stuck in their comfort zone. Innovation and change can be scary but they are so important to driving growth within the school environment.
I then share three actions that I believe will help you to step outside your comfort zone.
1. Notice it's happening 2. Get curious and figure out what is holding you back 3. Take small, regular actions, gather feedback and reflect
It is normal to be fearful about changes you could be making that are beyond your comfort zone. In this episode, I hope to unpack the importance of stepping beyond what you already do well and challenge yourself to embrace innovation and change.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
056: Governance and international business development with Elizabeth Clarke
19 Nov 2021
00:47:17
In this episode, I am joined by Elizabeth Clarke of EJC Educational Consultancy, who has an impressive twenty years of experience in leading, managing, creating and implementing business strategies for schools in the independent sector, both in the UK and globally.
Firstly, we talk about governance - a really important issue for independent schools to master. Having the right governors, with a diverse range of experience, is a great start but we discuss how it is possible to fully involve governors in strategic direction, whilst not involving them too much in operational issues.
We then discuss international business development and how schools can franchise and create global partnership networks with other independent schools.
Both of these are essential points for schools to consider as they intertwine. For a school to break into the international market, governors need to have a strong mission-driven strategy for this to be a success.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
163: Fundraising Campaigns: Structure Best Practice
09 Nov 2023
00:24:36
This is the first in my two-part series about Fundraising Campaigns. In this episode, I speak about how to structure a campaign over multiple phases to maximise the opportunity for success.
Whether you're new to school fundraising or looking for advanced strategies, this two-part series has got you covered. Next week, we will take a deeper dive into some more advanced topics, including when you can 'break the rules'.
Some Key Takeaways: 1. To maximise the opportunity for success in a campaign, experienced fundraisers use distinct phases: Planning, feasibility, quiet, public and stewardship phases.
2. Cultivating relationships with major donors is crucial for successful fundraising campaigns. So the phases are structured to focus on major gift conversations first.
3. Generating excitement in the whole community is a great way to finish off a campaign, but if you go public too early you risk the success of the campaign.
4. Sometimes you can 'break the rules' of the standard campaign phases, but only if you understand the underlying principles of the best practice approach first.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
055: Vision: Why it matters which mountain you climb
11 Nov 2021
00:17:23
In this episode, I use an analogy to explore the importance of cohesion and consistency when developing a strategy for your school.
Many of the strategies you are presented with will have merit and potential but as the school leader, you must ensure that whatever strategy you choose to pursue has a clear vision, set of values and direction.
I also discuss how a confused and inconsistent approach to strategy can leave prospective parents feeling unsure of what your school's values and priorities are, meaning they are less likely to choose your school.
The key message I share is the importance of togetherness, engaging your whole school community to decide which strategy to employ and how you want to implement it.
This episode uses a storytelling technique to help cut through the jargon and help you visualise the purpose of a strategy.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
054: Wise strategy: Using intuition
04 Nov 2021
00:19:07
In this episode, I talk about the importance of incorporating intuition into your decision-making. I explore the idea of bringing your gut instincts and emotional intuition to the table as well as your rational, conscious thinking when forming a strategic approach.
Firstly, I discuss the value of building intuition into strategy: you know your school community and environment better than most, and it's this knowledge that will help guide your decision-making.
Secondly, I talk about intuition as a 'gut' or emotive feeling, and how it is rooted in our experiences and knowledge that we have amassed over time. It is often this subconscious knowledge that is most effective within complex or time-sensitive scenarios.
I then explore the disadvantages of solely relying on intuition, as you risk missing the opportunity to use data and patterns that perhaps your intuition hasn't acknowledged. Additionally, some of your assumptions may be biased or out-of-date.
Finally, I discuss some fascinating academic research on intuition and how it can be added into the decision mix. I explore ideas from Ap Dijksterhuis, who suggests that we can use unconscious thinking to develop our intuition.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but if you can, create the space for intuitiveness to emerge within your decision-making culture.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
053: Being strategic in your career
28 Oct 2021
00:12:28
In this episode, I focus on how you can be more strategic in your career and share the programme I use to help people with this. So many individuals are focused on implementing strategy in their workplace, that they neglect to be strategic in their career.
