Education Leaders | Strategic School Leadership

Dr Chris Baker, education researcher and consultant focused on evidence-based leadership and teaching practices. He unpacks poor proxies for leadership and whether visibility equals effectiveness. They debate why most CPD fails to stick and who should be accountable. Brief, witty stories and practical reflections on translating classroom pedagogy into real leadership practice.

England spends £1 billion a year on teacher professional development, yet a poll of school leaders found that just 1% said it led to lasting change in practice. This episode examines why that gap exists, drawing on a landmark 2025 report from the Teacher Development Trust, which surveyed over a thousand teachers and leaders across England. The findings are stark, but the patterns, as Shane argues, are universal and if you lead a school anywhere in the world, the problems will feel familiar. You'll learn about the significant perception gap between what leaders think CPD achieves and what teachers actually experience, why the formats schools rely on most (workshops, online modules) are the least effective, and what the evidence actually points to instead. Shane shares five practical steps leaders can take right now, from closing the feedback gap with staff to investing in coaching and peer observation. Perhaps most urgently, the data shows a direct link between poor professional development and teacher retention and what kind of CPD would genuinely make teachers more likely to stay. Resources & Links Mentioned:Education Leaders IntensiveEpisode PartnersInternational Curriculum AssociationTeaching WalkthrusJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Baker, leadership development specialist and author, explores how schools mistake visibility, busyness and confidence for true leadership. He discusses why these proxies mislead and proposes judging leaders by the feelings they create and what they enable others to do. Practical steps for auditing recruitment, job descriptions and development programs are shared.

