My colleague Eddie Colquhoun who works in the Attendance Strategy team sent me a copy of his latest liitle book, 'You're Never Too Old To Be Young Again!' and it's a brilliant read...

"Believe in the best, think your best, study your best, have a goal for your best, never be satisfied with less than your best, and in the long run things will turn out for the best."
Henry Ford

This is a collection of stories, pearls of wisdom, great advice, fabulous quotes and would make a great Christmas present. Sections on have a mid-life adventure!, if you don't know where you are going any road will take you there!, laugh and the world laughs with you, you could be a priceless antique, be a risk taker!, and the best is yet to come are wonderful antidotes to the usual miserable stuff in the papers and on the news.

The epilogue of this little book says " I am told that we laugh a staggering three times less than we did in the 1950's. Remember, fundamentally, we don't need to be happy to laugh, but we can laugh to be happy. If laughter is the best medicine isn't it about time we all introduced it again to every area of our everyday lives? Let's bring celebration back into every moment of our lives!"

Thanks Eddie and Judy for a great read which made me laugh, smile and occasionally weep.
Chris

It has been another really wonderful week...

I attended the Leeds Young Peoples Positive Achievment Awards at the Royal Armouries, gave and received awards at the Big STEPS Celebration at the Civic Hall, and spoke at the ADCS, Aspect and RM's Building Schools for the Future Visioning event in Stratford-upon-Avon. I had breakfast with the Morley FOS headteachers , attended another wonderful Staff Induction session at Derek Fatchett CLC and yet another fantastic STEPS celebration at Hollybush Primary School before finishing the week with lunch with the amazing Dinneka Smillie, our AimHigher Young Sixth Form Learner of the Year. I also managed to get to St Peter's CE Primary School to see Liz Holliday and her team who are releasing the magic at the heart of Leeds.



I won another award this week but unless I am mistaken most of us miss out on life's really big and important prizes. I know that I am never going to be Prime Minister, win the FA Cup, win a Pulitzer Prize or win a Nobel Prize and I am unlikely to win X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing, win the lottery, win an Oscar or get a Knighthood. But I do recognise how incredibly lucky I am because I know that I am eligible for life's small pleasures; small pleasures that are worth so much... a thank you after I've done something really well. A touch or a word when I am feeling down or things haven't worked out well. A kiss or a cuddle from a friend. A starry night. A full moon. An empty parking space. A beautiful smile. A crackling fire. A great meal. A glorious sunset. Hot soup. Freshly baked bread. Cold beer. Chocolate. Great coffee. Why don't you add to my list?

Don't be upset about the fact that life's big awards and rewards simply won't come your way. Enjoy its small and wonderful delights and pleasures. There are plenty of those for all of us and we can help each other share them.

Chris

After yet another wonderful week here in Leeds, the scary thing isn’t what we have achieved, but the potential we have to achieve so much more if only we can release the magic…

We need to switch more people on by engaging their interest, connecting with things that motivate and enthuse them, nurturing and developing their energy and potential. What always surprises me is how much potential there is out there. Our job as leaders, as managers, as coaches, as teachers, as parents, as people who care, is to help individuals set their goals, realise their enormous potential and understand that this is not as good as it gets!

Another week in Leeds where I realise that it is all about co-operation, teamwork, networking and partnering. We must constantly celebrate our successes... chocolate helps! We must continue to encourage the BRILLIANT projects, challenges and initiatives that are making such a difference. We must dig deep to continue to find, nurture and sustain talent wherever it is. We must declare war on bureaucracy, complexity and mediocrity and keep it simple and create simply beautiful systems. We must above all communicate and share everything that is great about what we are doing across 265 schools with 17,000 colleagues working for and with 108,000 children and young people. I have been to some incredible learning places recently. And everywhere and wherever colleagues are releasing the magic they are trusted, talented, empowered and effective... brilliant colleagues working in schools and classrooms supported locally by focused and efficient teams releasing the magic and delivering world class outcomes.

AND we know what it takes to build brilliant... it's alive and well here in Leeds...

• leadership really, really matters;
• enthusiasm is contagious;
• small is beautiful;
• relationships are key;
• whatever you do be passionate;
• coaching counts;
• persistence and determination go a long way; and
• you tend to get what you expect.

