Be brave.
Leading anything takes courage because of the many varied situations it puts you in. You will be dealing with wider issues than before, with a likely wider impact too; that's the whole point of leadership (in my opinion), broadening your impact. You'll be a mediator, a presenter, a point of safety, a critical friend; all of which involve complex emotions. Leaders must take calculated risks, with as much considered as possible. Bravery and innovation are paramount to promoting positive change.
 
Be empathetic.
I find emotional intelligence is a dying language these days. In a world fuelled by self-centred excuses stemming from too much enjoyment of playing the victim, often we forget that relationships in life are interlinked and that there are other feelings involved. Part of being visible (above) is to gather the sensitive data to find the most empathetic way to move forward. Having said that, part of being brave is understanding that there will be barriers, but it's the relationship built over time that will help you overcome them. Have a human side that ultimately makes the deciding call, but also calls out the snowflakes when needs be.

Be realistic.
These lessons further interlink when you consider that absolute clarity - formed from how much you see and engage with - coupled with bravery and an understanding of likely human reactions, all combine to help create a route towards your vision. Knowing what you have, and knowing where you want to go are 2 completely different entities, but one very much relies on the other. Create a plan that gets you moving, but be realistic about the time scale and patience required. Your own communication skills are tested here. Don't forget to put yourself in other people's shoes, consider your own reaction to what you're asking for. Don't turn it into payback for what you may have gone through.  

Be resilient.
The journey towards, on onwards, to leadership can be tricky. You'll face undesirable reactions, misplaced fear and simple playground jealousy. Work hard to keep a level head and find strategies to deal with all eventualities. As part of a comprehensive wellbeing-centred approach, seek out supportive friends and colleagues that you trust. You need honest feedback to move forwards, comments from the ground on things you implement or want carried out. Make good judgements, understanding your definition of good may differ. Be prepared to be wrong, be prepared to be argued with. Count on all the lessons you learn to support you in making the best progress for your school.

Where do you go for personal and professional support or advice? 
I was lucky enough to make a great friend at work. We were both NQTs and we started on the same day at the same school in adjacent classrooms. We used to have a daily debrief where essentially we would have a massive moan about everything – from photocopier woes to difficult students. Although it wasn’t, perhaps, a productive use of our time (we could have been marking), it was really important to be able to offload to someone who knew exactly who and what you were talking about. Once a problem was off my chest, I was less likely to think about it when I got home. A huge asset to my professional life this year has been @Team_English1 on Twitter. It was recommended by a friend and it has, honestly, changed my life. The generosity of teachers in this network has amazed me. The resources I have gained have saved me hours and hours of planning time and I am a better teacher for it.
In my opinion, the worst part of the profession is lack of time. There simply is not enough time to do the job during normal working hours. I don’t work long hours because I am put under pressure by management or Ofsted or because I am a perfectionist (believe me… I am the very definition of ‘winging it’). I work long hours simply to get the job done.
There are teachers who manage to avoid working at home (and I believe that some subjects are more labour intensive than others) but the hours we work are unsustainable. There are small adjustments that managers and school leaders can make to reduce workload but I believe the issue is primarily financial. Teaching and learning would improve exponentially if teachers’ contact time was reduced and we were able to spend more time planning and preparing feedback. Unfortunately, schools are so financially stretched that this is impossible. 

