School Leaders Matter: Preventing Burnout, Managing Stress, and Improving Wellbeing

250 Pages·2023·2.905 MB·English

by  Helen Kelly

School Leaders Matter
This book outlines practical steps that both government and schools can imple-
ment to signifcantly reduce the demands placed upon school leaders. It also
provides highly efective tools and strategies to enable school leaders to refect
upon and improve their own wellbeing.
Packed full of research-led approaches, this book:
– Examines school leader burnout, what causes it, how to recognise
it, and how to prevent it
– Refects on why school leaders fail to prioritise their own needs
and how this can be addressed
– Provides a comprehensive framework for schools to support leader
thriving and resilience
– Shares efective, evidence-based coping strategies for leaders.
This is a must-read book for all school leaders and those looking to support and
improve school leader wellbeing.
Helen Kelly is a researcher, writer, speaker, and consultant in the feld of school
wellbeing. As a principal, she led international schools in Bangkok, Berlin, and
Hong Kong. Prior to this she was a solicitor in the feld of health and safety
at work.

School Leaders Matter
Preventing Burnout, Managing Stress,
and Improving Wellbeing
HELEN KELLY
Designed cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Helen Kelly
The right of Helen Kelly to be identifed as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation without intent
to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-05633-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-05634-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-19847-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003198475
Typeset in Dante and Avenir
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To all the school leaders who have shared
their stories with me
To Dave for his support and patience

Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xx
Introduction 1
PART I
What Is Causing School Leader Stress and Burnout? 11
1 The Intensifcation of the School Leader’s Role 13
2 T he Emotional Demands of the School
Leader’s Role 20
3 Workload Demands and Other Stressors 37
4 Leading Through a Crisis 49
5 The Challenges of Leading an International School 61
6 More About Burnout 76
viii Contents
PART II
Preventing Burnout, Managing Stress, and Improving Wellbeing 85
7 What Governments Can Do 87
8 W hat Schools Can Do: A Strategic Approach to Prevent
School Leader Burnout 104
9 What Schools Can Do: Addressing Workload 124
10 W hat Schools Can Do: Supporting Leaders’ Mental
Health and Wellbeing 142
11 What Schools Can Do: Building Community 157
12 What Leaders Can Do: Managing Stress 174
13 W hat Leaders Can Do: Addressing Self-Sabotage
Behaviours 192
14 What Leaders Can Do: Recovering From Burnout 205
Conclusion 217
Index 219
Foreword
Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to examine Helen’s doctoral thesis.
Now she has taken that learning, and her own deep experiences in practice,
to write this book. Reading it, I was struck that many of the issues have not
changed since I began to write about stress and leadership in the 1990s; but
what has changed, I think, is a deeper awareness of the toll policy change
and fnancial issues have had on leaders in schools. This can be seen both
in educational writing nationally and internationally, and also in consult-
ancy and expertise provided to schools. It is sobering to note that this huge
body of work seems to be marginalised in the schools where it is needed
most. As Helen says, school leaders matter, and it is a source of worry to
me that successive governments have taken a “replace/disposable” attitude
to school leadership, rather than looking at leaders’ needs. Hopefully, this
book will be used by school leaders to plot their own course through the
difcult times that we live in and emerge the other side, thriving and with
an extended capacity to help others with whom they work.
This book is well written, and, importantly, since the readers are busy
people, it is structured in such a way that you are able to dip in and out of
it, reading the parts that are most relevant to you at the time. The author’s
passion for the subject shines through, and her advice to leaders to listen
to their bodies and take the time to refect and regroup is something that
school leaders fnd hard to do, because they are so keen to help others. This
book is something that no school leader should ignore, as it gives them
opportunities to see how they can balance life and work in a way that helps
them both personally and professionally.