WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG ...

Life in schools is vibrant, exhilarating and full of joy – most of the time. Working with children and young people is constantly rewarding – sharing their idealism; drawing on their energy; marvelling at their achievements. Leading and working in schools is one of the best jobs in the world!

Until something goes wrong.

Of course, when something goes wrong, most schools have highly effective critical incident response plans in place these days – but what is the core KPI of an effective critical response plan?

Communication. Most of us would accept that the most important dimension of a critical response plan is a practised and pragmatic approach to communication – both within the school community and beyond.

Alexa von Tobel would agree, noting that we all know that communication is key in a crisis but she goes further. For von Tobel, the most important dimension of a leader’s critical response plan is not just communication, but over-communication (in This is the most crucial leadership skill in a crisis, in Fastcompany, 9 July 2023).

To be a leader in any organisation in 2023 is to encounter challenge after challenge, according to Von Tobel. We are living through an incredibly tumultuous period, from waves of layoffs at leading tech companies large and small, to thorny financial situations like Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, she observes. For us in schools, the disturbed and disrupted schooling of many students during Covid has precipitated stubbornly resistant mental health crises in many young lives, yielding aberrant behaviour and burgeoning cases of school withdrawal and self harm. Yet you will agree with von Tobel’s assertion that often when you’re managing through turbulence, you have to stay calm on the surface, while you’re paddling like crazy underwater.?I know firsthand how stressful it can be to lead in a moment like this, she continues, but over the past decade of my career, it’s become crystal clear to me that there’s one skill that should be top of mind right now: over-communication.

As a school leader, you have frameworks in place to communicate seamlessly across your organisation. You hold at least weekly whole-staff briefings; departments and teaching teams meet weekly or, informally, even more frequently. You probably send weekly progress emails; or publish student and staff achievements in some sort of staff bulletin, or at least in your weekly Newsletter. These kinds of routines are important, von Tobel acknowledges, but when things get tough, she attests, over-communication is essential. Messaging updates to your team and stakeholders is similar; more is more here.

Here are the five principles von Tobel says she uses when she needs to over-communicate through a crisis.

BE QUICK

A prompt response is essential when something goes wrong, especially in a school, and especially these days when students’ mobile phones can broadcast news to your entire parent community instantaneously. News of an incident or an accident involving a student; an injury during a PE class or a sporting fixture, especially in a school, is, well, news! Genuine critical incidents are more likely, not less, to be spread around your school family even more quickly. For you to stay silent and not to send a message, even while you struggle to get all your ducks in order, only breeds confusion and stress, von Tobel would suggest. She says it is okay to send a message before you have finalised 100% of the details, simply to say: we’re aware, here’s what we know today, and here’s when you can expect more information. Speed is better than silence, in her view.

BE THOUGHTFUL AND CONSULT

Moving fast and communicating quickly is a must, then, but in times of crisis, von Tobel cautions, the bar to communicate thoughtfully is raised. Perhaps she could add mindfully as well. Before you hit send on a communication, she advises, make sure that you’ve gut-checked it with a trusted colleague or peer who can offer more perspective. Put a parent’s shoes on for a second and ask yourself, How would I respond if I heard this expressed in this way from the Principal? ?If it’s a written communication, assume that it could show up on the front page of tomorrow’s paper. How will that look? If that happens, would you still stand by what the message says? von Tobel asks, adding that it’s always worth a (short) beat to give it one last read-through.

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A PHONE CALL

One of my mentors taught me this very early on in my career, von Tobel recalls: If you ever have an important message to convey, pick up the phone, noting that so much can get lost in translation over a text or email. We can’t afford to lose tone and nuance at a time when tone and nuance matter. Of course you cannot be expected to phone every parent in your situation, but people at the centre of the crisis – certainly at least the parents of the student involved – have to be phoned.

As von Tobel explains, if you have to share something difficult, a phone call is not only the most efficient, it’s often the most effective. Depending on what you need to share, you can always follow up a call with written confirmation of what you discussed live.?

REMEMBER ALL YOUR STAKEHOLDERS

If you’re working through a critical incident in a school setting, there is always a core audience you need to reach immediately. But in your haste, von Tobel suggests, make sure you think through all of the stakeholders who might have questions. For example, former students may hear a garbled version of events, especially if they might perceive the critical event may reflect poorly on their old school’s reputation. It’s always better to reach out to alumni proactively, instead of waiting for a deluge of panicked or indignant inbound messages.

For example, von Tobel says, thinking about her own commercial sphere of working, let’s say you’re dealing with a data breach. (You might be dealing with a data breach at school – it has been known to happen!) Your first order of business is messaging impacted customers – or in your case, parents of students or even members of staff whose personal details may have been hacked - but there are many others who will want to know what’s going on: your former employees, alumni and even parents of future enrolments in the pipeline. As von Tobel asks you, wouldn’t it be better to hear about the breach from you instead of through the grapevine??

CLOSE THE LOOP

This final step is crucial, partly because it is possibly not front of mind for you. Because you communicated with your parent community immediately the crisis had occurred, you will have more updates to share over time. Don’t forget to circle back: What have you learned since your last note? Von Tobel enquires. Are there any big updates to share or corrections to make? Were there common questions or misunderstandings you received that you can address in a group format??

Continually updating parents and the school family may seem like overkill, but in a crisis, especially one involving a student or staff member, you cannot over-tell the true and correct story. When people hear bad news, they need constantly to be updated so that they can achieve a sense of closure, or assurance that everything that could have been done is being done, and that you have quite literally shared everything with them that they feel they need to know. Again, keep referring your intended communications back to your own trusted colleagues and senior staff team before you send them. Recognise too that in any crisis, you personally are carrying a huge burden for the school community – in other words, be aware that you yourself may not be thinking very clearly, especially after a few days have passed. Share the burden with others by sharing your planned communications with them – draw on their strength to support yours.

As von Tobel counsels, no matter what curveball comes your way or what chaos you’re dealing with in the moment, don’t forget to take a step back and remember to communicate. Yes, of course you need to resolve the crisis and deal with all of its ramifications and implications, but, she concludes, communication can help make everyone feel brought along the journey with you and give them the confidence that you have it under control.

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