Firstly, I discuss the difficulty of balancing career goals alongside day-to-day work, and how you can use the same process for developing strategy at schools as you can in your career.
I then share my Four Building Blocks of Strategy framework that you can use to be more strategic in your career. These include:
Clarify your career vision- understanding what you want from your career and what makes you happy
Accelerators and sticking points- determining what could propel you forward and what is holding you back
General approach- figuring out a general way you can overcome your sticking points
Action plan- form an action plan, focusing on one area to work on
This approach forms the roadmap I guide people through in the Lucidity Accelerator Programme I facilitate. It's all about focusing on where you are investing your time, money and energy so that you can be more strategic about your career.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
052: Mastering the SWOT analysis
21 Oct 2021
00:18:56
In this episode I discuss the SWOT analysis, which I believe is one of the most valuable tools in your strategy toolbox. Done well, a SWOT analysis is a great way to structure your strategic thinking and inform decision-making.
Firstly, I explain what a SWOT analysis is and how to complete one. Your strengths and weaknesses are internal to your school and should cover things that happen inside your school community. The opportunities and threats emerge from trends beyond the school gates that you can't directly influence.
I then share my top five tips for mastering the SWOT analysis:
Get specific
Prioritise
Test assumptions
Think about interactions
Consider what you can control
A SWOT analysis is useful for any project or challenge that you want to structure your thinking around.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
051: Strategy and social justice with Jaideep Barot, Headmaster, Bristol Grammar School
14 Oct 2021
00:43:39
In this episode I am joined by Jaideep Barot, Headmaster at Bristol Grammar School. We discuss a whole spectrum of ideas, from strategy development processes to the importance of focus and having succinct aims. We also talk about leadership and how the role of leadership has shifted recently.
We discuss how Jaideep sought to include staff, pupils and parents when refreshing Bristol Grammar School's strategy. Jaideep describes the importance of taking the time to consult everyone involved with the school, from governors and alumni to catering staff and parents in order to form a well-rounded strategy.
We then talk about the importance of bursaries and the part that they play in social mobility. We also discuss the role that independent schools can play in fighting for social justice, through their bursary and accessibility programmes.
We finish with Jaideep reflecting on his leadership style and how it has changed due to Covid. He talks about adapting his leadership style to a quicker and more pragmatic, problem-solving approach and how this has impacted the school community.
Jaideep offers valuable insight into how he has developed a strategy for his school, centred on the views of those within the school community, something worth considering when developing your own strategy.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
050: Lessons from business
07 Oct 2021
00:20:30
In this episode, I take you behind the curtain to reflect on the lessons I have learnt from three years in business and 50 podcast episodes. Over the three years, I have had the pleasure of working with 20 schools on strategy and have worked with numerous fundraisers on implementing strategy into their day-to-day work.
I thought I would take this opportunity to share the top five lessons I have learnt from building my business, which I now use to help my clients.
Here's a sneak peek of the lessons I discuss in this episode: 1. Share your passion 2. It's also a numbers game 3. You can't do it alone 4. Use technology 5. A daily practice of focussing on priorities
I also dive into how you as school leaders can learn from these lessons too, and apply them to many aspects of your strategy.
Take a listen to the landmark 50th episode for these reflections and more...
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
049: Mission and storytelling with Stefan Horsman, Head, Albyn School
30 Sep 2021
00:49:43
In this episode, I talk with Stefan Horsman, Head of Albyn School, about the power of education and how to uncover your school's mission. Through our conversation, we unpack Stefan's background in education, how education can drive change in society and the importance of a strong mission and values in your school's strategy.
Firstly, we discuss Stefan's background and his route to becoming Head of Albyn School. This includes his university education, teaching in Malawi and his previous senior leadership positions.
We also talk about the power of education and how it can spark big change in society. Stefan shares his views and insights from his vast experience.
We then explore values and mission and how it is essential to consider the history and current ethos of your school. We discuss the importance of having a mission that is aligned with social justice and trends in society if you are looking to fundraise or make changes to your bursary programme.
