You default to telling because it feels faster. But it just makes you the bottleneck.

Two days in Shanghai (27-28 Feb) fixing that. 12 spots. 6 left. 80% practice, not theory. Early bird ends Friday.

buff.ly/LowOLnn

#Leadership #Coaching #EduSky

The leaders I admire most are fluent in both direct and indirect communication. In both cases, nobody's confused about expectations.

The skill is staying clear, not staying direct.

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"Your classroom management needs some work."

You've been direct. But the teacher has no idea what to change.

Direct doesn't always mean clear.

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Next time someone tells you to "be more direct," pause and ask: is the problem directness or is the problem clarity?

Those are two different things.

Listen here: buff.ly/6jNmCi3

Huge thanks to Eunice Okpotu for the conversation that sparked this episode. We landed on this idea of "indirect clarity" together and it completely changed how I think about communication.

Listen here: buff.ly/6jNmCi3

17 years to get 14% of doctors using proven treatments.

If healthcare struggles this much with evidence-based practice, no wonder schools do too.

Implementation science matters: buff.ly/7llOyoW

#EducationalLeadership

18 leaders. 10 weeks. Tomorrow we start. They're going to practice the hell out of 10 core leadership skills until they stick. I'm so excited I can't focus on anything else.

Ground rules sound boring until you realise they're the difference between honest feedback and everyone protecting their job.

Five-minute interviews create safety for disagreement. James Mannion breaks it down: buff.ly/7llOyoW

People value autonomy more than salary.

So when decisions get made behind closed doors and just announced, it creates that "us and them" dynamic that kills buy-in instantly.

Dr James Mannion on why top-down keeps failing: buff.ly/7llOyoW

Slice teams have three levels. Most schools stop at level one (consultation we'll ignore) or two (steering group that checks in).

Level three is where the team actually owns the change. No veto allowed.

That's the difference: buff.ly/7llOyoW

The gap between knowing best practice and making it happen? That's what the top episodes were really about.

Year in review: buff.ly/y8X9XLA

Just went through the year's listening stats. You lot doubled the podcast in six months. Absolutely wild.

Here are the five episodes that resonated most: buff.ly/y8X9XLA

#SchoolLeadership

Katharine Birbalsingh's episode got thousands of listens. Some people told me they refused to listen because of strong opinions about her.

But we didn't talk politics. We talked about leadership. Worth it.

buff.ly/y8X9XLA

Why does a published author struggle to implement his own ideas in his own school?
Chris Youles was brilliant on this. Number 3 most listened episode of the year.

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"Start with relationships, create pilots, stay anchored to purpose."

Tam's three things for leading school change are simple but not easy.

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