Episode 151 is a milestone worth pausing on, and Shane uses it to do something he probably should have done sooner: properly introduce himself. Many listeners know the podcast but have never heard the full story of how Education Leaders grew from a simple desire for better conversations into a three-part organisation spanning a community, a coaching academy, and international school consultancy. This episode is Shane's honest account of those early uncertain months, the moment something shifted, and why he kept going long before he had any of it figured out. You'll hear how the Education Leaders Intensive came together, what drives the self-study courses launching soon, and why Shane co-founded The Work Collaborative, a not-for-profit built on one clear conviction: schools need to restore confidence in their own judgement. Shane explains what he keeps seeing in schools around the world, the cycle of well-intentioned consultants and initiatives that never quite stick because internal capacity was never built alongside them. If you're curious about the world behind the microphone, or simply want to understand what Shane and his collaborators are actually building, this is the episode to start with. Resources & Links Mentioned:Education Leaders IntensiveThe Work CollaborativeEpisode PartnersInternational Curriculum AssociationTeaching WalkthrusJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Teachers spend years learning to coach people. Ask questions, not give answers. Build trust before expecting vulnerability. Hold space. Stay quiet when staying quiet is the hardest thing.Then they get promoted. And most of it disappears.Chris Scorer — school leader, data specialist, and co-host of Education Leaders Live — said it plainly this month: "You'd never walk into a classroom and tell kids to do something just because you're telling them to. Yet leadership very often does exactly that."If you've ever watched that gap open up — between what you know good leadership looks like and what actually happens under pressure — you're in the right place. You're not the only one who's seen it.This is Education Leaders Live, the monthly companion show to the Education Leaders podcast. Each month, host Shane Leaning and Chris Scorer sit down with the listeners who show up live to unpack the best conversations from the feed. This month they hit a milestone — Episode 150 — and three conversations that kept pulling at the same uncomfortable question.Why coaching programmes fail If you've ever launched a coaching initiative in a school and watched it quietly dissolve, Gene Tevonetti's research will probably explain why. After working with hundreds of schools, he found it's almost never the method that fails. It's one unresolved question that nobody answered at the start: what gets shared, what stays private, and who actually agreed on that before the coaching began? Confidentiality isn't just a detail. It's the foundation — and most schools pour it last.Why smart leaders make terrible decisions You're not irrational. You're human. Shane walked through five cognitive biases that show up constantly in school leadership — anchoring, availability, the endowment effect, groupthink, and optimism bias. Chris brought an unexpected angle: Richard Thaler built behavioural economics to help people understand how we actually make decisions, not the tidy rational-actor fiction economists had been selling for decades. Then it came out he'd run workshops for Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on how to use that same understanding to manipulate people through their websites. Chris was genuinely heartbroken. He contrasted it with Tim Berners-Lee, who simply gave the internet to the world with no IP, no commercial conditions, nothing. "With great power comes great responsibility," Shane said. It might be the most honest five seconds of the month.The future of British international schools (Episode 150 milestone) Simon Probert introduced an idea that's quietly reshaping how the best international schools think: rooted cosmopolitanism. There's a difference between raising students to be "global citizens" — a well-meaning idea that can leave young people belonging to nowhere — and students who are deeply anchored in their own culture and genuinely open to the world. As demographics shift in international school cities like Shanghai, this stops being philosophical. What is your school actually for? Do all your stakeholders agree? And if they don't, whose job is it to sort that out?Chris also had his "Chris Solves the World" moment. One practical step that any international school could take tomorrow. It involves language. Worth staying for.You can join Shane and Chris live every last Thursday of the month at educationleaders.live, on LinkedIn, or on YouTube — 6pm Shanghai / 10am UK. Bring your thoughts, your pushback, and your own stories from the field. That's what this show is built for.If this is your world, we'd genuinely love to have you in the room.👇 Which of these three conversations is living in your head right now? Let us know.Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to lead a ‘British’ school in an international context today? If your school promotes ‘global citizenship’ but struggles to feel truly grounded in its local community, this conversation is essential. Shane is joined by headteacher and author Simon Probert, who argues that the future success of our sector depends on moving beyond a ‘rootless’ global identity. He introduces the powerful concept of ‘rooted cosmopolitanism,' building a school identity that is deeply connected to its local place and culture while maintaining its global outlook. You’ll learn why the term ‘global citizen’ can be problematic and loaded with privilege, and how to intentionally localise your curriculum, traditions, and community practices. The episode provides practical strategies for fostering genuine belonging, implementing effective co-leadership models between international and local leaders, and designing inclusive staff cultures that bridge cultural divides. Resources & Links Mentioned:Simon's LinkedInHartmut Rosa's 'Uncontrollability of CultureThe UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)Stuart Hall's writings on culture and identityEpisode PartnersInternational Leaders ConferenceTeaching WalkthrusJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You explained it clearly, they nodded, and two weeks later three people did three completely different things. This episode tackles one of the most common and costly communication breakdowns in school leadership: assuming that because you said it, it landed. Shane draws on research from Cornell and Stanford, including the "tappers and listeners" study, to explain why even experienced leaders consistently overestimate how clearly their message has been received, and why just knowing about these biases isn't enough to fix them. The answer is a simple three-step habit called paraphrasing: signal, restate, check. You'll learn why paraphrasing is fundamentally different from just repeating words back, how it surfaces misunderstandings in the moment rather than weeks later, and why it's especially valuable in international school settings where language and cultural norms add another layer of complexity. Shane also covers how to handle the slightly awkward moment when someone looks at you like you're going oddly slowly, and why naming what you're doing dissolves that resistance almost immediately. If you're ready to try one thing this week that will change how your conversations feel, press play. Resources & Links Mentioned:Shane Leaning's Education Leaders IntensiveEpisode PartnersInternational Leaders ConferenceTeaching WalkthrusJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Selina Boyd, international editor of The Good Schools Guide, reveals what actually matters when parents choose schools for their children. With over a decade reviewing international schools and more than 1,600 schools assessed worldwide, Selina explains why authentic leadership isn't about what leaders say about themselves, but what parents and students say about them. This conversation challenges school leaders to rethink how they communicate their school's story in an era where parents are savvy researchers who trust other parents more than polished marketing materials. You'll learn the specific moments that signal whether students are genuinely thriving, from children running up to show their work to sixth formers who can articulate why they chose your school. Selina shares practical examples of authentic school storytelling, including how one international school used Instagram reels to connect with future students in a way that felt genuine rather than contrived. If you're trying to build trust with prospective families whilst navigating social media and modern parent expectations, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on letting others tell your school's story. Resources & Links Mentioned:The Good Schools GuideSelina Boyd on LinkedInEpisode PartnersInternational Leaders ConferenceTeaching WalkthrusJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You hired the wrong person, killed a working programme, or ignored a massive risk whilst feeling completely rational the whole time. This episode unpacks five cognitive biases that sabotage school leadership decisions constantly: anchoring, availability bias, endowment effect, groupthink, and optimism bias. Shane shares real examples from his own leadership mistakes, including a disastrous hiring decision driven by a compelling opening story, and explains why these mental shortcuts that usually help us actually wreck leadership decisions. You'll learn practical systems to catch yourself before these biases derail your next major decision. Shane walks through how to counter anchoring with "consider the opposite" thinking, why you need a decision journal to spot availability bias patterns, how to set up kill committees for initiatives you've personally championed, and why assigning a devil's advocate role fights groupthink. If you've ever wondered why smart leaders sometimes make terrible collective decisions, or why your optimistic timelines never match reality, this episode gives you the frameworks to make better choices and build trust with your team. Resources & Links Mentioned:Change Starts Here by Shane LeaningEpisode PartnersInternational Curriculum AssociationTeaching WalkthrusJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Scorer and Shane Leaning got together to unpack some of the big themes from recent episodes, particularly that vulnerable solo episode Shane put out about self-doubt and imposter syndrome. The response to that one has been overwhelming, especially the private messages from leaders who haven't felt able to share their struggles publicly. Chris and Shane dug into why we've become so intolerant of failure in education, how accountability has overtaken development in our systems, and whether that's creating environments where leaders feel they have to hide their vulnerability rather than use it as a learning opportunity.We also talked about Jet Wolper's brilliant episode on questioning the status quo and why we keep cutting the ends off ham. It challenged our developmental approach to change because sometimes, as Chris pointed out, you need to strip things back before you can build them up properly. Chris shared James Miller's gutsy move at Royal Grammar School Newcastle, where he simply got rid of anything that wasn't actually helping kids. We wrapped up talking about curiosity as an antidote to the winter blues and how being one step more curious this February might be exactly what we need.Episodes mentioned:Tam Proctor on school character and culture: shaneleaning.com/podcast/140James Mannion on making change stick: shaneleaning.com/podcast/142Jet Wolper on the tab tax and cutting the ends off ham: shaneleaning.com/podcast/144Self-doubt and imposter syndrome (solo episode): shaneleaning.com/podcast/145Join us live: educationleaders.liveJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.