Stefan's views on creating a narrative around your mission statement by using storytelling techniques are fascinating and definitely worth considering in your own approach.
Episode highlights
Power of education (06:07)
Bursary programmes (32:27)
Storytelling (35:43)
Independent school myths (44:25)
References and resources Download your copy of the free eBook ‘The Strategic Independent School Leader’ at www.consultjuliet.co.uk/ebook
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
048: Scanning your environment
23 Sep 2021
00:23:08
In this episode we will be talking about the importance of looking beyond the school gates when considering the strategic changes you may need to make. This means being aware of what is happening in the world which you need to be prepared for, often referred to as scanning your environment.
Forming robust strategies and making decisions with the future in mind will help you to position your school successfully over the coming years. PESTEL analysis is a powerful tool for generating insights about the external factors which may impact your school and influence your strategy.
We will start by looking at the local Political environment; this can influence anything from taxation to charitable status. Then we think about the national and international Economy; this may affect fee affordability and demand, as well as investment and loan decisions.
The 'S' in PESTEL refers to Societal trends such as an increased focus on well-being and equality. Technological has and will change the way we both deliver education and communicate with our communities.
Environmental issues such as climate change mean we need to be thinking about how our business models may be challenged by environmental changes such as energy prices. Finally, the 'L' stands for Legal; most schools are very aware of their legal obligations but it is always wise to think ahead about potential future changes.
We will also discuss some big current trends, such as Covid and globalisation, which you want to be thinking through so that you can scan your environment successfully.
Episode highlights
PESTEL analysis (03:26)
Covid and other big trends affecting schools (12:29)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
047: Carving out time for what's important
16 Sep 2021
00:12:50
In this episode I discuss techniques you can use to make time for the activities that are critically important. As a leader, you need to be spending a good proportion of your time on the strategically important activities on your to-do list. With this in mind, this week I present one deceptively simple time management tip and I then suggest ways to help you turn it into a habit and to stick to it.
Firstly, I talk about my time management tip: diary blocking. This is the process of blocking sections of an hour to ninety minutes in your diary and assigning the critically important activities to those sections. This seems obvious, but it's surprisingly hard to stick to!
Secondly, I suggest strategies that will help you stick to diary blocking as a way of carving out time for strategically important activities. These include tips on setting the system up, such as finding a time of day most suited for you to focus on one task, making it the same time each week and blocking out time to align with the rest of your team.
Finally, I look at the importance of making diary blocking a habit and to have the discipline of sticking to the dates and times you have blocked out.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
046: Using LinkedIn to reach your perfect people with Karen Yankovich
09 Sep 2021
00:42:33
In this episode I talk with Karen Yankovich, host of the 'Good Girls Get Rich' podcast and an expert in relationship marketing focusing on the use of LinkedIn. Through our conversation, we primarily discuss the use of LinkedIn by school fundraisers who are seeking to develop personal relationships with potential major donors. However, all of Karen's tips are equally helpful for others across a range of school activities.
Firstly, we discuss how you can create a magnetic profile to build credibility and trust. Karen identifies the importance of the role of the personal profile in elevating the school's profile and outlines her top tips for avoiding common mistakes.
Secondly, we talk about techniques for searching LinkedIn for alumni and how LinkedIn Sales Navigator can give you more search functionality allowing you to access more information about profiles on the platform. We look at how, once you have found the individuals, you can make that connection with them and how engagement on LinkedIn can be built into a routine.
We look at how the use of LinkedIn can be beneficial in the build up to alumni events, how connecting with attendees in advance can build a relationship and create a bond between you and alumni before the event takes place. Finally, Karen suggests ways of identifying the point where you move from a conversation on LinkedIn to a phone or video call.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
162: Why Coaching Works
02 Nov 2023
00:17:56
Coaching has become increasingly recognised for its positive impact on educational leaders, helping them find strategic focus, empower their teams and regain control over their time. In this episode, host Juliet Corbett shares her personal experience of working with coaches and highlights the five reasons why coaching works.
