Why Mindset Matters for Senior Leadership Teams
Dr Joanne Ladds, Associate Consultant at Noble and Eaton, believes that ‘character development, inclusion, diversity and building a strong sense of self within a community all support an individual to make progress.’ Learning centres must ‘create a unique environment where learners feel safe and confident, where they have the opportunities to be curious and creative.’ Read on to find out why Mindset Matters for Senior Leadership Teams.
Mindset Matters
Why does mindset matter for senior leadership teams? Centres of learning excellence need to create the right conditions for learning. Teachers need to commit to the continuous improvement of practice; to focus on things that make a difference to student outcomes; provide time, space, dispensation and support for innovation and risk taking.
Impact Versus Cost
The Education Endowment Foundation highlighted a number of factors with a promising effect including feedback, collaborative working, homework and peer tutoring. In addition, also rated highly as beneficial for students was meta-cognitive learning and self-regulation, early years intervention, one to one tuition and oral language interventions.
The Importance of Attitude for your Senior Leadership Teams
Mahatma Ghandi said, “Keep your behaviour positive because your behaviour becomes your habits.” It is not an exaggeration to say that attitude is everything – self limits are imposed by ourselves, on ourselves, and only affect ourselves.
The Iceberg Illusion is where people only see the tip of the iceberg – your success. All your team’s hard work, sacrifices, failures (and persistence to get it right) and dedication are equally important but stay hidden from view.
What matters most is how you see yourself. As Joyce Meyer aptly put it, “You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind”.
So how can your Senior Leadership Team build a Culture of Positivity?
1. Engage with upbeat emotions
2. Build – make connections with prior knowledge and use questions
3. Consolidate and strengthen the neuron pathways by giving feedback
Strategies include using growth mindset language, holding whole school assemblies and instilling high levels of challenge. Use frequent formative feedback and welcome mistakes (remember FAIL – First Attempt In Learning!). Reward effort and discuss progress, not attainment. Teach the science of learning and study skills and make sure you communicate your growth mindset plans with parents and carers.
Fixed or Growth Mindset – which does your Senior Leadership Team have?
Mindset beliefs are how we feel about our intelligence, perceived talents, personality and so forth. Fixed mindsets tend to think that these are traits that cannot be changed; whereas growth mindset people believe you can cultivate intelligence through your life with dedication and effort.
Studies show a significant improvement in students who had access to a growth mindset intervention and the positive impact of praise on performance after failure. The more teachers were perceived to be invested in students’ future, the higher the motivation was by learners to improve.
Noble and Eaton can support your Senior Leadership Team to ever increasing success. Call us to find more.