This job we do is too important for any of us to be ordinary. We must all strive, each and every day, to be extraordinary, to be outstanding, to be brilliant.

Chris

"People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing."
Walter H. Judd

Every moment is a celebration...

Ask Lewis Hamilton because winners know this. If you focus on the positives, on your successes, on your achievements you will excel and reach your higher goals. It isn't rocket science and this is one of the most important secrets of success. But if you dwell on the negatives in your life,you will get nowhere fast.

So get into the habit of focusing on the positives today. You will be amazed!
Chris

So many people tell me that they find it hard to manage the stress and the pressure and ask how I manage to stay so cheerful, so positive and so enthusiastic...

It's easy if you know how and if you have the right attitude and the right tools and strategies to manage the XXXX...

1. Get a to do list, learn to say "no", ask for help when you need it, and set realistic and achievable goals.
2. Take more breaks from your work, get away from your desk, go for a walk.
   
3. Be positive, lighten up, smile more and laugh a much as you can.
   
4. Don't waste time on the small stuff or worry about the things you just can't change.
   
5. Get more sleep as it will increase your energy levels and your ability to concentrate.
6. Find mentors, friends and people to talk to.
   
7. Spend as much time as you can with optimistic people and people with a positive attitude to work and life.

Try just one of these for a while and see what happens. I promise that it will change your life!
Chris

As the nights draw in and the news adds to the gloom, it is easy to let it all drag you down – but only if you let it!

How do we avoid the sad syndrome:

• Smile at life and laugh a lot: laughter is a great medicine!
• Make time for yourself and those you love and care about!
• Get out, walk, exercise and enjoy the fresh air whenever you can!
• Enjoy the positives; the changing colours of the seasons, chocolate, red wine and the company of those you love and care about;
  
• Take up a hobby or interest, learn a new skill, a new language or go on a course;
  
• Have an autumn/winter de-clutter, throw out the past and the rubbish in your life;
  
• Avoid spending too long watching the news or reading the newspapers – unless you want to be depressed!

Whatever you do, don't let it get you down. Always remember it could be so much worse.
Chris

“There is a brilliant child locked inside every student”
Marva Collins

Sometimes I think that we are 'painting by numbers' in a world monitored, policed and controlled by 'bean' counters, 'keep within the line' consultants and 'let's weigh the pig again' inspectors. In this crazy world to meet their targets the 'bean' counters, the 'keep within the line' consultants and the 'let's weigh the pig again' inspectors rush around developing more and more initiatives that no one owns and that make little or no real long term difference to outcomes for our children and young people... and sadly, in that sort of world, the evidence suggests that all you get is mediocre.I often ask myself what are we trying to achieve together here in Leeds? What is our vision for our children and young people? How do we build brilliant learning, in brilliant learning places to serve brilliant learning communities? What is the trick to releasing the magic and unlocking the potential of each and every child, of each and every colleague and of every family and every community to be their brilliant best?

Our culture, our beliefs, attitudes, and values, determines our choices, our decisions, and our effectiveness. We know that beliefs, attitudes and values are the best predictors of individual behaviour and that these things influence our perceptions, our judgements, and our behaviours. Research also indicates that beliefs, attitudes and values are powerful and highly resistant to change. ‘The way we do things round here’ is the culture and it is really important that we regularly check out what it is we all believe should be the beliefs, values and attitudes driving our work and shaping our behaviours.

I have worked for over thirty years trying to answer these questions. I have recently visited Stockholm and Helsinki looking for the magic ingredient and I have come to an interesting conclusion. I think that the future is already here. Just in terms of the people and places I have visited recently, it’s at Pudsey Grangefield School, John Smeaton Community College, Carr Manor High School and the David Young Community Academy. It’s also at Harehills Primary School, Asquith Primary School, Swinnow Primary School, Hunslet Moor Primary School and Robin Hood Primary School. And it’s at the Horsforth Children’s Centre and the NE SILC at West Oaks.

Those of us who have spent our lives at the front line know the real answers lie where they have always been...

