Leaders undertaking their first Headship or Leadership role in a new school might want to think about the 'Gordon Ramsey' strategy initially. One of the keys to successful leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it and this is true for the restaurant on Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. You need to put to one side for a moment that the true rationale for the show is about entertainment and advertising profit and instead concentrate on the concept ‘ change management’. So how can this be applied to a schools to ‘move them forward’. I have deconstructed the concept of the show and applied it to a school setting.
The initial visit – Ramsey visits the restaurants (school), samples the menu (curriculum), observes the staff (Teaching and Associate staff), takes note of the décor (state of school building) and assesses the overall ambience (school ethos). All this is undertaken before any change is implemented.
In these restaurants there is no clear strategy for development, the menu is often too large, dated and does not wet the customer’s appetite, leading to customer apathy in the restaurant, business starting to decline and profits decrease. Ramsey meets the owners and decides upon a clear vision. A school needs to involve all stakeholders and be clear on its core purpose. It’s not a catch-all mission statement. It’s a definition of what’s fundamental to the operation.
Ramsey streamlines the menu and makes it more appealing to the customers. In the same way a leader in a school should look at their menu (curriculum). Who is it for, the students or government targets? Does it constantly evolve to keep up with pupil’s needs and local/regional contexts or is it results driven. Has the school wetted the customer’s appetite (are students engaged, excited and motivated by the choice on offer). A restaurant should cater for customer needs, a school for its students.
Ramsey often finds in restaurants that some of the best staff are in the wrong positions or their voice is not heard and vice versa. He undertakes a skills audit albeit very rudimentary and repositions them in a more appropriate role to maximize progress in the restaurant. Ramsey also ensures that effective training is planned in the future, and recruitment of new staff occurs if appropriate. In the same way schools needs to place the utmost importance on its strongest asset, the staff.
A school needs to ensure that the best staff are in the most appropriate roles and effective professional development is in place to develop future leaders and change agents. This may mean a staffing re-alignment and effective CPD program being established. Be prepared to be creative with recruiting and retaining great talent. Outstanding teachers can be like buses, they don’t often arrive by for some time so grab them when they come. Create development opportunities by widening the school leadership team, breaking down larger responsibilities and creating new roles.
How a restaurant looks can say a lot about how a restaurant feels. When Ramsey dines in the restaurant he looks at the fixtures and fittings. Are they tired and dated, has pride in the restaurant gone? The general look of the place will affect the general ambience and the opinions of the customers. Ramsey goes for a total make-over approach developing it into an inspiring and welcoming place, one in which people want to eat it. In a school we need to look at the buildings. Understandable in the current climate, schools are unable to have new builds but schools don’t need new builds. Spend money wisely, look for maximum impact with minimum monetary contribution, and maintain a relentless regime of upkeep staying on top of all the little things. The general ambience (ethos) of the school can be influenced by your customers (students). Make them have ownership and pride in the building….lead by example…pick up litter for example…role model how you want them to act.
Finally – Ramsey rebrands the restaurant, alters its perception in the community, makes it welcoming from the outside, and draws customer in. In the same sense a school needs to market itself to the public, look at signage, corporate identity, how it looks to the community, how it involves the community and how it communicates? School needs to ensure their biggest customers are kept well informed (pupils and parents); building a sense of community through shared successes, symbolic moments and interventions.
Ramsey undertakes this in a matter of days but school should plan short, medium and long term. Effort in preparation and planning yields considerable dividends. Obtain quick wins and initiate slow fixes and recognise the journey to high performance may take 5 years, it’s not the quick fix…..it’s the culture shift.
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