Key lessons from this episode:
1. Coaching helps leaders step out of their own thoughts and gain new perspectives. 2. Our thoughts don't always align with reality, and coaching can help unravel this. 3. Using a coaching session to share lots of ideas and thoughts (aka a brain dump!) enables a coach to see patterns, structure questions and generate insights. 4. Coaching helps leaders develop a unique perspective and leadership style.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
045: The art of saying no
02 Sep 2021
00:11:42
In this episode I talk about the art of saying 'no'. I explore the idea that saying 'no' is a critical skill that helps you focus on activities that make a difference in driving your school strategy.
I begin by outlining how you prioritise activities that support your strategy and how you form a criteria for assessing what you say 'yes' and what you say 'no' to. To this end, I outline a three-step process in identifying the narrative that can be used to turn down activities that don't help drive the strategy you have in place.
Step one is the process of recommunicating to people what the details of the strategy you have in place is and what the intended focus of the strategy should be. The aim of this step is both to remind people of the strategy, but also to reinforce the importance of it.
Step two is the process of praising the proposed activity or idea that has been presented, but then communicating how the new activity or idea doesn't fit the strategy. This is extremely important - without this explanation people will remain in the dark about your decion-making criteria.
The final step in creating a narrative is to continue to praise the fact that new ideas are being presented, but to clearly and kindly say no this this idea. Then remind people that you are looking for innovation in areas which do fit the strategy.
The objective of following these steps is to allow you to say no to ideas whilst keeping your team on board and encouraging them to continue to form ideas that might fit with the strategy you have in place.
Episode highlights
Introducing the art of saying 'no' (02:44)
Prioritising activities (04:20)
Forming a narrative that allows you to say 'no' (04:45)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
044: Building up regular giving with Fran Malarée, Fellow and Development Director, Churchill College, University of Cambridge
26 Aug 2021
00:44:06
In this episode I talk to Fran Malarée, Fellow and Development Director, Churchill College, and Chair of the Cambridge Development Directors’ Committee, University of Cambridge. With over twenty years’ experience in alumni relations and fundraising in higher education, Fran is the ideal person to talk to about regular giving and giving circles.
We discuss first how the development and alumni offices work within the University of Cambridge, how the colleges work alongside the University and specifically the launch of Churchill College's 'Think Forward' campaign and the challenges the COVID posed to that launch.
We then talk about how Churchill College instigated an annual telephone campaign, direct mail and email campaigns to increase the number of regular donors. We discuss the importance of a telephone conversation to forge a personal connection with a prospective donor and of having a consistent message across all communications channels.
Finally, we look at how Churchill College uses giving circles to incentivise major donations and Fran's thoughts on the role educational fundraising should play in enhancing social justice and social mobility.
Episode highlights
Introducing Fran Malarée (03:33)
Overview of how development works within the University of Cambridge (03:50)
How Churchill College has increased the number of regular donors (08:19)
The importance of consistent messaging (19:34)
Using giving circles to incentivise major donations (26:30)
The role fundraising plays in enhancing social justice and social mobility (39:35)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
043: Strategic fundraising: 5 essential steps
19 Aug 2021
00:17:32
In this episode I focus on strategic fundraising and outline five essential steps to help you make sure your day-to-day work in a fundraising office has a strategic foundation, is guided by an effective plan and is leading towards a positive outcome.
Firstly, you need to identify the transformation you are seeking to make through your fundraising. A successful fundraising strategy will generate agreement between your senior team, your head and your governors about which fundraising projects you're planning to focus on and the transformation you are seeking to achieve.
Secondly, I explore the importance of identifying where your fundraising opportunities are, understanding your own school and communities to focus on the best possibilities for fundraising.
Thirdly, I look at the best ways for you to cultivate your prospects, and the day-to-day activities you can undertake to turn the fundraising opportunities into a reality.
Fourthly, I suggest ways you can identify what might get in the way of delivering your fundraising strategy, and finally I look at strategies to help you overcome these blocks. These final two steps are often overlooked but are essential for success.
