Middle Leaders Project

This episode works through Trust in Schools, a 2003 article by Anthony Bryk and Barbara Schneider. Their main idea is that leading change is heavily influenced by relational trust. Zac covers the four parts of that trust, then looks at what building it takes when you are a middle leader with a small team, limited formal authority and a teaching load. It is for middle leaders, and people heading for the role, who want to do the job well.

In this episode:

- The four parts of relational trust: respect, personal regard, competence and integrity

- Why trust and change support each other, and why strong relationships matter more than processes and procedures

- Why leading change is where trust gets tested, and why middle leaders do much of the building

- Why expectations need to be defined early and often, and how to say what you will and won't do

- Why lead measures matter more than lag measures when you support a teacher to improve

The reading: Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for School Reform, Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider (2003). https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/trust-in-schools-a-core-resource-for-school-reform

Standards: Leadership Identity & Capability; Teaching Improvement

Timestamps:

00:00 Why trust decides whether colleagues try something new

01:05 The reading: Trust in Schools (2003)

01:53 The four parts of relational trust

04:17 Why this matters for middle leaders

06:42 Building trust without formal authority

07:27 Putting it to work: clear expectations

11:39 Daily exchanges and where to start

16:09 Lead measures, and the takeaway

Your turn: How do you make expectations clear to the people you work with? Let me know on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-d-matthews/

Reflect on your own practice: Take the Middle Leader self-assessment, built on the Australian Professional Standards for Middle Leaders and designed to help you reflect: https://middleleadersproject.com.au/middle-leaders-self-assessment-tool/?source=podcast

Join the mailing list for the reading behind each episode and one thing to try each week: https://middleleadersproject.com.au/join/

Corrections

- The first author is Anthony Bryk, not Burke.

- Barbara Schneider is a distinguished professor at Michigan State University. She is not a university lecturer, as I said in the episode.

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Being a middle leader means answering to two or more groups who sometimes want different things. This is the introduction to the Middle Leaders Project podcast.

Zac, a public school middle leader in Western Australia, describes the tension he feels between supporting his executive team to deliver change and supporting the teachers in his team, who are doing their best work and sometimes need more space or time. Each school week, the show takes a reading and explores what it offers for navigating that tension.

It's for middle leaders, and people heading for the role, who want to do the job well.

In this episode:

• The pull between supporting the executive team through change and giving a team the space or time it needs
• Who the show is for: thinking about the move, a few months in, or years in and wanting more space to reflect
• How each episode runs: the reading, where the idea fits a middle leader's week, Zac's take, and one idea to carry into your week
• How readings are chosen: ones that education departments, national bodies or other researchers have cited

Join the mailing list for the reading behind each episode and the one thing to try this week: https://middleleadersproject.com.au/join/

Website: https://middleleadersproject.com.au

Also from the project: a self-assessment built around the Australian Professional Standards for Middle Leaders. It takes about 20 minutes and helps you reflect on your progress. https://middleleadersproject.com.au/middle-leaders-self-assessment-tool/?source=podcast

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.