We are at the ASCL Conference 14-15th March, Liverpool. See you there?
If I asked you, "How many difficult decisions have you made so far this term?", I guess there would be too many to count, right? Responding to urgent student issues and parental complaints; challenging, appeasing and supporting colleagues; determining long-term strategy and short-term processes; judging the best way to communicate information and expectations to different stakeholders, and of course, allocating finite budget and resource to infinite requirements... the list goes on..!
The average human makes about 35,000 decisions per day. Most of these are small, almost automatic choices (like what to eat or what route to take to work), while others involve complex reasoning and emotional weight. Working in education, you will likely experience a higher than average proportion of the latter, balancing the needs of so many people.
Making difficult decisions can be exhausting, even when you've got a strong, collaborative team around you. Decision fatigue is a well-documented phenomenon in neuroscience and psychology, which occurs because decisions require mental energy, and our cognitive resources are limited.
This month, we're inviting you to reflect on the strategies you use to support yourself in carrying this load; do they positively or negatively affect your personal wellbeing and leadership impact (remembering that at Leadership Edge, we perceive everybody as a leader in their life, classroom or organisation, whether officially labelled as a "leader" or not)?
To optimise decision-making for sustainable professional impact and personal wellbeing, we must first understand its physical demands. Scientifically, the process relies on glucose, the brain's main energy source. As glucose levels reduce, the brain finds it harder to handle complex decisions, often leading to poorer choices or a tendency to avoid difficult decisions altogether. Gailliot et al. (2007) found that individuals with low blood glucose levels exhibited weaker self-control and poorer decision-making. Restoring glucose levels (i.e. eating) helped restore cognitive performance.
Similarly, experiments demonstrating ego depletion theory have shown that individuals who perform mentally taxing tasks (e.g. making difficult choices and exhibiting self-restraint) struggle with subsequent tasks, highlighting symptoms of cognitive exhaustion. Once cognitive resources are depleted, people become more impulsive, risk-averse, or avoidant; in other words, less effective decision-makers. For anyone working in schools, facing such a myriad of demands, needs, emotions and complex logistics, decision fatigue is a real risk.
As every coach loves a metaphor, we can look at decision-making as keeping the ship on course towards your destination. There will be weather, waves and obstacles to navigate, which may shake you and take you briefly off-course, but by exerting effort, you can steer back in the right direction to reach your desired destination.
So the first strategy to maintain the quality of your decision-making is to get really clear on your vision and values. Your vision gives you the picture of where you’re heading; your values help you navigate your way towards it. For example, a leader whose vision is to create a fully engaged parent-body will need to embrace values such as openness, curiosity and compassion along the way. So when a decision comes along such as “should I share this news with parents?” they can return to their values and consider which option is most aligned to being: Open? Curious? Compassionate?
Naturally, we can face decisions where two or more core values are held up against each other. These are the most difficult. However, if we use these moments as opportunities to stress-test our values (one of the activities on our Lead Coach accreditation programme), this will strengthen our understanding of who we are, who we want to be, and how we align with our colleagues and stakeholders.
You may also like to consider how any of the following strategies can add strength and quality to your decision-making:
Good Sleep – This is a big topic for another blog but are you already aware of some easy wins you could put in place to establish a better sleep routine, giving your brain the cognitive replenishment it needs?
Nourish Your Body– Short movement breaks and proper nutrition (glucose replenishment) can restore cognitive resources. How could you build these into your day?
Prioritise Big Decisions Early – Make critical choices in the morning or after breaks when cognitive energy is highest. Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy is a productivity and time management book, based on the idea that if you tackle your biggest, most important, and often most challenging task first thing in the morning, the rest of your day will be easier, avoiding unnecessary procrastination and energy drain. Not always possible, of course, but worth consideration when planning meetings and time-blocking.
Process Small Decisions Simply – Simplify frequent choices (e.g. creating daily routines for email-checking and automate processes for common queries). This will save mental energy for complex decisions. Also consider using frameworks such as the Eisenhower Matrix to help simplify prioritisation decisions: consider the urgency and importance of the decision, then allocate it to the relevant actionable quadrant:
Ask Others – Sharing decision-making responsibilities with a strong team can reduce cognitive overload. Brené Brown’s Square Squad can be a helpful exercise: identify a small, trusted group of people, both inside and outside of work, whose opinions you value, for different reasons. Write their names on a one-inch by one-inch piece of paper, ensuring you only include those who genuinely care about you and who you trust to provide a variety of honest, constructive feedback and valuable perspectives.
Get Out of your Head - Multiple Brain Integration Theory (mBIT) suggests that humans have three "brains". These work together to influence decision-making but each has a distinct function: the head focuses on logic and reasoning, the heart on emotions and values, and the gut on intuition and self-preservation. Check in with all 3 of your intelligence centres for wiser, more balanced decisions.
Reframing - If I am saying ‘No’ to X, what am I saying ‘Yes’ to? For example, if you say no to a teacher taking on a particular responsibility, are you saying yes to: A more appropriate person taking that role? To the denied individual retaining capacity to do an alternative task better suited to their strengths? To the integrity of your vision and values?
Integrity check – Am I doing the right thing or the easy thing? Looking back, will I feel good about this decision? (Thanks to Alan Rogers, Executive Headteacher at one of our Member schools, for sharing these questions during a recent conversation)
Arrange a Coaching Conversation - Securing some dedicated time with an objective thinking partner will enable you to make sense of where and why you are getting stuck in your decision-making process. Once you have identified the barrier, your coaching partner will support you to commit to a way forward, to think through the possible consequences of your decision and how to prepare for them.
If this article has resonated with you, please take a few moments to reflect on the following questions:
How would you describe your current approach to decision-making?
What strategies could you adopt to make this more efficient or effective in general?
Thinking about a specific decision you’re currently faced with, what could you do today to ease the cognitive fatigue?
Leadership in schools is not for the faint-hearted. Every day, you make decisions that shape the experiences of students, staff, and your wider school community - decisions that are scrutinised, questioned, and sometimes met with resistance. It’s easy to feel the weight of this responsibility, to question yourself, or to feel exhausted by the endless demands on your time and energy.
But remember this: each decision, no matter how difficult, is a step toward the vision you hold for your school, your staff, and your students.
You will not always please everyone, but leadership is not about being popular; it’s about acting with integrity, courage, and clarity. Trust in your values, lean on your team, and allow yourself the grace to step back when needed. The path of leadership is not about perfection, but about progress, and every decision you make is moving your school forward. Keep going. You are doing more good than you realise.
Warmest wishes,
Catherine Hulme
Owner Director
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.
Connect with us: Twitter/X @EdgeSchools | Linked In: Leadership Edge – Coaching in Schools
Comments