What Do We Really Mean by Impact in Education Leadership?

Unsplash | Clark Tibbs

Impact is one of those words we use constantly in education and in leadership… but rarely stop to define.

I’ve been in education for over 15 years and the word 'impact' gets used so often but is rarely understood. I sometimes wonder whether we’ve lost a shared understanding of what it actually means.

In the classroom (my microcosm for systems thinking, organisational culture, and learning), impact can be experienced quickly. A skilled teacher can demonstrate it within minutes; a student can feel it within a lesson.

But to the naked eye, that same moment can look like noise, activity, busyness. Or, what many of us know as ‘all singing and dancing’: students engaged, a teacher teaching, but no obvious 'result.'

This is where confusion for leaders can sometimes creep in. Leaders, particularly those not in the day-to-day, often look for a final result, statistics and outputs. What is often underestimated is that calendars, relationship building, conversation, constant activity, and long task lists are not just busyness…they are what lead to the change and impact. Ultimately, we forget (but must remember) impact takes time, and time could be a number of cumulative tasks and activities over 1 day, 1 month or 1 year…!

I often speak to leaders who will say a lot is happening… but is anything really changing? I find this difficult to answer as it feels as if I am talking to leaders who have already made up their minds: on the surface, it might feel like the answer is no.

But, leadership requires a different lens, one that connects the dots over time (and arguably, that still keeps one foot in the classroom, as mentioned by Chris Kohlbeck, Director of Teacher Quality at Chiltern Learning Trust, on the School Should Be Podcast.

How I learned about impact

When I was in senior leadership, a headteacher once said this to me: I can look at ‘stuff happening’ (the busyness) and connect the dots (systems thinking) that lead to a bigger picture (strategy). It was one of the best reflections and pieces of constructive feedback I’ve ever received.

With this in mind, I've been thinking about how I articulate this for all the conversations about impact I have daily. I was inspired by a formula for performance referenced by, Brene Brown and Adam Grant on their podcast, The Curiosity Shop: Performance = potential − interference (Gallway, 1974)

A way I’ve been thinking about impact is:

Impact = (shared understanding) x purposeful action + measurable change over time

• Shared understanding gives clear direction and a shared vision (leader)

• Purposeful actions are what we do: the (sometimes mundane) behaviours, tasks, and culture we create (people and teams)

• Measurable change over time is the small, incremental changes we see and experience in real time, over time.

  
  

This then results in:

• Change: the short, medium, and long term ( monitored by a project lead)

• Evidence shows whether it’s working, what we can observe, measure, and feel (feedback and outputs)

• Impact is the difference it makes over time, when those elements connect (evaluation and outputs)

One shift that has been particularly useful in understanding impact is asking questions in the present tense:

1. What is the shared understanding of the vision?

2. Is everyone clear on the intended and projected direction?

3. What actions are we taking?

4. What is happening as a result of our actions?

5. What are people and systems experiencing because of this work (positive or negative, intended or unintended)?

These questions bring impact into the present. They move us away from abstract intentions, biased and presumptuous decision-making.

Plus, as someone who lives and breathes relational cultures at work, when people can see and feel change, and that change is validated and recognised, even in small ways, it builds trust. It strengthens motivation. It creates alignment. It makes the work meaningful.

What do leaders need to do when they ask: 'but what's the impact?'

Firstly, leaders need to put themselves back at the helm of the work, even if it's periodically. Impact can be evidence-based, effectively measured and understood with compassionate and empathetic approaches.

Leaders also need to be open to a diverse range of outcomes: vision, direction and 'work' can lead to intended and unintended outcomes and opportunities - none of this needs to be a bad thing. It's all learning, growth and development for the betterment of our students, staff and systems; so long as we are willing to learn from impact, create, recreate, learn, unlearn and continue evolving, we're having a positive impact.