Last week I wrote an article for the Tes guide to getting into leadership about what I wish I’d known as a new middle leader.

What I wish I’d known as a new middle leader

1. You can unwittingly add to the workload problem

When I took up my post, I had a clear vision and a strategy for how to implement it. This was my chance to bring to fruition the ideas I’d had in my head for a decade.

The members of my team were ready to throw themselves behind everything I asked them to do. However, my plans included such frequent assessments that, by the end of the spring term, the team had almost reached burnout.

Everyone was so committed and had placed such trust in my ideas that they were working themselves into the ground to meet the expectations I had set. It was only at a subject team meeting, when we were discussing what to stop, start and carry on doing, that I fully appreciated the workload I’d created for them. It made me realise how important it is to gather feedback about what is and isn’t working.

If you have digital access to back issues of Tes Magazines then you can read the rest of the article here.