Episode Highlights
Step 1: What transformation are you seeking to make? (03:50)
Step 2: Where are your fundraising opportunities? (06:43)
Step 3: How are you going to cultivate these prospects? (09:55)
Step 4: What might stop you? (12:27)
Step 5. What are your tactics to overcome the blocks? (14:21)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
042: [Replay] Resilience with Jo Beckett, Founder and CEO, Jo Beckett Coaching and Development (former CEO, IDPE)
12 Aug 2021
00:38:34
Resilience is “a set of characteristics, abilities and resources that enable the achievement of positive outcomes despite exposure to significant threat or adversity”, as defined by the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The COVID-19 pandemic has created just such an environment of extreme uncertainty and challenge that highlights why building personal resilience for school leaders and fundraisers is so vital.
In this episode, I speak to Jo Beckett, former CEO of the Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE), the leading membership organisation for schools fundraising here in the UK. Over half an hour, we talk about the critical importance of resilience in the independent schools' sector.
Jo and I discuss practical ways school leaders and fundraisers can build their personal resilience. Through the course of the episode, we make the connection between personal resilience and strategic thinking. In particular we discuss how building resilience is more than just gaining confidence, but can also help to shape and refine performance. We explore the benefits of executive coaching, the importance of emotional intelligence and how to avoid thinking traps. Finally, Jo shares her practical top tips for building resilience through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Episode Highlights
What is ‘resilience’? (05:27)
The benefits of executive coaching (09:06)
Trends in resilience in the independent school sector (11:13)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
041: Governors and strategy
05 Aug 2021
00:16:56
In this episode, I explore the relationship between governors and strategy. Specifically, I look at how governors can be guided to find a balance between being strategically focused and being operationally focused. With this in mind, I present my top tips on how to encourage governors to understand their role in strategy and how to constructively challenge decisions by senior school leaders.
Firstly, I suggest ways to encourage governors to focus on the high-level strategic decisions rather than the small-scale operational detail of your school by ensuring your senior leadership team and governors have a shared understanding of what strategy actually is.
Secondly, I outline the four essential building blocks of strategy: your vision for where you are heading as a school, the accelerators and sticking points of your organisation, identifying your plan to overcome the sticking points and, finally, defining your action plan and developing coherent tactics to achieve your vision.
I then explore ways governors can challenge school leaders by asking tough questions, testing plans and making sure that those plans and strategies are robust going forward.
Episode Highlights
Encouraging governors to focus on the high-level strategic decisions (02:51)
The four essential building blocks of strategy (04:11)
Encouraging governors to challenge decisions (09:48)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
040: An international perspective with Louise Simpson, Head, Exeter School
29 Jul 2021
00:40:33
In this episode, I speak to Louise Simpson, the Head of Exeter School. Louise joined Exeter School, a co-educational, independent day school, in 2020 after spending time as Head at St Paul’s School in São Paulo, Brazil. Through our discussion, Louise and I cover a number of topics, including her perspective on moving back to the UK independent school sector following her time abroad.
Firstly, we discuss why Louise got into education and what it was about education that sparked her interest. Louise then reflects on the transition of moving back to the UK following her time in Brazil and what she learned from working abroad and how that international perspective can benefit those working in schools in the UK.
We then talk about the role of character education in the independent schools sector, the importance of developing young people for a world beyond school and giving them skills that will help them to become good citizens.
We discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion, how bursaries and state school partnerships can help independent schools become more accessible, and specifically what approach Exeter School is taking in this area.
Finally, we talk about the importance of collaborative leadership and how the COVID pandemic has changed the way school leaders have operated and reinforced the qualities and benefits of collaboration.
Episode Highlights
Introducing Louise Simpson (03:46)
How to be more intentionally international (07:20)
The role of character education (17:36)
The importance of diversity inclusion (23:16)
The importance of collaborative leadership (29:18)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
039: Strategy away days: 8 top tips
22 Jul 2021
00:20:23
In this episode, I look at strategy away days, unpacking a series of top tips for you to employ to make your away days more effective, and to help you avoid hitting the many negative stereotypes that exist about the subject.
I begin by discussing why away days can be an important tool in your strategy toolbox and how they can bring people together to focus on decision-making without distraction.
Throughout my top tips, I explore the benefits of using a facilitator for the away day. I look at the importance of setting the agenda with the end goal in mind, and of allowing enough time for broad discussion.
