In their book 'Leading People',  Rajan and Eupen highlight research where individuals are asked what has been the most valuable training and development opportunities that supported their progress towards top positions in a variety of organisations.

Rajan and Eupen found the following in order of importance:

  • coaching and mentoring
  • sideways moves (often into unfamiliar settings either inside or outside their current organisation)
  • challenging assignments, that stretch existing capability
  • networking with peers
  • formal training

It is interesting from the study that formal training, while important, was in fifth place while coaching and mentoring was in first. However the learning for school leaders from studies like this is not that one form of development is necessarily more effective than another. Rather it is that the most effective forms of professional learning are supported not by a reliance on one approach over another, but in a combination of approaches that respond to individual needs. One colleague’s professional learning might be best served by an external course with networking opportunities while another needs a combination of coaching with involvement in an action learning set.

The following highlight some examples of how school leaders can encourage and support their colleagues in their professional learning:

  • help establish opportunities for colleagues to deliver professional development inputs for other colleagues. Here teachers teach other teachers and there are real benefits in terms of developing staff capacity and empowering colleagues
  • actively engage in professional development activities around Learning and Teaching with colleagues. This models and demonstrates the leader’s role as a lead learner
  • support opportunities for staff to visit other classes individually and in groups to share practice and ideas
  • help colleagues to develop their talents in new roles, action learning groups, working parties and so on
  • support colleagues wishing to enrol for additional qualifications or in external programmes of study
  • create opportunities for team working
  • encourage and support colleagues to take control of their own professional learning and not be dependent on others
  • help support a network of professional learning opportunities from informal discussions over coffee, staff reading groups looking at research, sharing practice opportunities at the beginning of meetings and so on


Self-assessment: Supporting The Learning Of My Colleagues

In order to deepen your understanding of the issues involved in the leader's role in supporting and nurturing the professional learning of colleagues please complete the Self-assessment: Supporting The Learning Of My Colleagues


Source used for this page

Rajan, A. and Eupen, P.  [1996] Leading People. Create: Tunbridge Wells.

Last modified: Sunday, 28 October 2012, 4:49 PM