Alan Brooks and Dina Shah discuss 'High Performance' habits from sports stars in a school context. Topics include ownership of learning, trademark behaviors, responsibility, growth mindset, and empowerment for high performance cultures in teams and schools.
Fostering a growth mindset and empowering student voices are crucial for a successful school culture.
Implementing non-negotiable behaviors and setting behavior-based goals drive success within organizations.
Prioritizing smaller team dynamics over whole-school briefings can create a positive ripple effect on overall culture.
Deep dives
Importance of Creating the Right Culture
Creating the right culture within a team and organization is crucial for success, according to the podcast. The book emphasizes the significance of culture, mentioning notable figures like Garret Sowgate. It also delves into a study by Stanford professors that quantified the impact of culture on organizational success. The study categorized culture into five models, with commitment culture being the most successful. Changing culture can be challenging but ultimately rewarding, leading to environments where people feel safe, valued, and respected.
Shifting School Culture through Team Meetings
To shift the culture in their school, the podcast guests focused on improving smaller team dynamics. By prioritizing smaller team meetings over whole-school briefings, they aimed to create a ripple effect of positive culture. An example was shared of a key stage raising team that met weekly to strategize on improving student outcomes. By fostering the right culture in smaller teams, the impact spread across the school, emphasizing the role of team dynamics in shaping overall culture.
Cultivating Student Voice and Leadership
The podcast highlighted the importance of student voice and leadership in school culture. The guests described initiatives where students were actively engaged in decision-making processes, influencing school policies and practices. By involving students in leadership teams and councils, schools can create a sense of community and empower students to contribute positively to their environment. The discussions revolved around fostering a culture where students feel heard, valued, and motivated to make a difference.
Promoting Non-Negotiable Behaviors for Success
The podcast discussed the significance of non-negotiable behaviors in driving success within organizations. By setting clear behavior standards and ensuring their consistent application, leaders can shape a positive culture. The guests shared examples of implementing non-negotiable behaviors, such as rotating meeting chairs and introducing CPD sharing sessions. Emphasizing accountability, vulnerability, and feedback, these behaviors create a foundation for a successful team culture.
Embracing Mindset and Behavioral Goals
The importance of mindset and behavioral goals for high performance was emphasized in the podcast. Rather than solely focusing on outcome-oriented goals, the discussion highlighted the value of setting behavior-based objectives. Research cited in the book revealed that successful teams often prioritize behavior goals over outcome goals. By fostering a growth mindset and focusing on non-negotiable behaviors, organizations can drive continuous improvement and positive outcomes.
Welcome to another insightful episode of the PiXL Leadership Bookclub! This week, Rachel Johnson (PiXL CEO) is joined by Alan Brooks (Deputy Head at St Michael's CofE High School in Wolverhampton) and Dina Shah (Deputy Principal at St Julian's School in Portugal). Together, they explore the transformative wisdom of Jake Humphrey and Professor Damian Hughes' "High Performance: Lessons from the Best on Becoming Your Best".
Humphrey and Hughes reveal the eight essential habits of the world's leading sportspeople, coaches, and entrepreneurs– but what relevance could these lessons have in a school setting?
From taking ownership of one's learning journey to identifying and fostering 'Trademark Behaviours', this book offers invaluable insights for educators and pupils alike.
Whether it is instilling a sense of responsibility, fostering a growth mindset, empowering student voices or boosting self-efficacy, the lessons this book offers lay out a blueprint for success. Take advantage of this dynamic episode of the PiXL Leadership Bookclub podcast for the opportunity to learn how to start nurturing the best cultures for high performance within your team, your school, your community, and beyond.
PiXL is a partnership organisation of thousands of schools, colleges and alternative education providers spanning KS1-5. Find out more about how you could gain value from a PiXL subscription: https://www.pixl.org.uk/membership or email us at membership@pixl.org.uk to find out more.
PiXL Leadership Bookclub is a We Are In Beta production.
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