I follow those who are worth following and lead those who need to be led.

I went for a government interview once, to fast-track into senior leadership of schools. The interview was in Manchester and I live in Newcastle, so it was a long drive and an overnight stay. The morning sessions went ok. There were questionnaires, videos and panel interviews, but it was in the afternoon sessions when it became interesting.

They brought an actor in to play the role of a disgruntled department leader who didn’t want to do some voluntary afterschool training. I had to play the role of the headteacher to get him to do it. My approach was to use tactics and persuasion. I talked to him about the value of training and how much benefit he’d get from doing it. I was quite pleased with myself afterwards. I’d been firm, but not aggressive. This was the kind of leader I wanted to be. A positive, inspirational role model.

They told me later that I didn’t get the job. I was hugely deflated. I was convinced I’d impressed them. When I asked why, they said it was because of the fake interview.

“What? I thought I’d done really well. I was very persuasive.”

‘That’s the whole point Paul. You spent ages persuading him to do the training. A good leader would just tell him he was going to do it.”

It wasn’t until later, when I was reflecting on what they’d said, that it occurred to me. This was voluntary training, not compulsory. No head teacher has a right to force a teacher to do voluntary training they don’t want to. You can try, and many do, but I’ve been confronted with this very issue myself on several occasions and I’ve refused.

That however, was not the kind of leadership the previous Conservative government wanted in their schools. They wanted ‘tough’ leaders who would rule authoritatively, put people in their place, and sack them when necessary. This is why so many teachers left the profession and why they have a huge recruitment crisis. They treat people like dirt.

I was a teacher for decades, and so I had to lead classes of young people as part of my job. I was a subject leader also, and I led a team of teachers. I ran a business and website for twenty years that gave instructional advice to new teachers, so people definitely looked up to me, and followed me in that sense too. People have told me I inspired them. In all my leadership roles, I’ve tried to lead with integrity and honesty. To inspire, but not oppress. To be assertive, not passive or aggressive. I like to think I achieved that.

Some people accused me of being too soft, because I rarely shouted, but that’s because they didn’t know me well enough. You don’t need to shout to be a leader. You don’t need to be punitive or nasty. You need to have rules, boundaries and parameters which people must adhere to for the system to work. To enforce them you have to be consistent and firm, which is not to say that you have to do this in such a manner as to upset people, or by raising your voice.

Alas, my style of leadership is not in vogue. Not that it matters anymore. I’ve retired now and I don’t care. They thought I was too passive to be a good leader, but me? I think my style is best.