What is your school’s story? What is the narrative or tag line that you use to describe it? In many ways this is the vision for your school that is shared by your school community. Simpler is better because it is more readily voiced and understood by all.

Humans thrive on stories. It is how we learn, how we communicate, and is a source of enjoyment and pleasure. The oral tradition has long been the way that we as humans pass along our knowledge. We have stories like Aesop’s Fables that contain cautionary tales like the Boy Who Cried Wolf or Tortoise and the Hare that are used to teach young children life lessons. These stories have persisted and, and likely will persist, for as long as we are alive and talking to one another. Stories are the way in which we seek meaning and understand the world.

So it is little wonder that the story of your school is a powerful thing. So, what is your story?

At my schools, one of our narratives is about how we are a close staff who support one another. Are we always on the same page about everything? Definitely not. We have different ideas about things (and so we should!) and sometimes we have interpersonal issues that arise like any workplace environment. However, by repeating the mantra that we are together it makes people believe it so when the tough times do come, people believe that they can lean on one another. 

Your school can have any mission statement that you like, and often as educators we write very impressive sounding mission statements. But how many people in your building know it or think about it on a daily basis? Does it actually guide our work or is it something a sign on the wall? Lofty and wordy goals will always take a backseat to the narratives that your staff hold close. There have been studies of teachers who have been told that they have a ‘good class’ and another that have a ‘bad class’ (it is the same class by the way) and the teachers responded differently and had different expectations of the students depending on the story they were told. This in turn changed how the class performed academically. The behaviour and composition of the class was actually less of a factor than what the teacher believed about them to be true. 

This is known as the Pygmalion effect, where expectations essentially become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you believe that something is good, then it probably will be. If you believe it will be a negative experience, then it probably will be. A more modern take on this comes from Henry Ford who said "whether you think you can or you can't, you're right."

So again, what is the narrative that your school tells one another? Because those narratives will shape your culture. “We look after one another” then people probably do, and are much more likely to believe that is the case. “We are all learners” helps to shape mindsets to learn and grow. “We take care of our students” probably will give a more tempered approach to discipline. Actions and words influence one another since we think in language.

Narratives need to be short, simple and be able to fit on a bumper sticker if you want them to catch on (it is one reason catch phrases often stick in our minds). A large part of being an effective leader is helping to shape that narrative so others can begin to believe in your vision. You also need to focus it on a few key ideas rather than trying to do everything since the more you do the more any one idea gets diluted. 

Creating your story isn’t as simple as sending an email and while it is shaped by the leader, it is created by the collective efforts of all involved. This is where Walking the Talk is so important as well as connecting and listening with your staff. It is about what you do daily, the interactions you have and the vision that you communicate. These things all translate to your story. It also helps to try and articulate it to give words to the thoughts and messages you are trying to convey. 

Whatever you choose to focus on, there will be a story about your school and your leadership. It is better to be an active part of helping to create it than letting others do it for you, otherwise, you may not love what’s being said. And again, it is more than just what we say, it is the actions that you take and inspire as a leader that shape the narrative of your school.