What strategies do you use to manage workload and protect your wellbeing? 
In my fourth year of teaching, I was completely burnt out. I was exhausted and it was affecting my health. I was working every weekend and also in the evenings. My solution was to search for other jobs because I just couldn’t sustain the hours. The problem was, I didn’t really want another job. As I’ve already preached – I love teaching.
So, I decided to go part time. This was not an easy decision. First of all, I was worried about money. I did some rudimentary maths and worked out that if I went to a 0.8 contract, in my fifth year of teaching I’d be earning roughly the same as I’d earned in my first year of teaching. If I’d managed on that salary then, I thought I could manage on that now. Another concern was, well, embarrassment. In fact, I was so embarrassed that when I put in my part-time request, I made up a lie – that I was going part time to support my partner’s business. Looking back, I should have been more honest. I would recommend anyone in a similar position to talk to your school’s management about how you’re feeling so that they can support you. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, then others will be too and management need to know this.
Despite my concerns, reducing my hours has changed my life.
The question everyone always asks, is ‘do you work on your day off’? Of course I do. In fact, that’s when I do all my school work. What do I get in return? My evenings and weekends back. I know there will be teachers shouting at the screen as they read this. I agree with you. The fact that I had to go part time in order to do my job is ridiculous. I’ve been told that part time teachers should do nothing on their day(s) off – that by working on these days, part-time workers are actually responsible for the pressures put on full time teachers. My response? If that's the case, then full time teachers should do nothing at evenings and weekends. It’s unfair to blame part-time teachers for unfair expectations placed on all teaching staff. We're all in this together.

What advice would you give anyone who felt like giving up? 
I know that reducing hours isn’t for everyone. I agree that teachers and school leaders should come together collectively to address the problems of workload. In the meantime, if anyone would like to chat about going part time, feel free to DM me on Twitter (@HannahHGO). 

Sum up our profession in 5 words. 
I wouldn’t do anything else. 

​#Exercise
Running has gone especially well this month! Followers from Twitter have been so encouraging, and I'm very grateful! May has further shown me the benefits for my mental health; I find - quite simply - that a day with some physical exercise is just plainly better than a day without it. Running is a great start to my day and genuinely has a guaranteed positive impact on my week! Join me!

#Notice
My #TeachingHero posts will be coming to a close fairly soon, after an unbelievable response! Check them out in previous blog posts, and there's still time to add your own advice that we can share across our growing community! Get in touch to be involved!

#Learn
This month I am reading 'Making Every Primary Lesson Count' from Jo Payne and Mel Scott. It's a handy guide of simple classroom practices, organised under the same headings as a secondary education equivalent. It's presented well, without jargon, and I'm excited to write a review for you once I'm done!

#Give
​Once again, I have a bunch of friends taking part in charity events in the coming weeks! It's my goal to donate to all of them in some form. Supporting charities is good for the soul. I also received a great response from many of my kids regarding the games I told you about before. There's something challenging about being a child these days and, as key adults in their lives, we're going to need to keep a better handle on the messages we send to them. More on that soon. 

I'll leave you to peruse the rest of the chapters yourself. Ideal for almost every stage of the journey in teaching, this book will open your eyes to the experiences of others. By this I mean, alongside offering advice, it's also useful for even the peachiest of school leaders to gather a sense of the behaviour of staff in other schools, to forward plan and prevent future difficulties. 

Thank you so much to Omar for sending me a copy; I'd highly recommend it.

Perhaps it's a rite of passage, most often a series of bad moods catching each other on the wrong day, during what is most likely the least comfortable period of your life. Choosing to take offence because we believe the world owes us something. Either way, it certainly builds a thicker skin, rather than playing victim to the basic, eventual life-limiting, ignorance of others. But out of the many experiences you often hear of, my secondary school was the best place to be. We were well cared for by everyone around us. Very much a community.

It was here that I made my best choices up to that point. For A-Levels I chose subjects that practically ignored all academia. I went for creative, personality building subjects. I went for subjects that would force me to speak in front of people. I went for subjects that encouraged group work and portfolios, the clear building of progress over time. McLuckie, Brown (who became Beecham), Hobbs and Collins. In many ways I owe you the most. 

Primary is the basics, the essentials that we all need. When those are down correctly, secondary builds on that and helps you focus on a direction. You most definitely, alongside my beloved friends - whether we have remained in touch since then or not - taught me to be comfortable with myself, to live without limits. And when that bit was right, academic success and my future were set.