Improve your leadership through behavioural change

Gaining awareness

Gaining an awareness of the personal benefits associated with making a change is the critical first step towards changing behaviour. The Profiles provide detailed description of the principal role, enabling school leaders to develop increased awareness and knowledge of the areas in which they could change to improve their leadership effectiveness.

Strengthening attitude 

At the next stage, an individual’s attitude towards change plays an important role in influencing the likelihood of a change in behaviour. Attitudes and confidence to change determine the will to change. The stronger the intention, the more likely it is that change will occur. 

Building knowledge

Effectively building knowledge about how to understand, prepare for and take the next steps towards achieving a desired change increases the likelihood of the change occurring. Strategies to build knowledge to enable change should focus on:

- understanding the nature of the change
- reducing the barriers and blockers
- considering how to manage the consequences of the change
- developing a plan of action around this.

Taking action 

At this stage, the individual is required to take action to perform and then maintain the change. This requires significant effort and persistence. For school leaders, drawing on trusted relationships and networks, gaining positive support and reflecting on progress can help improve and sustain the attempts at behaviour change and maintain the determination to continue.

Achieving behaviour change

Behaviour change occurs when the action eventually becomes automatic. At this stage the desired outcomes have been achieved and school leaders will see that their capabilities have grown. Practice is essential to maintaining the change.