Publisher Description

This is a book about the things that wise leaders do. It is informed through thousands of conversations with leaders and argues that these leaders do not shy away from the tough stuff. It points to the conditions which these leaders create to allow colleagues to engage with difficult issues enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. It is taken from observations of leaders at work in a variety of settings. While these are mostly schools, these observations are checked against what is happening in wider leadership and management thinking. This book makes the case that any leadership role is concerned primarily with the relationships between individuals. It is the quality of these, whatever the size of the organisation, which make the difference between organisations which thrive, and those which stagnate. This is not to argue for soft, easy and comfortable options. Instead it considers how top leaders manage to walk the line between the impossible and the possible, between the undoable and the doable and to create conditions for productive work which transcend the difficulties which come towards us every day. Instead of dodging them, they embrace them.And by navigating high challenge, low threat, they show how others how to do the same.

Author Biography

Mary Myatt is an education adviser, writer and speaker. She trained as an RE teacher and is a former local authority adviser and inspector. She engages with pupils, teachers and leaders about learning, leadership and the curriculum.Mary has written extensively about leadership, school improvement and the curriculum. Her current work focuses on the Huh Curriculum series for primary, secondary and SEND alongside the Huh Academy with John Tomsett.She has established Myatt & Co, an online platform with films for ongoing professional development including the popular Primary Subject Networks and Secondary Subject Networks. Her most recent work is the development of The Teachers' Collection, underpinned by the findings from the 'Faster Read' research from the University of Sussex.Mary is a patron of CAPE, and has been a governor in three schools and a trustee for a multi-academy trust. She maintains that there are no quick fixes and that great outcomes for pupils are not achieved through tick boxes.: @MaryMyatt

Review

Mary Myatt's new book is a treasury of leadership wisdom and guidance for everyone working in schools today. She provides the antidote to negative, fear-based, toxic leadership by describing ways in which healthy, people-focussed, positive, effective, appreciative and collaborative leadership can arise. Her powerful synthesis of complex leadership concepts and best-practice examples makes this a must-read book for anyone wanting to be an outstanding leader without sacrificing their values, good health and professional passion. --Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE, Leadership coach and consultant, ex Chief Executive of 157 Group, Centre for Excellence in Leadership and Guildford College within UK Further Education. Named in Debretts 2015, Women of Spirit UK 2016;In this fascinating and eminently practical collection of ideas, Mary Myatt has managed to perfectly capture the essence of what makes successful organisations: high quality engagement from everyone involved. But her vision isn't just one of well-being and comfort. With bags of practical examples from the worlds of education and business, she demonstrates how personal growth and discretionary effort come from productive support and helpful challenge which build on trust and a shared set of values. Conversations are always about how things can be better: better for people; better for the organisation. Written in an accessible and engaging way itself, the book itself is a great example of exactly the type of healthy conversation she espouses. --Andy Buck, Managing Director, Leadership Matters

Promotional

Mary Myatt is a popular speaker at Educational events. She is speaking at the Festival of Education in June.

Long Description

High Challenge, Low Threat is Mary Myatt's smart and thoughtful exploration of all the things that wise leaders do. Informed through thousands of conversations over a 20-year period in education, Mary shows the lessons that school management teams can learn from leaders in a wide range of other sectors and points to the conditions which these leaders create to allow colleagues to engage with difficult issues enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. This book makes the case that any leadership role is concerned primarily with the relationships between individuals. It is the quality of these, whatever the size of the organisation, which make the difference between organisations which thrive, and those which stagnate. This is not to argue for soft, easy and comfortable options. Instead it considers how top leaders manage to walk the line between the impossible and the possible, between the undoable and the doable, and to create conditions for productive work which transcend the difficulties which come towards us every day. Instead of dodging them, they embrace them. And by navigating high challenge, low threat, they show how others how to do the same.

Review Quote

Mary Myatt's new book is a treasury of leadership wisdom and guidance for everyone working in schools today. She provides the antidote to negative, fear-based, toxic leadership by describing ways in which healthy, people-focussed, positive, effective, appreciative and collaborative leadership can arise. Her powerful synthesis of complex leadership concepts and best-practice examples makes this a must-read book for anyone wanting to be an outstanding leader without sacrificing their values, good health and professional passion. --Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE, Leadership coach and consultant, ex Chief Executive of 157 Group, Centre for Excellence in Leadership and Guildford College within UK Further Education. Named in Debretts 2015, Women of Spirit UK 2016;In this fascinating and eminently practical collection of ideas, Mary Myatt has managed to perfectly capture the essence of what makes successful organisations: high quality engagement from everyone involved. But her vision isn't just one of well-being and comfort. With bags of practical examples from the worlds of education and business, she demonstrates how personal growth and discretionary effort come from productive support and helpful challenge which build on trust and a shared set of values. Conversations are always about how things can be better: better for people; better for the organisation. Written in an accessible and engaging way itself, the book itself is a great example of exactly the type of healthy conversation she espouses. --Andy Buck, Managing Director, Leadership Matters

Details