Two Head Are Better Than One?

They say that ‘two heads are better than one’ but when it comes to leading a school, does this work?

When it comes to simplifying educational leadership then having two Headteachers might sound like a recipe for crossed wires, ego wars, community confusion and staff taking sides but it can work, for some.

There are some good examples where dual headships are working and its a model of leadership that could become more popular.

One of the key factors for sharing a headship comes down to staff wanting to be more flexible and having more control over their lives. And who can blame them, headship is a tough gig.

Job-sharing headships are still a relatively new thing for schools which is surprising given the wellbeing crisis we now inhabit.

Many years ago the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) urged schools to consider job-shares or other more “flexible” arrangements for headteachers but most schools will still have one person doing the job.

The thing is, most schools won’t advertise for co-headships, you have to push for it to happen.

“Dual executive leadership is a common model in other industries, such as performing arts organisations” says Claudia Daggett (2020) where a job-share configuration allows two people at the top to thrive and side-step the isolation common with exclusive headship.

A school doesn’t have to follow a traditional headship model but recruit to match its own identity and individuality in order to meet it’s own community’s needs.

Other links

https://weareinbeta.substack.com/p/two-heads-are-better-than-one-lisa

Co-headship

Co-headship: why we think two heads are better than one

Two Heads Better Than One?

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