• strong, disciplined, focused and passionate leadership;
• clear, shared vision, values and beliefs;
• talented, energetic, enthusiastic and creative teaching teams;
• empowered, trusted and disciplined colleagues;
• brilliant teaching supported by strong assessment for learning;
• stimulating, exciting and engaging curriculum pathways;
• powerful, stimulating and interesting learning environments;
• high self-esteem and high expectations of everyone;
• strong, dynamic and meaningful coaching relationships;
• high engagement and involvement of young people;
• positive engagement and involvement of parents and carers.

We all know that command and control doesn't work and we all need to wake up to the fact that what really, really matters is our children and young people and the outcomes they achieve. We need listen to young people, trust them, empower them and to help them make informed choices. We need to focus on improving the skills, knowledge and understanding of the colleagues working with our children and young people, the quality of the leadership around them and the quality of the local services supporting our brilliant learning places. We must continue to nurture and support our local learning teams to ensure that they deliver for our children and young people and let's take the very best of what we do here in Leeds and learn from the best practice anywhere we can find it; nationally and internationally; from Reggio Emilia, and from Sweden, Finland and Denmark and anywhere that will help us to continue to build brilliant local provision… whatever it takes!

Chris

Set the vision!

Leadership is about setting the future direction of any organisation...

We must describe our shared vision and how colleagues ideas, creativity and innovation can contribute to that vision. We need to constantly question what we are doing and to ask ourselves where will Education Leeds be in five years time and what part will innovation play in refining and re-imagining the company?

We must communicate our vision and mission and then communicate it again. Colleagues must be committed , passionate and enthusiastic and we must all work to protect those people who are shaping the future for us; trying out new ideas, breaking the rules and pushing the boundaries. We must accept risk, search out things that work and create networks of innovation and excellence.

The future is already here we simply need to find it, nurture it and make it happen in all our learning places.
Chris

I was listening to Keane's new album 'Perfect Symmetry'...

There is a great message in one track...

"You can tell yourself you are doing your best,

but you can do so much better than this"

So our message has to be:
BRILLIANT YEAR, FANTASTIC RESULTS...
we can tell ourselves that we are doing our best,
...BUT we can do EVEN better than this!
Chris

What happens to creativity within organisations...

When creativity disappears within organisations, schools and teams it is all about leadership or the lack of it! If it doesn't receive the ongoing and explicit backing of leaders creativity, innovation and ideas disappear. You can generate all the good ideas in the world but without leadership committed to creativity, innovation and imagination forget it. Research suggests that leadership for creativity is just an important as having creative and imaginative people in the first place. Like with everything else creativity and innovation starts and finishes with the leaders of an organisation who must model the way and develop and support ideas wherever they come from.

The sign on everyone's door must be 'just do it!'
Chris

Communication is one of the keys to any organisations' success...

Leaders need to be great storytellers constructing powerful images of the future in which every colleague has a starring role. These leaders convince us that through our goal setting tomorrow can be better than today, communicating with each and every one of us and persuading us that we can make a real difference. How are you telling our strory?
Chris

In his new book Malcolm Gladwell argues that it is practice that makes perfect...

Ability, according to Gladwell, is just one factor in success. Work ethic, luck, a strong support base and even being born in the right year play a far larger role. Gladwell argues that there is no such thing as a “self-made man”. Instead, the years spent intensively focused on their area of expertise place the world’s most successful people above their peers. In 'Outliers' he claims that the best way to achieve international stardom is to spend 10,000 hours honing your skills. The greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians and scientists emerge only after spending at least three hours a day for a decade mastering their chosen field.

So the answer to building brilliant is practice, practice, practice.
Chris

I am not into change management any more...

The trouble with the term change management is that it implies that we are tearing things up and starting again; giving up on the last experiment, the last initiative, the last strategy and replacing it with the latest experiment, the latest initiative, the latest strategy . What we are actually about is growth and development... growing brilliant people and developing their amazing potential to help us change the world for our children and young people, their families and their communities.
Chris

I was listening to the radio as I drove home this evening and Radio 5 Live was looking at how we win even more medals at the 2012 Olympics...

What was interesting for me was the focus on coaching as one of the keys to success and goal setting as a discipline. The message which we have certainly signed up to here at Education Leeds is decide what you need to achieve; your goals. Then work out how you do it!

