From Sausages to SATs – From Industry to Education
So, how does a manager of a TESCO supermarket become a headteacher in a primary school?
When I was younger, if someone had told me I would be a headteacher of a large primary school I would probably have laughed. I was not one of those people who knew from a young age that they had a love of teaching and it was not on my radar as a potential career.
It was only when I had my own children that the passion begun! I realised very quickly after volunteering in my son’s school, that working in a primary school was not only a job I enjoyed, but a job where I felt I could make a difference.
From Tesco to Teaching… A Transition from Industry to Education
My working life had started at a relatively tender age of 13, when my parents suggested I work at a local shoe shop to ‘realise the value of money!’
I went through the usual trauma at A levels where you have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life but actually have no idea. I did the relatively safe ‘Business Studies’ degree at University – doesn’t everyone who has no idea what they want to do?
During university, I did my year’s placement in industry working at Tesco in their staff development department and probably out of habit joined the company on graduation training to be a store manager.
Over the course of the next ten years I had various positions within the company, managing different departments and finally managing my own store. I had some fantastic leadership coaching and development as part of my role although at the time did not recognise its quality – I just assumed this was what training was!
A very timely campaign by the government to encourage people into teaching and a realisation after volunteering at my children’s school that there was more to life to tins of beans got me training to be a teacher in 2001 on a SCITT scheme.
I qualified a year later and worked in various settings including a referral unit and across two different authorities to gain experience. In 2010, I took on my first headship at Birstall.
Is Leading a School Different to Leading in Industry?
I often get asked if leading a school is different to leading in industry/business and the honest answer is no. There are many similarities.
There are vital skills that I think you need as a leader regardless of which industry you are in, however sometimes working in industry means you have better access to leadership training and these skills are more effectively developed.
There is a real need for these skills in education but often the training is not as developed.
When I first started my leadership career in education, I was amazed that in a profession that was so important to growing our nation, very little accountability existed. By that, I mean that there was little performance management or performance targets – something that is the bread and butter of managing people in industry.
The ‘closed door’ approach was common in teaching, and even as an NQT I was amazed that teachers may only be observed once or twice a year. Targets seemed to be set, but progress was not necessarily checked and even when targets were not met, nothing much changed.
Over the years this has changed and there is certainly a much higher sense of accountability now in the teaching profession and performance management now echoes that in business.
Other differences in leading a school relate to the ‘customer base’. Customers within industry vote with their feet and companies spend fortunes doing market research, customer trials and seeking customer feedback in order to refine their product for different demographics. Unhappy customers means low profits.
In education, this often isn’t the case – how often do we really consult with parents about how we run our schools? Our ‘customers’ in education are much harder to define, no general demographic exists for the children attending our schools.
However, we have a lot to learn from listening to parents of pupils.
It is often harder for our ‘customers’ to vote with their feet, as often their children attend their local school. In terms of dealing with more difficult customers though I have to say education wins hands down! Our customers are far more emotionally involved and as a leader of a school you have to have highly developed conciliation and arbitration skills.
Timescales and organisation is something which is crucial in both education and in industry. In industry there is a necessity to be highly organised and often you are working to tight timescales with little notice.In teaching this is a life skill!
It is one area which if you get right makes the difference in how you and your organisation are perceived. Timely correspondence and communication as well as sticking to timescales with staff and parents gives confidence in both the leadership and the school.
Working with colleagues and stakeholders at different levels is another vital aspect of leading in education and business. In business it is common to be leading a team of people and then have to do a presentation to customers or a board member the next.
In teaching, the same skills are needed to communicate with peers, staff, pupils, parents and governors.
The ability to turn water into wine as regards to budgets is an essential factor to successful leadership in education and industry. In industry, it is all about saving money, cutting margins and making profit.
In teaching, we certainly have to be good at saving money. Especially when leading in education. My experience of working with budgets has meant that getting the most out of generally tight education budgets has been easier. It is only in recent years however, that any training in schools has focused on money management and for many headteachers this is an area of real worry and low skill.
From Leading in Industry to Leading in Education
So in essence, if you are an effective leader then you can, in effect, lead anywhere – as long as you have an understanding of the sector you are working within.
Education has many similarities with the business sector and many business skills are useful. However, it will never be the same as business, and leaders who do not understand that will not be effective in education.
In my case, I can only say that leading people to build children’s minds is much more rewarding than leading people to build sales.
I hope the skills I learnt on industry have made me a more rounded leader and headteacher, and as they say… Every Little Helps!
Continue the Conversation:
To continue the conversation on leadership in schools, keep an eye on the Focus Education blog, find Kyrstie on Twitter @BoothroydAcad, or get in touch with the Focus Education office on 01457 821 818. If you need support in managing the leadership team within your school, please head over to our consultancy booking page to enquire about a consultant visit. Our Headteacher Inspection Course which is running throughout this term and autumn term can be booked here.
Kyrstie Joslin has been teaching successfully for 15 years and is in her 7th year of headship. Her previous experience working in industry has been instrumental in helping her improve the schools she has led with great impact.
