How to spot toxic management
There is a tyranny of toxic management in many schools and Sixth Forms across the country. It feeds on fear and a blame culture. You can spot it by the number of lesson observations, walk-throughs and ‘Mocksteds’ it has had over the last couple of years. Professional development is top-down instruction on what they deem you need to know or what they believe your weaknesses are. There are countless meetings to ‘weigh the pig’. The data will cover everything. We may be scrutinising the data because last year (despite the fact that for 5 years previously, the results for that teacher were great) the numbers had slipped. There will be frequent student surveys (often the teacher ones have become a distant memory). You will note a plethora of ‘support’ plans in operation. Silence pervades the staffroom as teachers quickly minimise ‘Tes Jobs’.
The damage
Consequently, this tyranny of toxic management does not allow for risk, creativity, or any other management ‘styles’. At the first sniff of weak performance, even when there is no trend data to support it, you will be as a Head of Department, pressured to scrutinise, walk-through and issue an action plan. The team members on the ‘supportive’ plan are on ‘Tes Jobs’ or considering long term illness. We even create circumstances that makes the pressure worse and perpetuates the culture. Like January exams. We know they don’t work. The students don’t revise and they are indicative of nothing. However, if some teachers honestly grade their students’ work, they can find themselves under the spotlight. More measuring, testing and observations.
It’s those small annoying habits too. Emails with people CC’d or BC’d into them. People shirking responsibility and recording all dialogue. Some teachers even squirrel away their resources so that they outperform others. When you speak to a team member as a Head of Department, you can see a flash of panic on their face as they consider what they have done ‘wrong’. We have not even mentioned the damage to mental health and teacher retention which has been widely covered in the press.
5 ways a Head of Department can resist
- 1 – As a Head of Department (or any other middle manager) you need to resist the tyranny of toxic management. Your role requires you to periodically shield members of your team. Trust that your team members are professionals and deserve the freedom to take risks. Find alternative ways to meet, discuss, plan and support. There are alternatives to that ‘supportive’ plan and you need to argue for those options convincingly. When performance management is necessary, then of course use it but it should not be your first impulse.
- 2 – You have a significant role in building the individual profile of each of your team members to those above you. It is incumbent upon you to sing their praises and credit them when it is due. Don’t steal their achievements from them to advance yourself. Take opportunities to suggest their names when roles emerge. You need to help senior management get a more rounded and holistic view of members of your team. Prevent the ‘profiling’ that so often occurs among toxic managers. Make them see the significant contribution that your team members make. Hopefully, this will prevent some of those knee-jerk reactions to weaker performance.
- 3 – Manage using your own style. There will be pressure upon you to adopt the style that is prevalent amongst the management team. So often that style is bullish, myopic and brutal despite all the claptrap spouted on Linkedin about Gareth Southgate’s leadership approach. One has to be true to oneself and recall those differences between a manager and a leader. I would never profess to be a guru and I have certainly made mistakes. However, I always held my hands up when I made a mistake. I tread the tight-rope between the party line and a level of honesty with dignity. I stimulated reflection including the teams’ thoughts on my own performance and I encouraged risk. One was often accused of being too facilitative but I don’t think that was the case. I just had those difficult conversations behind closed doors and at times, out of earshot from senior managers.
- 4 – Spend time building your team. It takes a long time but those relationships will last. Be present when they are talking to you. Have interest in what is going on in their lives. Support them and sing their praises when the occasions arise. It is so important to build a culture of sharing, mutual respect and support. Share food before a parents evening. Get together at Christmas or bring some cake for a birthday. Make the place, as much as possible, somewhere people want to work and feel inspired. A happy teacher makes for a happy classroom. It is also a great antidote to the fear and blame culture.
- 5 – You have a duty to reflect upon the skillset of your team and find solutions to weak performance. In a Sixth Form, you might need to pull that Philosophy course (I had to once) or switch an exam board. Have you been keeping up to date on what training there is? Nurtured relationships with other schools and arranged meetings with peers to share ideas? You should support team members that offer to mark for the board. Push mountains to help them grow.
As a final note to senior managers, I implore you to stop appointing the same people. Variety will make for a more effective management team and fresh thinking. If you really are impressed by those Linkedin bulletins, put it into action. Be the change you want to be.