Well that's mighty kind. Thanks!

Thanks Oliver, you're the second person to recommend it.

Making it my mission to watch a lot of foreign language films and television shows. Any recommendations?

We forgive as we forget, as the day is long.

A post about lyrics and leadership.

www.linkedin.com/posts/david-...

Full post here if you have LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

The awesome @tattooedheadteachr.bsky.social shared “Having access to people smarter than you is a blessing, not a threat"
I could diagnose pupil progress issues, but struggled staff translating them into precise, measurable action. A senior trust leader helped.
Insight matters. Impact matters more.

Absolutely, it's not a popularity contest.

That's hard sometimes as no one likes to unliked. But that's why it is so important to have a life outside school. Too many people fall into the trap of their colleagues being their world. Have friends outside work that matter more.

There are times in school leadership when it feels like you’re pleasing no one at all. That doesn’t always mean you’re getting it wrong. Often it means you’re making choices in messy conditions. You won’t be liked in those moments. Your job is to stay steady, human and intact.

If you have LinkedIn, full post here: www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

There are times in school leadership when it feels like you’re pleasing no one at all. That doesn’t always mean you’re getting it wrong. Often it means you’re making choices in messy conditions. You won’t be liked in those moments. Your job is to stay steady, human and intact.

Compliance chased is compliance resented. When we stop chasing and start designing systems that support human fallibility, we trade enforced obedience for shared ownership.
Assume good intent. Leadership isn't about more reminders; it’s about shared clarity. #Leadership #Trust

3/3 🧵
I’m grateful for the armchair and the simple feeling that I don't need to be anywhere or anyone else to make today count. Sorry, no leadership lessons here—just the realization that, today, all is well.

2/3 🧵
Half term is coming, and for once, it’s a pause rather than a collapse. A son turning 21, a trip to Budapest on the horizon—space in the diary that doesn't feel borrowed. It’s taken a long time to learn what deserves my energy and what doesn't.

1/3 🧵
Evenings like this: daughter in the kitchen, the clatter of pans, a long-distance chat with Dad. No drama, no big breakthroughs—just the steady, quiet music of domestic life. It’s remarkable how much it matters when everything finally feels in its right place.

February Fragments: Balancing Act. Full post on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/david-...

Another reason every leader should be a reader - not for optics, not for book lists.
Because reading trains you to sit with complexity, hold opposing ideas, and change your mind without losing your nerve.

Son just landed last minute #deftones tickets on me. Standing tickets. On a school night. Carnage will ensue next week.

Longer post on LinkedIn if you have it. www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

Our most valuable resource at work is time. The best use of it is often talk, not agenda driven meetings but real human connection. When people have space to listen and think together, trust grows and the work usually moves more safely afterwards.

Output not outcomes

It's about building a practice and sticking with it.
I would still be writing if I were the only person reading it. Thinking is the point. Writing keeps it honest and keeps it moving.
Nothing here is winding down. This is steady work, and it has plenty of road left in it.
2/2

Some people assume Shakey Leadership will run out of steam. That assumption usually comes from the sidelines.
January had a post every day. February will too. Before that came the 42 Laws of Primary Leadership. This was never about momentum or attention. 1/2

4/4
Reading matters because it builds worlds, not just skills. “Good enough” was never about cutting corners, but reliability under pressure.

Stability is underrated. Leadership isn’t about having the right answer — it’s about creating conditions where better answers can emerge.

3/4
Good leadership borrows shamelessly from good teaching: clear expectations, humane pacing, attention to conditions.

Consensus feels comfortable but often hides avoidance. Agreement is not the same thing as clarity.

2/4
Memory is persuasive but unreliable. Leadership gets safer when we stop treating our recall as evidence.

Pressure doesn’t make people careless; it makes systems visible. What breaks under strain was already fragile.

1/4
Wellbeing isn’t improved by measuring it more often. If the survey itself raises your blood pressure, something’s off.
Blind spots aren’t moral failings either — they’re habits we stopped noticing, like assuming what made sense in our head arrived intact in someone else’s.

This week's Shakey Leadership wisdom thread 🧵 👇

You have my word, and I think you've read enough of my posts to know I place a lot of value on keeping it. Stay connected and keep in touch.

It's a MAT SLA - it's changing next year but I do not have a say in where we transfer to sadly, otherwise I know where I'd come. X