It's exactly the same message we have to adopt here in Leeds. I have said it before but it is all about goal setting:

• set the goal and make it happen;
• set the goal and invent the way;
• set the goal and shape the future.

What are you waiting for?
Chris

It's great to read the letters in the Yorkshire Evening Post last week especially when today the national results showed that on every measure we are closing the gap and producing fantastic results...

People constantly question what we have achieved over the last seven years; with their usual criticism of anything new, anything different and that perpetual cry from the unions and individuals that everything is OK and things should be left alone. They appear to hate Education Leeds, PfI and Academies with equal venom because we have challenged the boring and monotonous offer that these people cling to. We challenge the systems and structures that keep them where they are and undermine their position in these communities who surely deserve so much more from their schools. It's sad really that these people have so little expectation or aspiration or belief in our young people and I sometimes despair that they can't see what we have achieved so far by challenging the status quo, the routine, the ordinary, the irrelevant and the useless.

But of course the trouble is for our fiercest critics, they are the ordinary, the irrelevant and the useless.
Chris

Perhaps it's me, but after another day and another National Strategies meeting I sometimes wonder if I am living on the same planet as everyone else...

We had a meeting this afternoon where nineteen Leeds colleagues and six National Strategies colleagues watched by Government Office spent three hours to reach the conclusion that we need to continue to address standards in the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. Perhaps it's simply accountability. For me it's about trust and respect. Surely we can accept and understand that everyone in that room wanted to improve outcomes for all our children. Surely we can recognise the talent and the ability sitting in that room and the difference these colleagues are making... most of them are doing it day-in and day-out in some of the most challenging contexts and communities.

I can't believe that we have to constantly go over the issues with a group of people who don't really understand our context, our culture and our challenges. Perhaps it's me but I simply can't bear to work out what the meeting cost and I daren't ask myself what difference it made to provision in schools here in Leeds because I already know the answer!
Chris

Demonstrating, developing and sustaining leadership is one of the greatest challenges facing us here in Leeds...

Wherever you look we need to develop leadership and every issue we face requires strong, passionate and determined leadership; which sadly is in such short supply. It's easy to look inwards, to avoid risks, to blame others when things go wrong and simply think that we can focus on our own organisation and forget everyone else. However, everything we do connects us with others. locally, regionally, nationally and of course internationally as the credit crunch and crisis across the money markets of the world clearly demonstrates. Real leadership is about seeing the bigger picture and understanding your place and your responsibilities to build great learning places, great communities and a great Leeds. Every issue facing us is a team issue and requires us to work together to find solutions not for us as individuals or for our individual organisations but for Team Leeds.

If you are not playing for Team Leeds who are you playing for; perhaps you are not playing at all. If you are not playing for Team Leeds you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

So get out there and start playing!
Chris

Like you I expect, I was glued to the TV for the Olympics and the Paralympics...

It was staggering to watch medal after medal being won in cycling by Team GB. In all, 15 gold medals in what was an astonishing team performance! What message should we here at Education Leeds take from the performance of Team GB? Why do some of our teams achieve surprisingly high performance levels and other similarly equipped teams fail to do so? What does it take to become consistently brilliant these days?

The world is growing and changing faster than we can adapt. We are in many ways poorly prepared to deal with the rate of change we now face. Many of us have willingly embraced the need to constantly grow and develop but some of us are still in denial and some of us are simply confused. Do you have a brutally clear view of your current performance? Can you define the challenges and forces at work on you? Does everybody in your organisation know, understand, and care about the strategy to build brilliant as much as you do?

Gold medals and brilliant GCSE results certainly don't come without a struggle! Do you really love what you do at work? The tragedy for many organisations is that they have become places where managers apply pressure to performance levers rather than lead people to perform.
Chris

The Search for Brilliant!

How do we develop brilliant learning and brilliant learning places...

Why not recall an activity, event, experience, person, or object that you remember as brilliant.

• Describe it.
• What were its characteristics?
• What made it so wonderful?
  

Share your memories with a colleague and try to agree on one major characteristic that identifies something as being brilliant.

Discuss your characteristic in a small group of colleagues. Come to consensus on the most important characteristics. Try to put these characteristics in a word or short phrase. Send your reflections to me.
Chris