Imperfect Leadership in Action: A practical book for school leaders who know they don’t know it all - Softcover

Steve Munby; Marie-Claire Bretherton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1785836013 ISBN 13: 9781785836015

Publisher: Crown House Publishing, 2022

Synopsis

Written by Steve Munby and Marie-Claire Bretherton, Imperfect Leadership in Action: A practical book for school leaders who know they don’t know it all is designed to help leaders pursue imperfect leadership as something to be celebrated and as a foundation for success.

Foreword by Andy Hargreaves.

Hero headship is out. Imperfect leadership is in. This book is designed to help leaders develop and embrace an imperfect leadership mindset as a foundation for growth and development.

In his first book, Imperfect Leadership: A book for leaders who know they don’t know it all (ISBN 978-178583411-0), Steve Munby uses the word ‘imperfect’ to describe his own leadership style. This is not something he apologises for; he feels imperfect leadership should be celebrated. Too often we are given examples of leaders who are put on some kind of pedestal, lauded as superheroes who have it all worked out and are so good at what they do that nobody else can come close.

But imperfect leadership is the antidote to this flawed perception.

In Imperfect Leadership in Action, Steve has teamed up with Marie-Claire Bretherton to delve in more detail into a broad range of themes under the umbrella of imperfect leadership. Writing with sparkling clarity, the authors explore the approach’s key principles and share engaging exercises and inspiring case studies which give voice to a wide range of experiences from across the education sector.

The central message is that we can use our imperfections as a springboard for leadership development by asking for help, investing in self-reflection, focusing on building teams – and by trying to be a better version of ourselves tomorrow than we were today.

The book provides numerous prompts for self-reflection, and also includes a chapter on leading in times of change (such as the COVID-19 lockdowns) and how the principles of imperfect leadership turn out to be equally applicable in times of crisis.

Suitable for all those in or aspiring to leadership positions in education.

Chapters include:

• Chapter 1: Self-Awareness and Tuning into Context
• Chapter 2: Developing and Empowering Teams
• Chapter 3: Asking for Help
• Chapter 4: Managing Ego and Acknowledging Mistakes
• Chapter 5: Making Public Promises
• Chapter 6: Being a Restless Learner
• Chapter 7: Power and Love
• Chapter 8: Developing Future Leaders
• Chapter 9: Authenticity and Doing the Right Thing
• Chapter 10: Showing Up with Hope and Pragmatism
• Chapter 11: The Imperfect Leadership Mindset

About this title

About the Author

Steve Munby Steve Munby has spent his whole career in education, first as a teacher and then as an adviser and inspector before moving into leadership. Between 2005 and 2017 he was chief executive first of the National College for School Leadership in England and then of Education Development Trust, an international education charity. He is now a self-employed consultant and speaker on leadership and on system reform. Marie-Claire Bretherton Marie-Claire Bretherton trained as a teacher before becoming a head teacher in Lincolnshire, where she led three very different schools to secure improved outcomes for pupils, including in the most challenging of circumstances. She is now Director of School Improvement for Anthem Schools Trust in England, as well as the Education Director for KYRA – a community for teaching, leadership, research and school improvement partnerships.

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown House Publishing
• Publication date: 2022
• ISBN 10: 1785836013
• ISBN 13: 9781785836015
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 200