The school is navigating a period of sustained change. This may include staffing turnover, structural reorganisation, inspection pressure, trust-level decisions, curriculum reform, or shifts in accountability.

While the school remains functional, leadership capacity is stretched. Communication feels uneven, decisions are interpreted differently across teams, and staff confidence varies. Some colleagues are calm and adaptive, while others feel unsettled or fatigued.

The risk is not immediate failure, but drift. Without deliberate leadership behaviour, uncertainty can harden into cynicism, workload can increase through duplication and misalignment, and trust can erode quietly over time.

Year 1 focus: Creating clarity, trust, and stability through change

Phase 0. Senior leaders set direction

May to early June

Senior leaders complete the Leadership Behaviour Review first and use it alongside lived experience to diagnose leadership practice during periods of uncertainty.

The evidence highlights that:

• staff are unclear about the rationale behind decisions,
• communication is frequent but not always coherent,
• leaders respond differently under pressure,
• reassurance is offered inconsistently.

Using the five-step decision process, senior leaders agree a small, disciplined set of behaviours to prioritise. The focus is not on managing change more tightly, but on leading through it more credibly.

This phase is intentionally contained. Decisions are made before the framework is introduced more widely.

Foundational leadership behaviours

These behaviours are treated as non-negotiable. Because they are not yet secure, they also become an explicit focus.

• S1: Explain the why In periods of change, understanding purpose matters more than instruction. When leaders fail to explain why decisions are made, uncertainty fills the gap.
• L1: Lead by example Staff watch leaders closely during turbulence. Calm, visible, values-aligned behaviour sets the emotional tone for the organisation.
• L8: Don’t drop the ball Follow-through becomes a trust issue during change. Inconsistent delivery amplifies anxiety and undermines credibility.

These behaviours are reinforced continuously and revisited throughout the year.

Whole-school focus behaviours (Year 1)

Senior leaders select two additional behaviours that directly support clarity and stability.

• S7: Communicate often To reduce speculation, align messages, and maintain connection during periods of uncertainty.
• L4: Make it happen To ensure decisions lead to visible action, not repeated discussion or delay.

These behaviours are chosen to reduce noise, not add complexity.

How Year 1 unfolds in practice

Phase 1 and Phase 2. Build shared understanding before change

June to September

Leaders deepen their understanding of the chosen behaviours before being asked to evaluate or plan change.

They use the book to understand the intent behind each behaviour and the workbook to reflect on how these behaviours currently show up in their own leadership practice.

They work through the leadership behaviour toolkits, which break each behaviour into concrete leadership actions, decision points, and common pitfalls during change.

They also use the Coach and Practice sheets to rehearse specific scenarios in advance, practise responses, and receive feedback. This rehearsal reduces reliance on instinct when pressure is high.

Discussion during this phase focuses on:

• how leaders explain decisions during uncertainty,
• how communication either reduces or amplifies anxiety,
• how inconsistency in follow-through affects trust.

What leaders practise

• explaining decisions clearly and honestly, even when answers are incomplete (S1: Explain the why)
• reinforcing key messages consistently across meetings, emails, and conversations (S7: Communicate often)
• modelling calm, values-aligned behaviour under pressure (L1: Lead by example)
• ensuring commitments are followed through reliably (L8: Don’t drop the ball)
• converting decisions into visible action (L4: Make it happen)

There are no diagnostics, plans, or targets at this stage. The priority is shared understanding and professional judgement.

Phase 3. Senior leaders model under pressure

September to October

Senior leaders deliberately model the chosen behaviours in every aspect of their role, including:

• meetings and briefings,
• line management and coaching conversations,
• corridor interactions,
• responses to pupils,
• informal conversations with colleagues,
• decision-making under pressure.

Leaders explain the rationale behind decisions even when they are difficult. They communicate frequently without over-promising. They follow through consistently.

This phase establishes trust. Leaders are far more open to reflection once they have seen behaviours enacted consistently in real, everyday situations.

Phase 4. Diagnostics and deeper sense-making

October to November

With lived experience in place, diagnostics now have meaning.

Leaders complete:

• the self diagnostic,
• the 360 diagnostic,
• the combined report.

Leaders interpret their results alongside recent experience, revisiting relevant workbook sections, leadership behaviour toolkits, and Coach and Practice sheets to deepen understanding of behaviours highlighted by the data.

The purpose of diagnostics at this stage is insight, not judgement.

Phase 5. First personalised 90-day development cycle

December to March

Leaders identify a real leadership challenge linked to change or uncertainty and clarify:

• the outcome they are trying to achieve,
• the behaviours most likely to help them achieve it.

From this, leaders select a small number of relevant leadership behaviours and build a focused 90-day plan that includes:

• specific actions linked to those behaviours,
• opportunities to rehearse responses using realistic scenarios,
• agreed lead measures to track progress,
• structured reflection and review.

What leaders practise

• rehearsing difficult conversations linked to change,
• practising calm, consistent responses to uncertainty,
• seeking feedback on clarity, credibility, and follow-through.

Leadership behaviour toolkits and Coach and Practice sheets become the primary vehicles for action, supporting rehearsal, feedback, and habit formation.

Looking ahead: Year 2 and Year 3

Year 2 focus: Building resilience and shared ownership

As stability improves, the focus shifts from reassurance to distributed leadership.

Likely focus behaviours include:

• T4: Create a team, to strengthen collective problem-solving,
• L10: Pass the baton, to reduce dependency on senior leaders.

Year 3 focus: Strengthening strategic coherence

With trust secure, leaders can focus on long-term alignment.

Likely focus behaviours include:

• S5: Establish collective goals, to sharpen shared direction,
• S8: Find the lead measures, to sustain improvement through evidence-informed action.

Each year builds deliberately on the last. Nothing is reset.

Common mistakes in this scenario

• Over-communicating without explaining purpose.
• Rushing to reassurance rather than building credibility.
• Treating uncertainty as a messaging problem rather than a leadership behaviour challenge.

Why this approach works

This model:

• prioritises meaning before momentum,
• builds trust before accountability,
• develops leadership skill through rehearsal, not instinct,
• and sustains improvement through deliberate habit formation.

In periods of turbulence, leadership behaviour is the work.