Growing Future Focused Leadership

This week I’ve been in Melbourne, working alongside my colleague, Maurie Abraham, to facilitate another of our Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus programmes with a group of principals and senior leaders from the Lutheran Schools Network.

I always enjoy running these programmes with Maurie – and those participating, of course, are who really makes each programme special. And this was no exception. This was the first time we’ve run the programme outside of New Zealand, so understanding the context of the Australian Education System added an extra dimension to our programme design, as did the fact that all of the participants in this programme are principals and leaders from within the Lutheran Schools Network, which has its own leadership and formation framework called Growing Deep.

Not surprisingly, the emphasis on learner-centred education, and the leadership capabilities identified in this framework aligned strongly with the design principles of our 3Rs programme. The fact that they have this framework to guide their work across their network allowed us to map the elements of our programme to their leadership framework, adding depth and meaning to the work we did over the past three days.

The early part of our programme involved unpacking their personal beliefs about education and learning, and aligning these with the organisational beliefs, values and vision of their network and schools. “Peeling back the onion” on these matters revealed a great deal of alignment and set the scene then for being able to challenge their thinking around the future, what vision of the future they are pursuing and the identification of steps that will enable them to demonstrate leadership towards that vision.

In my brief reflection as I journey back to New Zealand, I have pondered three key areas that have emerged from the feedback we received at the end of the three days…

1. Understanding what drives us

The initial phase of our programme deals a lot with exploring what motivates us in the work we do and the beliefs that underpin this. We refer to this as our ‘personal why’. We also explore how our personal ‘why’ aligns with the ‘why’ of the organisations we work in and lead. Not as easy as it sounds – but essential in order that the rest of the programme becomes meaningful. Here’s what some of the participants had to say…

• “The Why – so important for us. Also from what I have listened to from others this has been critical for their growth and development.”
• “This helps with getting everyone on the same page and having a record of ‘last time’ so that we can continue our work the next time that we meet.”
• “I often neglect my own personal ‘why’ statement. It is essential for all that we do – allows us to go back to the core and reasoning of decision making which impacts others.”

2. Learning about the tools that are available

We also spend a lot of time exploring a range of tools that leaders can use to support the work they have to do. This includes techniques and frameworks for prioritising the work they do, and for making strategic decisions to help implement a change process. We also used an AI tool to help develop and practice the skills required for holding difficult conversations – and another tool for helping develop a leadership response to the emotions revealed by those we work with. Here’s what some of the participants said…

• “I didn’t have any tools such quite like these prior to this workshop and as I like to have knowledge of all different types of tools, it was extremely helpful.”
• “I valued the tools to help manage and sustain change, thus helping shape the culture and climate of all we do.”
• “The tools were the most valuable, particularly NIMO!”
• “I found value in most of the sessions but really enjoyed the exploration of the ‘tools’. I could see myself using them in different contexts back at my school.”
• “I really like the agency book, but it is very linked to human centred design, which I am still working out.”
• “I found it high valuable on all fronts giving me more tools to add to the tool kit.”

3. Leading with a Future Focus

We spent quite a bit of time exploring what is meant by being ‘transformational’ in our leadership, and how to create an aspiration that inspires those we work with to engage with and contribute to the change we are seeking to achieve. This involved doing some ‘futures imagining’ work before engaging with an approach and framework to turn these ideas into action.

We spent quite a bit of time exploring what it means to be ‘transformational’ in our leadership, and how to create an aspiration that inspires those we work with to engage with and contribute to the change we are seeking to achieve. This involved doing some ‘futures imagining’ work before engaging with an approach and framework to turn these ideas into action. This was where we got to at the end of day three of our time together, with each of the participants having developed the basis of a personal plan of action that they will now go back to their own contexts and begin to implement over the next 20 weeks as we continue to connect virtually. Here’s what some had to say about leading for transformation…

• “I feel actively involved with my fellow WLC leaders (and other colleagues and support people) to drive the learning philosophy of the school forward.”
• “I feel positive about translating the tools, strategies and provocation into a purposeful manner to bring change and growth to my team, and College.”
• “I’m in a strategic planning phase and all of the ‘highly valuable’ areas selected directly relate and I am excited to use/action in some shape or form.” 
• “I’m looking forward to executing many of the elements learnt during this 3-day PD. They are practical, doable and achievable. It was also great to share the journey with others.”
• “I’m keen to start working on co-constructing the WHY with my team so that all staff members feel CONNECTED to the vision. I feel inspired, energetic and enthusiastic to put some of the tools into action.”
• “I need to think about how much the project I am considering will fit into the school’s plan to be given time and space for implementation.”

In our final session together we asked participants to share just one word that described how they were feeling after the 3 days together – I’ve captured their responses and created the word cloud below – you can see that one word dominated everyone’s feedback!

So now we’re back in New Zealand to re-engage with the APDP group who are half way through their 3Rs programme, and to begin the 20 weeks of coaching the Australian participants as they begin to implement their projects. We’re also planning some specialist webinars where participants from both groups will be able to connect together to learn from some international specialists we have arranged to share with them.

If the Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme sounds like something you’d like to participate in we’re planning one for principals and another for APDPs in 2026. We’re also open to working with Kāhui Ako or other existing networks who may benefit from this programme being provided exclusively for them.

If this is something you are interested in learning more about please use the link below to add your name to our list and we’ll keep you informed about when these are being held.