I discuss the importance of inviting school governors and senior leaders to your away day and enabling all participants to be fully involved by circulating draft papers for the day in advance.
I look at how allowing informal time for team building can help foster coherence between the participants, and how breakout discussions can allow for debate and ensure that everyone has input. Finally, I note how outlining clear next steps following the away day is essential for ensuring the away day discussions influence strategic decision-making in your school.
Episode Highlights
Why strategy away days are important (03:18)
Top Tip number 1 - using a facilitator (06:30)
Top Tip number 2 - agreeing an agenda for the session (07:53)
Top Tip number 3 - allowing enough time (09:24)
Top Tip number 4 - inviting governors and senior leaders (10:11)
Top Tip number 5 - preparing papers in advance (11:24)
Top Tip number 6 - allowing informal time for team building (13:02)
Top Tip number 7 - using breakout discussions (16:45)
Top Tip number 8 - outlining clear next steps (17:42)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
038: How will you communicate your strategy? Strategic question #6
15 Jul 2021
00:14:43
In this episode, the last in a series where I identify the six essential questions that leaders of private schools should consider when trying to define their strategic approach, I ask: 'how do you communicate your strategy?' Through this episode, I explore how visual thinking can help your decision-making within the school and how it can help align the actions and decisions of staff in various areas of your school.
I reinforce the importance of involving your staff in that process and I discuss how you can help your staff understand what your strategic plan means for them and how their day-to-day decision-making might be affected by it.
I look at how you communicate your strategy to others such as pupils, parents, alumni, state school partners and potential lettings partners, how you can present your strategy online, and how a well-presented strategy can be a vital and powerful marketing tool for prospective parents.
I explore what the content of your external strategic plan should be and how to form an impactful external strategy that is based around themes. Finally, I discuss how, when done well, strategic plans can tackle the challenges your school faces head-on.
Episode Highlights
Introducing the sixth question (02:56)
Aligning decision making across your school (03:23)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
037: What are your tactics? Strategic question #5
08 Jul 2021
00:08:51
In this episode, the fifth in a series where I identify the six essential questions that leaders of private schools should consider when trying to define and shape their strategic approach, I ask: 'what are your tactics?' With this in mind, I explore how you can best form your operational plans to shape the strategic options that will deliver your vision for your school.
I discuss how school leaders rather than governors should step forward as the process moves from one of strategy to an operational basis. I then briefly explore the importance of creating an action plan and then reviewing and refining these actions on a continually rolling basis, and how being agile will help you be more effective in the way you form and deliver your actions.
Finally, I consider the ideal timeline for your action plans and how this will help you evolve your processes to make them more effective, targeted and fruitful.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
036: Strategic thinking in schools with Andrew Gordon-Brown, Head of Kingswood School
01 Jul 2021
00:41:51
In this episode, I talk to Andrew Gordon-Brown, Head of Kingswood School, about strategic thinking in schools. Andrew switched from a career in banking and finance to one in teaching in 2003, becoming a teacher in Economics at Radley College. He moved to his current position in 2020 and has been most recently working on a strategy for Kingswood School.
We discuss Andrew's regard for strategic thinking and how important it is to embed strategic thinking in the culture of the school. We then consider the importance of distributed leadership rather than a more hierarchical leadership structure and how a move away from a single, charismatic leader can benefit the school strategy.
We examine the importance of being strategic when setting up partnerships, how to develop partnership ideas that can bring additional resources into your school and how you can use strategy stacking to address multiple challenges that might be solved by partnerships.
We explore how to gain and retain focus when allocating limited resources, how to prioritise where to put your efforts and developing a strategic plan that pinpoints the two or three key areas where you wish to drive change. Finally, we discuss the challenges that have arisen in forming a strategy during the COVID pandemic, and what Andrew sees as the challenges and opportunities for the sector going forward.
