People problems are inevitable.
You work in a team.
They’re doing their best, and so are you.
But here’s the thing—there really don’t need to be as many people problems as there are.
97% of schools have at least one of the five common difficult conversations that crop up in schools.
And they can all be fixed.
And the 3% that don’t? Well, they have others.
Yes, getting good at difficult conversations helps.
But the real issue? People aren’t living the school’s values.
And by people, I mean the adults—because the children usually are! (Am I right?).
So what can you do?
- Is your team really clear on your values and what they mean? Not just the words or an acrostic to help them remember.
- Do you talk about when your team lives them—and when they don’t?
Get this right, and the rest follows.
We focus more on performance than behaviour when it comes to staff.
But with pupils, we talk at least as much about both—often more about behaviour.
Spotlight resource
A great tool to assess where values aren’t being lived is The performance behaviour matrix: the best tool for strategically growing excellence in your team (4mins).
Want to create a culture where:
✔️ People problems fix themselves?
✔️ Your team flourishes?
✔️ High performance is everywhere?
Come to Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good, my one-day workshop where I distil lessons from over a decade of learning from outstanding schools in tough contexts.
You’ll walk away with four powerful tools to move your school from good to great—tools you’ll start benefiting from immediately.
📍 1 ticket = you + your senior leadership team.
⭐ Average rating: 9.5/10 since 2018! Hundreds of school leaders have found this day extremely helpful.
Upcoming dates:
- Tuesday, 1 July 2025 (09:30-15:30)
- Tuesday, 23 September 2025 (09:30-15:30)
📍 Conveniently online via Zoom—save time, reduce costs, and learn together without leaving school.
Looking forward to seeing you there!