Leadership: Somewhere Between Vision and Reality
As the season of Lent unfolds, it’s maybe a good time to reflect on the quiet but persistent tension that often sits at the heart of school leadership — and can push our best efforts off course — the space between the vision we set and the reality we actually inhabit.
We begin school terms with clarity. Plans are shaped carefully. Priorities are agreed. There is energy in the room and purpose in the direction of travel. And yet, almost immediately, real life begins to press in. A staffing change shifts the dynamic of a team. An unexpected inspection focus alters what demands attention. Financial pressures narrow what once felt possible. A pastoral conversation reshapes the emotional tone of an entire week.
There is a moment in Scripture that speaks gently into this reality. When Solomon became King, he did not ask for power or recognition. He asked for wisdom:
“Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”
1 Kings 3:9
What’s striking is not only what he asks for, but what he does not. He does not pray for the path to be straightforward. He does not ask for the absence of tension or complexity. He asks for wisdom within it.
And perhaps that is what school leadership most deeply requires — not the elimination of uncertainty, but the capacity to discern faithfully in its midst.
Lent invites us to look steadily at what is — not what we imagined, not what we hoped would unfold — and to consider how God might be shaping us within it. The tensions we carry, the decisions we revisit, the complexities that refuse to simplify themselves may, in fact, be the very means by which discernment deepens.
A Prayer
Lord, in this season of Lent, help me to see clearly.
Where my plans need refining, refine them.
Where my expectations need softening, soften them.
Grant me discernment and steady judgement as I lead.
Amen.
Many of the conversations I have with senior leaders arise from this very place — not crisis, nor wholesale change, but a sense that something requires thoughtful attention, careful adjustment or prayerful discernment.
If you would value a confidential conversation about the leadership needs of your School, Trust or Diocese, you would be very welcome to speak with me.
Liam Dowds
Call in confidence: 01737 652 043
Emmaus Leadership