In this episode of The Leadership Lens, we explore the powerful ideas behind Talking to Crazy by Mark Goulston and what school leaders can learn about managing emotionally heightened conversations with parents.

Drawing on Goulston’s background as both a psychiatrist and former FBI hostage negotiation trainer, this episode explores why difficult conversations so often escalate in schools, why logic alone rarely calms emotionally overwhelmed people, and how leaders can reduce emotional threat so that rational thinking can return.

Across the episode, we walk chapter by chapter through some of the book’s most useful ideas, including:

- Why parents become emotionally reactive

- The “mirror technique” and how it works in practice

- Why evidence alone often escalates conflict

- How to use tactical empathy effectively

- Avoiding the trap of needing to “win” complaints

- Managing emotionally charged SEND and behaviour conversations

Using real school-based examples, this episode applies the book directly to the kinds of conversations school leaders, teachers, office staff and pastoral teams navigate every week.

Premium members will also receive: a full CPD slide deck and training script so that you can train your own teams easily and cost effectively.

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https://the-leadership-lens.mykajabi.com/premium-membership

In this week’s episode, we explore one of the most important—and often misunderstood—areas of the renewed inspection framework: inclusion. This isn’t a standalone priority. It runs through everything—quality of education, behaviour, leadership—and is ultimately about how well schools work for those pupils facing the greatest barriers to their learning and wellbeing.

We take a deep, practical look at what we really mean by children known to, or previously known to, social care, unpicking the complexity behind terms like children in need, child protection, looked after children and care leavers. Most importantly, we focus on what this means for schools in practice: how we identify need, work in partnership, use funding effectively, and ensure that our actions genuinely improve pupils’ lived experiences and outcomes.

This episode moves beyond labels and categories, challenging leaders to think carefully about inclusion as a coherent, intentional strategy—one that is visible not just in policy, but in the day-to-day reality of school life.

💡 Premium Members Premium members will receive a complete, ready-to-use slide deck and full training script linked directly to this week’s episode—designed for immediate use in staff CPD.

You’ll also unlock access to the full back catalogue of premium resources from the previous 39 episodes, covering:

Personal development

Behaviour

Safeguarding

Curriculum design

Alternative provision

Strong foundations in the early years

The writing framework …and much more

All of this is available for just £11 per month—less than the cost of a takeaway or a couple of coffees, for a growing library of high-quality, professionally crafted leadership resources that you can use immediately in your setting.

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🎧 The Leadership Lens Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Why Getting the Right People Matters – and Why Keeping Them Matters Even More

In this week’s episode, we explore one of the most complex and consequential aspects of school leadership: teacher recruitment and retention.

This is often framed as an operational challenge—vacancies, adverts, interviews—but in reality, it goes much deeper than that. Recruitment and retention sit at the heart of school improvement, culture, and ultimately the quality of education that pupils experience every day.

Drawing on research, leadership experience, and practical examples, this episode unpacks:

Why “wise selection” is one of the most important things leaders do—but also why it is inherently difficult

The limits of predicting teacher success at interview, and why this requires humility in recruitment

How clarity in your message, motivation and medium can transform the quality of applicants

Why retention is not an afterthought, but a strategic priority linked directly to pupil outcomes

The three key drivers of retention: workload, environment and leadership support

How professional development, trust and culture shape whether staff stay, grow or quietly disengage

We also explore practical approaches to strengthening recruitment processes, including:

Designing meaningful interview tasks

Using values-based scenarios to test professional judgement

Avoiding bias and improving fairness in selection

Learning from staff voice, including exit interviews, to strengthen long-term retention

At its core, this episode challenges leaders to reflect honestly:

If a brilliant teacher spent a day in your school, would they believe they could flourish there?

⭐ Premium Member Resource

Premium members will receive an exclusive recruitment and retention resource pack, including: A values-based selection activity to support interview processes and help leaders identify candidates who are truly aligned with their organisation’s culture and expectations Ready-to-use scenario-based questions to test professional judgement and integrity

👉 Join here: https://the-leadership-lens.mykajabi.com/premium-membership