THE

MIDDLE LEADER
MANIFESTO 2023
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. easier. And then remember: speed trumps work ow. And that’s where momentum starts to
perfection. Find out what needs to be done build.
Have a goal to start with. Even better, have a better, and keep going.
cause worth ghting for. A strong cause helps No task is too small to document. Every tiny
guide your project towards a valuable outcome. Leadership isn’t a book. It isn’t a PhD. It isn’t thing helps bring your idea to life and your
just reading about it. Leadership is what you project to completion. We also tend to only do
achieve by trying something out. the tasks we’ve written down, so write them all
AND IF IT NEEDS TO GO… down!
Changing your idea is easy. Changing the cause KEEP IT SIMPLE: SIMPLE
you stand for is massive. It feels like a betrayal.
IDEAS ARE AMBITIOUS IDEAS. ITERATE. ITERATE. ITERATE.
All that sunk cost in something you believe(d) in.
And now you’ve realised you were wrong. The There’s no such thing as a small change.
THEN REPEAT.
best time not to have pursued that cause was Change meets with resistance however big is, When you tell the story again and again, when
when you started out. The second best time is so you’d better make it worthwhile. Create a you run projects again and again, when you
now. simple, clear vision of what you want, and keep pushing the wheel around just one more
couple it with some concrete ideas to act as a turn, you eventually get the perpetual motion
STRATEGIC SEEING BRINGS starting point. Make your ideas clear, not clever. that makes the whole thing y. Remember that
Simple sells. Simple is understood. Simple a FAIL is a First Attempt in Learning. Re ect and
LIFE TO A CAUSE. happens. be exible, change the plan when it needs to be
There are seven ways of seeing and listening to changed. We used to say “fail fast”. Really we
the people around you. Use every one of them. AVOID LAUNCHING YOUR IDEA. need to “learn fast”. Trial and error allows us to
Do your homework. No Middle Leader is an do that. Those details that make you feel
island. Listening, really listening, is how we build AVOID COMPROMISE. vulnerable today are the magic moments of the
anything worth building. With all stakeholders in Pre-mortems allow you to test your idea before story you’re able to share later, in hindsight.
all contexts, it makes us better and our ideas you commit to it publicly. Telling your idea to
even better again. Listening to others is vital, people beforehand helps you see how it will die START WITH THE BENEFITS.
but also listen to yourself. The power of later - you can take preventative measures to
re ection is key to seeing the learning Don’t keep people guessing about why your
make it better. Even better, it’ll stop you kicking
opportunities. idea is a good one, or why your cause is
o a compromise that sucks your energy for
important. Tell them up front what’s in it for
months or years to come.
them. And better still, does it bene t more
DON’T FAKE IT UNTIL YOU people than just them?
MAKE IT. FIND YOUR BRAINS TRUST.
Great leaders don’t just run on their gut. They Your team makes you as a leader. A leader COMMUNICATE CLEARLY,
without a team is dancing alone. Find your rst
don’t just have hunch. They run on data, too. OPENLY AND OFTEN.
Data can be on a spreadsheet or on the face of follower, and get them to bring a friend. A Players
the child in front of you right now. attract A Players. Playing with A players makes When you’re trying to communicate your idea
everyone a better player. And what if your clearly one way might be visually, but other ways
Get that data early: 20% done is an invitation to are also valuable to ensure that anyone can
immediate project team were not just your
others to give you feedback. Presenting them understand the idea. Collaborate with a
colleagues, but your students and families?
90% done becomes a pressure to be nice back “cabinet of talents”, people whose skills add to
to you, to let you ship the idea, no matter what. yours. Know who you can work with.
EARLY ON, CHOOSE YOUR
Feedback is the place where good ideas There’s power in small conversations - every
become great. Don’t hold on to your ideas too TEAM CAREFULLY. conversation is a step closer to nding the
tightly. Don’t worry about bringing a fully formed Don’t take a baby idea to the wolves. Build a nugget that paves the way for the idea to come
idea to the table – that’s not leadership, that’s coalition of the willing who can give you gentle to life. 
sales. To get going you need to bring an idea to feedback. When the idea can walk upright on its
the table that the team can help form together Don’t hold your cards close to your chest. Share
own, then you can introduce it to a tougher
with you. It’ll help you to actually do it and not your ideas far and wide. The better your idea
audience.
wait until it’s perfect. the more likely others will want to steal it. Once
they steal it they can make it their own and
OUR CHANGE. improve upon the original idea. No-one will feel
REVISIT YOUR SCRAPHEAP &
NOT MY CHANGE. it’s someone else’s project. They’ll all feel it’s
STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST. theirs. 
Cut the ‘I’ out of your change. You’re not going
We always throw out ideas that didn’t work out to do anything without everyone else. So even if
rst time around. Or we spot something cool you start out as a team of one, start as ‘we’.
REMEMBER: SOME PEOPLE
from another industry, an amazing restaurant or
And the most powerful people an educator can
JUST WON’T LIKE YOUR IDEA -
a new experience. Keep a note of all those
ideas. When you’re lacking inspiration, head bring on board are the students themselves. OR YOU.
back to your old projects and those that fell over They’re nearly always capable of far more than
Be bold with your changes so that others will
at the rst hurdle. Revisit them with fresh we ever dreamed possible.
argue with you. Suddenly you’re in a
perspectives. Then coal can maybe become conversation about your cause. And if you’re
diamonds. GET ORGANISED. GET IT DONE. worried about a di cult conversation, plan it.
There’s no point being an inspirational leader if Find a framework to think about where they are
DON’T TRY TO BOIL THE there is no paper in the printer. There’s no point coming from, and start from their perspective.
OCEAN. being a great listener when you are constantly Don’t think your job is just to win the argument.
interrupted by a knock at the door. Get yourself
It’s easy to nd excuses not to do something. organised by your goals: this year, this month,
It’s far harder to get something started. So this week. And what are the jobs you need to
invest all your e ort in turning the wheel for the do? And what jobs do you need a hand doing?
rst time. The second and third turns will be That’s when your work ow becomes the team’s www.notosh.com
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