Scenario 3.1: The school is doing too much and needs to focus on the ‘main thing’
You’ve identified that the school is overloaded with initiatives, priorities, and projects. Staff feel overwhelmed, and key strategies are losing momentum. It’s time to refocus and simplify.
Leadership Behaviours to Support This Challenge
| Code | Behaviour | Why It Matters |
| S6 | Focus on the Main Thing | Helps leaders prioritise what matters most and remove distractions. |
| S5 | Establish Collective Goals | Aligns the team around shared, high-impact priorities. |
| S7 | Communicate Often | Frequent messaging keeps the main thing front and centre. |
| L8 | Don’t Drop the Ball | Reduces drift by ensuring key initiatives are consistently followed up. |
| Y6 | Prioritise What Matters | Models disciplined focus in daily actions and leadership choices. |
Suggested Approach
- Audit current initiatives and ask: what’s essential, and what’s noise?
- Involve staff in clarifying the school’s key priorities.
- Be explicit in what’s being paused or stopped.
- Ensure leadership behaviours align with this simplification, then follow up and follow through.
- Reinforce the message regularly in briefings, emails, and actions.