Last week, I wrote a blog about that voice in our head that tells us we’re not good enough or that we’re not doing a good enough job (and how to shut it up).  I also talked about how this voice can create ‘analysis paralysis’.

‘Analysis paralysis’ can present in many contexts – not just when we’re crippled with self-doubt but also when we feel that things are out of our control. School leaders may be used to dealing with high levels of uncertainty and frequent change but what we’re facing right now is beyond anything we’ve previously dealt with or ever could have imagined. There isn’t a forged path to follow.

We may have reams and reams of ‘guidance’ and files and folders full of strategies, plans and risk assessments but the truth is there’s still a lot we don’t know. And often, what we think we know turns out to be wrong – or is turned upside down with little to no notice. Not to mention the many ‘opinions’ we’re bombarded with on a daily basis.

So how do we keep up?

How do we test our decision making process?

How can we be sure we’re doing the right thing when circumstances and the future are so far beyond our influence?

Here are my thoughts…

You know what you know

You know your school, your students, your staff and your community inside out. Better than anyone. Fact. You know what the official guidance says you can do and perhaps more importantly, what it says you must not do. You know how to risk assess your school building, your capacity and your ability to keep everyone that comes into your school safe – students and staff. You know what you need to do to provide an education for your students.

You don’t know everything

You don’t know what the next iteration of guidance is going to say. You don’t know what’s going to happen over the summer and you don’t know what’s going to happen in September. You don’t know when things will go back to ‘normal’ and you’re not an expert in the communication and control of disease (even though people expect you to be!) 

However…

You know what is right

You know what you’re capable of, what’s do-able and what’s beyond you. You know what is needed, you know when it’s possible (or not) to provide it and you know how to resource and deliver it.

Use this knowledge to ground you, to centre you, to focus you. Every decision you make should be sourced from this place of core knowledge. 

It’s because you know your school, your students, your staff and your community inside out, that you know exactly what the right thing to do is. 

It might not be precisely what the guidance says.

It might not be something that people like.

It might not be what the school down the road is doing.

But so what?

You are a school leader – leading your school through one of the most difficult periods (if not the most difficult period) it has faced. And you can do this. 

Instead of focusing on what you don’t know, focus on what you do know and what is right. Think about what you should do and realistically, what you can do.

I know there are some things that you desperately want to do but can’t – and this is frustrating for you as well as for others. This is where ‘analysis paralysis’ can really take hold. For these things, weigh up the cost of doing them versus the cost of not doing them. By cost, I don’t necessarily mean money but rather stakes; what’s at stake if you do and what’s at stake if you don’t?

What is important right now? What does your school and its community need and can you make it happen?

These things might shift as we move forward but the one constant is you. Your knowledge and your leadership. You will be there today, tomorrow, in September and beyond. You are the voice of your school and its community.

In the absence of a clear next step, trust in yourself and your teams to make the right decisions. 

Whilst everyone knows what the guidance says, not everyone knows what YOU know about YOUR school. 

When it comes to making decisions about your school who knows more than you? Nobody.

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