Leadership Is Measured in Moments, Not Meetings

Those who know me professionally will probably not be surprised to hear that I have never been particularly enthusiastic about meetings! This is a personal quirk, shared entirely in jest, and certainly not a reflection on my current role, the organisation I work for or any of the schools I have had the privilege of working with. I have been fortunate to work alongside wonderful colleagues and teams, and I fully appreciate the importance of discussion, collaboration and collective decision-making.

Over the years, when asked what I enjoy most about my work, my answers have been remarkably consistent: being in classrooms, talking to children and watching teachers and pupils interact. I particularly enjoy seeing good teaching in action, the curiosity of children, the exchange of ideas and those moments when learning comes alive. Raising standards, attending school functions, mentoring staff, developing future leaders and being involved in the many things that make a school tick have always given me enormous satisfaction.

I also thrive on challenging situations, particularly those that require me to think deeply, consider different perspectives and work towards a solution. There is something immensely satisfying about tackling a complex problem and finding a way forward.

This certainly doesn't mean I am a loner or someone who prefers working in isolation. Quite the opposite. I believe strongly in delegation, sharing responsibility, listening to different viewpoints and encouraging healthy debate. Good leadership is about bringing people together, drawing on their collective experience and creating the conditions in which the best ideas can emerge.

I recognise that meetings are an important part of this process. They allow us to exchange ideas, challenge thinking and arrive at decisions. However, I suspect most of us have occasionally sat through one that could have been considerably shorter, or perhaps replaced by a brief email. And then comes the familiar suggestion: "Let's arrange another meeting to take this forward!"

I must confess that I have developed quite an appreciation for online meetings. They are convenient, save valuable time and allow us to connect and exchange ideas without the logistics of travelling between locations. That's technology working exactly as it should!

And while we are on the subject, PowerPoint presentations deserve a mention too! They certainly have their place, particularly when presenting data and complex information. However, even a relatively straightforward discussion can sometimes be accompanied by an impressive number of slides, colourful graphs, bar charts and arrows pointing in every conceivable direction! There is, of course, value in a well-prepared presentation, but perhaps we should occasionally remind ourselves that the real strength lies not in the number of slides, but in the clarity of the message.

Having spent much of my professional life in education, I have always believed that some of the most meaningful aspects of leadership happen away from the meeting room: encouraging a teacher, listening to a child, supporting a principal through a difficult decision or helping a colleague discover their potential. These moments may never appear on an agenda or feature in the minutes, but they can make a lasting difference.

Perhaps we should occasionally measure our leadership not by the number of meetings we attend, but by the difference we make through the people we lead and the decisions we take.

After all, leadership is measured in moments, not meetings.