Top tips for women looking for headship

Research by The Future Leaders Trust suggests there are over 1700 female heads ‘missing’ from headship. That’s the number of additional female heads there would be if the proportion of women in the top position matched the proportion of women in teaching as a whole.

This isn’t a new issue; the percentage of female heads has changed very little since the earliest school workforce census, published in 2010. Some of this underrepresentation can be explained by the attitudes of governing bodies and their views of the “right man” for the job. But part of the explanation lies with women themselves and the need to overcome their lack of confidence and fears about balancing a family and a very demanding job.
Here are some of the top tips I've gathered from working with female leaders who have succeeded in breaking through the barriers to headship:

Believe in yourself

• You’ve got to be in it to win it! (or “lean in” as Sheryl Sandberg would have it). Research reveals that if a man thought he could perform only 3 out of the 10 duties specified in a job, he would still apply, whereas a woman who thought she could perform 7 out of the 10 would not. The truth is I haven’t spoken to a single head of either gender who felt fully qualified for their first headship when they took it (and no matter how qualified there’s always more to learn and improve), so go for it!
• Talk yourself up, not down. Would you talk to others the way you talk to yourself? What you say to yourself can have a big impact on how confident you feel and appear. Particularly before an interview, make sure your inner voice is focusing on the positives.
• Be yourself. There’s a lot of literature out there about authentic leadership, which suggests we should be more willing to “bring ourselves to work” as leaders. Heads come in all shapes and sizes and you don’t need to fit a particular mould to be one or to be successful. But it is worth remembering that we all continue to grow and change over time and the self you project and become as a head might not be the same self you were as a deputy (or are at home) and that’s not something to be afraid of.

Remember why you’re doing it

• Focus on the children. Women are more likely than men to worry that their ambition to become a head will be seen as self-aggrandising. Yet becoming a head is the best way of having a greater impact on more children within the school. Worth remembering if those doubts creep in!
• There can be benefits for your own children too. Most of the female heads I’ve spoken to and say they find it easier to balance work and a family as head than they did as a deputy because the role brings greater autonomy (as well as greater accountability) – a sentiment echoed by those who completed our survey on parenthood and school leadership. Some have negotiated specific working arrangements to help them do this. Like the head of the outstanding secondary academy able to work 4 days a week. Or the primary head who works part-time and shares her responsibilities with a colleague in a “co-headship”. Negotiating such arrangements is usually easiest once you’ve proven yourself and have the buy-in of staff and governors. Treating your own staff with similar regard for their out-of-work commitments is also important.

Project confidence (even if you don’t feel it)

What you actually say accounts for as little as 7% of what interviewers judge when reaching their decision, so it is worth practising the tricks that can make you appear confident:

• Stand tall. Around half of what interviewers think about you is determined by what they see. So looking the part is certainly important, but so are the non-verbal signals you send. Standing or sitting tall, maintaining eye contact, using measured hand gestures to emphasise key points, and smiling when appropriate can all help engage your interviewer.
• Sound authoritative. Vocals also make a big impact (almost 40% according to some studies). Think about how you modulate your voice, lower your pitch (especially if you get squeaky when nervous) and maintain steady breathing.  And definitely avoid going up at the end of sentences unless you’re actually asking a question?!
• Pause! – Even if you know what you want to say. While it might feel like an eternity to you, a pause of just a few seconds after a question has been asked can give the appearance of thoughtfulness. It also gives you time to collect your thoughts so you can crisply present the points you want to get across. If you’re not comfortable with silence, saying something like “mmm, that’s an interesting question…” before launching into your answer can have the same effect. Pausing after key points within your presentation or answer can also give the audience time to absorb them more fully before you move on (as well as helping you to slow down and breath!).
• Signpost. Saying you’re going to make three points about something can help your audience listen better because they know what’s coming. It is also a helpful strategy if you’re worried about interviewers jumping in before you’ve finished (or about getting lost in your own answer!).

Be assertive

As Meg and Eve from WiSH point out, being assertive is not the same as being aggressive. It starts from the belief that people are equal and is achieved through clear communication and effective listening:

• Speak from “I”. Using “I” statements can help you articulate clearly what you want, think or did. This is particularly important in interviews of course, because no matter how collaborative your leadership style, the panel wants to know what you have done and what you have achieved. As one participant put it, you need to “be as powerful an ambassador for yourself as you are for your pupils and colleagues”.
• Listen actively. Effective listening is powerful as a visual, showing you are interested and engaged. It is also an important element of assertiveness because it enables you to connect and empathise with others’ views. In interviews it is also useful to make sure you’ve heard the question properly!
• Answer the questions the panel is too afraid to ask. In an ideal world, all panels would be as enlightened as the one who awarded someone their first headship noting that they were “expecting a maternity leave” and didn’t want the appointment to be at the expense of starting a family. Sadly not all panels are as enlightened as this, but may stop short of voicing concerns that they later weigh in reaching their decision. It can be a risky strategy and what you say needs to be carefully thought-through, but some women have successfully managed to head off governors’ unspoken concerns by tackling them head on. Like the head who acknowledged that she had young twins, but was every bit as committed to the children in the school as she was to her own children and was able to outline the support arrangements she had in place to enable her to deliver on this.