Best Practice

School leadership: Why influence comes before impact

As a school leader we are focused on impact, but does this lead us to forget about the importance of influence? Robbie Burns explores ‘influence’ and how it links to leadership impact
Image: Adobe Stock

We measure a lot of the success of our work as leaders through the lens of impact. Recently, I wrote an article about this very concept which analysed how to understand which aspects of impact you can leverage the most in your work as a leader.

Elements such as climate, colleagues’ knowledge, systems and processes formed part of this, influenced by the work of Nick Hart.

Although a pervasive school leadership concept that has shaped policy and professional qualifications in recent years, I am feeling there is something missing about it. There is a deeper concept that impact interacts with, a stronger notion about what makes school leadership effective that I think is worth pursuing and understanding: influence.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting Headteacher Update and reading some of our content for professionals in primary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcasts

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here


Related articles