From Surviving to Thriving - June 2026

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed a good break and allowed the heat wave to slow you down a little.

So here we are, entering that unique time of year when the day-to-day pace of working in schools starts to delineate a little: some timetables remain filled with normal responsibilities whilst also becoming adorned with ‘special additions’ such as transition events, sports days, celebration assemblies, planning meetings for next year… Other timetables will be starting to loosen as exam classes and extra revision sessions begin to wrap-up - not that this time will remain vacant, as other work slides into place, but the tightness of pressure may start to lift a little and some space to breathe becomes more accessible.

Wherever you are on that continuum, I’d like to invite you to reflect on the shift we’d probably all benefit from achieving in our everyday experience of working in/with our school/s: from surviving to thriving.

As Dr Helen Kelly recently shared on LinkedIn, “educator burnout does not arrive suddenly. It is the result of thousands of micro-tears that, over time, become a gaping wound.

What is really important to acknowledge is that burnout is not a sign of weakness. In this article, Natasha Wallace, Founder of The Conscious Leadership Company, argues that organisations have confused a capacity problem with a capability problem. Citing findings from a 20-year study by The Oxford Review, she explains that it is that best, most committed leaders who burnout first. The traits that make leaders exceptional – emotional labour, putting others first, continuously motivating teams – are precisely what depletes them over time. Their powerful internal drive to serve and achieve can come at huge personal - and organisational - cost. 

Naturally, as purpose-driven leaders, our attention often focuses more readily on our pupils’ and colleagues’ state of thriving, and indeed, that of our whole community. Yet it is crystal clear that your state as a leader has a direct impact on those around you. Research in the article highlights that 47% of employees working under burnt-out leaders experience burnout themselves, compared to 18% under leaders who are well. And burnt-out leaders are x3 times more likely to lose top talent. So prioritising our own wellbeing (personal and professional) is not a selfish or indulgent act!

We’re all acutely aware that time is not an unlimited resource, but neither is our energy and health. We need to pay attention to our personal resources and how we’re spending them.

Similarly, we need to get clear on our energy spending needs and behaviours too. At times (such as exam periods), we may well need to ‘borrow from our bank’ – that’s to be expected – but if we find ourselves in a constant and increasing deficit we should look into our spending habits to see where we can cut back. This may mean reducing calendar overload, resetting team expectations, or committing to time for you. Conversely, it can also be looking at opportunities to gain more energy: do you need to go and speak to children in the playground, pick-up that book that you’ve been desperate to read, eat a proper lunch...?

We’ve all heard this before, right? And that’s because scientifically, our daily habits have a huge impact on our underlying health… and because the findings of the latest Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index, show that many of us are really struggling to thrive within our roles/contexts. This year’s overall wellbeing score is the lowest since recording began in 2019:

Even though there are many external factors outside of our control, we can all find something - some element, whether large of small - which we can choose to become more intentional about. One common example is boundary setting (for some ideas on this, you may find my previous blog of interest: Watch That Door! - October 2024) but what works for one person may not be relevant or work for another. So I'd like to support you in taking a few minutes to think about what could work for you. Feel free to grab a pen and paper...

Simon Sinek advises us to Start With Why. So let’s start there...

The above questions are based on the Scaling Tool – click here to receive a free copy and explanation of the framework and its application within coaching conversations.

Last month, the CST People & Culture Community hosted a webinar with us and Greenshaw Learning Trust: How coaching can create meaningful cultural shifts. Before Kate Ivackovic (Director of People, Greenshaw Learning Trust) shared their experience of building a coaching culture, I presented a few slides on behavioural and organisational psychology, followed by a few on our Theory of Change. We discussed the current systemic challenges within the sector which are holding many schools – and the individuals working within it - in ‘survival mode’. Battling with and mitigating against poor attendance, disruptive behaviour, lack of (and forever shifting) resource, excessive unmet need and ongoing staffing issues, our cultures are susceptible to absorbing the ‘fire-fighting’ ethos and our colleagues picking-up a set of energy-draining behaviours to keep going. And let’s face it, without that resilience and discretionary effort, we wouldn’t have much of a workforce! Is this simply the nature of the job?

At Leadership Edge, we believe we can do better as a sector, to shift from surviving to thriving through simple changes: giving permission for colleagues to think about and take care of themselves, and providing the personalised support to ensure that self-awareness leads to new and improved self-management.

Cultural change takes time and needs constant attention. Every day. Every conversation.

As a leader, there is much you can do to show your colleagues that personal thriving is an important part of your organisational culture. For example:

• Making time to talk to the ‘human’ inside the professional role eg “How is this situation affecting you?”

• Showing that you listen and care eg. “That sounds like it’s been pretty tough to navigate – how are you?”

• Encouraging them to care for themselves eg. “What do you need to do for yourself right now?”

And remember to ask these questions of yourself too… and listen to your answers.

We are each responsible for managing our own wellbeing. But the evidence is clear: to create the best chance for individuals doing this successfully, they need healthy and secure leadership promoting an organisational culture where there is coherence between professional and personal conversations. 

It is unlikely that most of us will ever reach our ten-out-of-ten state of thriving, but at least if we can see the next best step to getting there, and have a supportive culture around us, we will be comforted by the sense of travelling in the right direction, and we can learn to thrive – and breathe - amidst the messy, and often strenuous, work in progress.

Warmest wishes,

Catherine Hulme

Owner Director

catherine@leadershipedge.org.uk

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Leadership Edge is a growing team of experienced school leaders who have seen person-centred coaching create high-performing, happy and healthy cultures within our schools. Our mission is to empower other school leaders to create positive workplaces where staff are solution-focused and actively responsible for their own personal wellbeing and professional development.

Our 3-Tier Coaching Accreditation Programme is low-cost and self-sustaining, providing a systematic and structured model for staff across your school to become powerful coaches for each other, enhancing colleague relationships and their feeling of being valued as an individual within a supportive school community.