Episode Highlights
Introducing Andrew Gordon-Brown (01:43)
The importance of strategic thinking (03:55)
The importance of distributed leadership (07:09)
The importance of being strategic when setting up partnerships (13:34)
Keeping focus when allocating limited resources (19:42)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
161: Unlocking your Next Career Step
26 Oct 2023
00:15:37
In this episode, my focus is on you! I’m keen to show you that unlocking your next career step is a process that requires dedication, self-reflection and strategic planning. A few areas I touch on are networking, career plans and the importance of flexibility.
Remember, your career journey is unique to you. It's okay to have a general direction instead of a rigid plan. Take a listen to this episode and allow yourself to explore, grow and adapt. With these insights and your determination, you'll unlock the next stage of your career and achieve your goals.
"In order to unlock your next career step, it's important to ask yourself what you truly want out of your life and work. Don't just follow expectations, but road test your dreams and explore different possibilities. Visualise your ideal role and consider the skills and experience that recruiters would be looking for. Craft a results-based roadmap that aligns with your career goals and set yourself up for success." - Juliet Corbett
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
035: What are your options? Strategic question #4
24 Jun 2021
00:15:08
In this episode, the fourth in my series looking at six essential questions that you need to be able to answer in order to clarify your school's strategy, I ask: what are your strategic options?
I begin by explaining what I mean by strategic options: the strategic level choices that you can make as a school leadership team or as school governing body that will shape the future of your school.
I then discuss the importance of coherence and of focusing on either one or a small number of strategic choices, and I explore the concept of 'strategy stacking', the act of making strategic choices that are coherent, so each choice reinforces and supports the other.
I look at examples of strategy stacking and at some of the biggest strategic level choices you can make, I underline why selectively tackling them is important and I also examine more granular choices many schools may make to strengthen their offering.
Finally, I look at how you might approach making your strategic choices, how you can brainstorm to gather and define all of the different options that you have open to your school, how evidence can be collected and analysed and how sticking points can be overcome.
Episode Highlights
Defining strategic options (03:30)
The importance of coherence and 'strategy stacking' (05:22)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
034: Harnessing testimonials with Sam Davies, Head of Philanthropy, Girls’ Day School Trust
17 Jun 2021
00:35:23
In this episode, I speak to Sam Davies, Head of Philanthropy at the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), the UK’s leading family of independent girls’ schools. During her career Sam has been responsible for annual giving activities at the University of Warwick, established a sustainable fundraising and alumni engagement operation from scratch at the University of Brighton and was awarded the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence in 2015.
I draw on Sam's experience as an educational fundraiser to explore the subject of harnessing the power of testimonials: why testimonials work from a fundraising point of view and for other school activities.
Firstly, I ask Sam about how she uses testimonials from recipients in her fundraising at the GDST, how she overcomes the potential stigma of making an example of the situation of a current bursary recipient and about the key messages she aims to get across in testimonials. We discuss the power of storytelling and questions about the anonymity of those giving the testimonial.
I then ask Sam whether she uses testimonials from donors, how testimonials can help overcome objections from donors and what her insights are in the process of gathering testimonials from the rest of the school community.
Finally, we discuss Sam's top tips for school fundraisers looking to up their testimonial game.
Episode Highlights
Introducing Sam Davies (01:48)
How Sam uses testimonials at the GDST (05:00)
The importance of storytelling in testimonials (08:05)
Sam's system for testimonials (19:19)
Using testimonials from donors (25:30)
Top tips for school fundraisers looking to up their testimonial game (32:43)
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!
033: What's holding you back? Strategic question #3
10 Jun 2021
00:10:41
This is the third episode looking at the six essential questions that you, as a leader in an independent school, need to be able to answer in order to clearly define your school's strategy. This time I discuss what is holding your school back, what are the sticking points you need to identify and overcome to deliver your school's vision.
I talk about how the identification of sticking points needs to happen in the context of a team. These sticking points can come from internal weaknesses such as an unwillingness to change within a school culture and external threats such as from the political, economic, social, technological, environmental or legal threats you may face. I discuss how it is only by conducting uncomfortable conversations about the negative aspects of your school that you will be able to tackle them.
I explore how it is possible to stimulate creative problem solving by having conversations that take you out of your comfort zone and unlock novel and creative thinking about how you're going to overcome these problems.
Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!