The Challenge for Assistant and Associate Heads

In my last school role, I was an Assistant Head of School.

There are so many great things about the role.

And one huge challenge.

It’s the one role in a school entirely defined by its relation to the Head.

Which means no two look alike.

And almost nothing is built for the people in them.

That’s why I love creating a space for Assistant and Associate Heads to come together.

Thanks to the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS), I get to work monthly with a group of their assistant and associate heads.

This group holds so much.

They turn the vision into what actually happens on Monday.

They absorb the pressure from above and below.

What strikes me every session:

How much they know.

How rarely anyone asks them.

Leading from this seat might be the hardest job in an independent school.

It’s also where I see some of the best leadership happening.

Thank you to this cohort for reminding me of that every month.