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I really enjoy listening to the #weareinbeta podcast but for a variety of reasons I have fallen significantly behind, much like I did in 2019. Today I'm planning to 'binge-listen' to the remaining episodes of Season 2 (pre-lockdown) and, as always, tweet my reflections. [THREAD].
First up: Blind recruitment with @Clairecuthbert9. This should be particularly interesting given the current recruitment challenges (and I know there has been a recent episode on this very issue!).
From the first few minutes it's clear that finding people that match the school or trust's values is one of, if not, the most important aspect of their recruitment. This is so important.
Listening to Claire's story about her first headship interview is really quite sad. Feedback littered with stereotypes and misogyny. However, her decision to keep going and apply again is, and should be, inspiration for us all.
My key takeaway so far: be true to yourself.
"We can train people in skills gaps but we can't train them in alignment gaps": the importance of value alignment in recruitment.
Side note: as I'm listening to this, I'm back to wondering why more schools don't allow CV applications and insist on their own bespoke form. I know this allows specific questions etc but would an initial phone interview after reviewing a CV not work for this?
Obviously this last tweet could potentially throw up issues with blind recruitment, the very topic of this episode! I'd be interested to hear about schools who take a CV approach.
This whole episode has reminded me of blind auditions in orchestras. I first read about this in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. There's an interesting article about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2013/oct/14/blind-auditions-orchestras-gender-bias.
LOVE the idea of reading days!!! I'm sure keeping them free for actual reading is difficult but oh wow I'd love these. (As I'm typing this and reading it seems they aren't always used for reading though!
Cultural fit and performance. If you have a high performer with a low cultural fit, they will be unhappy. I feel like this is often overlooked. Be upfront about the culture in your school. I'll definitely be checking out Claire's culture deck!
Interesting to hear Chris' reflections of being a minority in a group when you are so used to being in the minority. Like Chris, I'm quite used to being in the majority too and it really is eye opening to flip this, however briefly.
Side note: primary schools often have a stereotype of having a predominately female staff but male leadership. All three school's I've worked in so far have had female heads and mainly female leadership teams. I wonder if there has been a change in the last 10 years or so?
I've heard about Emma Watson's speech before, but if I'm completely honest, I don't know if I've ever listened to it in it's entirety. I need to fix this asap.
The pledges that Chris makes as a result of Emma's speech are important, especially making these in public rather than just privately. It is important for men to also be feminists and to declare this to others, not just hold opinions privately.
I am a man and I am a feminist.
This is something I think my friends and family know about me but it's worth saying on a public forum like this.
Side note whilst I've paused the podcast to tweet: I'm reflecting on what I can do as a middle leader to support gender equality. I can help to support, teach and mentor. I can advocate for women and minorities. I can use my voice and raise up the voices of others.
I can also choose to be silent. I can choose to allow others' voices to fill the space. This is something I can sometimes struggle to do, but I'm working on it!
In my current role, I'm not responsible for recruitment. What are other, practical, way that can I have a tangible impact?
As I'm continuing to listen to the podcast, the section on effective chairing is really interesting! I particularly like the echoing who the idea came from and naming that person. I've tried to do this in the past but need to do it more.
Reversing the hierarchy in coaching and mentoring is an interesting principle here too. I'd be interested to hear more on this.
