Principles for Approaching Issues in Schools

I’ve worked in schools for over 20 years, with 15 of those being in school leadership. As is the case for all educators and school leaders, I have had to deal with my fair share of issues throughout these years. This can be between students, staff, parents, service providers and/or mixtures of all of them!

As educators and leaders our approach to issues should be to resolve them justly and efficiently. However, with most issues, there is also opportunity to make some organisational culture gains. Here are my three guiding principles towards resolving issues, that will also help build a strong long-term culture within your school.

Issues are best solved:

? As close to the problem as possible...

? With as few people as possible...

? As far down the hierarchy as possible.

?As Close to the Problem As Possible

The best people to help solve issues are those who are directly involved. Where solutions or agreements can be formed by the people involved, you will often find a solution that ‘sticks’. The process of working through the issue, often allows people to have their voice heard, understand their role in the issue and resolution, and to feel some ownership to the solution. Encouraging this approach in the first instance helps build mutual understanding and a culture where the people best placed to find a solution do so. However, there are times where a third-party is required to assist.

?With As Few People As Possible.

Where a problem requires additional people to assist, whether it be school leaders, allies, counsellors or support people, it is best to keep the circle of involvement as small as possible. The aim should be to bring the right people in to solve the problem, but no more than is necessary. More people adds to the complexity of the situation and often the time taken to reach a satisfactory outcome. An issue can also become more visible within a community as more people get involved with the ‘network effect’ creating unnecessary levels of conversations. Keeping the circle of people involved as small as possible gives assurance to those involved that the chance of the issue being unhelpfully spread is minimsed. The ‘right’ people does not always mean leaders who are higher up the hierarchy.

As Far Down The Hierarchy As Possible

It can be tempting to up source issues up the hierarchy, including going straight to the top. Some intentions of this may include hoping to get a swift and decisive decision made, not having the deal with the issue yourself and in less pleasant circumstances looking to cast a bad light on others. In a good culture, problems will be resolved as low down the leadership hierarchy as possible as this encourages ownership of the solution to those closest to it, develops the experience of entry and middle leaders and steers away from an unhealthy culture of senior management knowing every issue in the school and all the ‘mistakes’ people are making. Those at the higher levels of the hierarchy also have their part to play by not engaging in every approach they receive. Instead, they should ‘send’ issues down to the right level and in doing demonstrate faith and confidence in their team.

There are serious issues that require senior and experienced leaders to resolve, and which might require significant input from multiple people, experts and external agencies. However, when read carefully, these principles still hold true even in these challenging circumstances.

Churchill wrote: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” I have found that the principles above have helped guide me as an over-arching approach to resolve issues in a healthy way, while also achieving organisational cultural gains such as developing trust between people, growing staff experience and developing a problem-solving environment.

Consider if they align with your processes and practices, and if they might be applicable in your context. If you have any additional principles you have found useful, please share them in the comments.

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