PiXL Leadership Bookclub

Are you listening? This episode, Rachel is joined by senior leaders Amanda Wilson and Amy Bills to discuss Kate Murphy's book 'You're not Listening'. To listen is seen as such a basic tenet of human interactions, yet so often we go into a conversation with our ears half closed to what the person speaking is trying to tell us. Linking the books points specifically to a school environment, Rachel and guests discuss how engaging in active listening, both for staff and students, could help our school cultures in myriad ways. What are we missing, and why does it matter?

PiXL is a partnership organisation of thousands of schools, colleges and alternative education providers spanning KS1-5. Find out more about how you could gain value from a PiXL subscription: https://www.pixl.org.uk/membership

PiXL Leadership Bookclub is a We Are In Beta production.

Subscribe now to download every episode directly to your phone automatically.

PiXL’s Leadership Bookclub returns for Series 3. In this episode, Rachel Johnson discusses 'The Checklist Manifesto' by Atul Gawande with senior leaders Miriam Sechere (Secondary and Sixth Form School Improvement Education Advisor, Croydon Council) and James D’Souza (Head of Psychology, Ewell Castle School). In truth, many see a checklist as basic, and oftentimes beneath them: 'my job is too complicated to be reduced to a checklist'. However, Gawande and our trio of school leaders make the case that checklists could provide a solid foundation, from which magic can happen – be it in the classroom or in leadership meetings. How can they be crafted intentionally to reduce cognitive load and, potentially, bring about better school cultures?

PiXL is a partnership organisation of thousands of schools, colleges and alternative education providers spanning KS1-5. Find out more about how you could gain value from a PiXL subscription: https://www.pixl.org.uk/membership

PiXL Leadership Bookclub is a We Are In Beta production.

Subscribe now to download every episode directly to your phone automatically.

Join us for season 3!

In this final episode of Series 2, Rachel Johnson is joined by school leaders Clemmie Stewart and Sam Betts, to discuss Priya Parker’s book The Art of Gathering.

The conversation covers the main themes of the book: how important it is to have a ‘human-centred approach’ to our gatherings, whether that is a meeting, a lesson or a training session; how crucial it is to see and be seen, making sure everybody in the room can hear and be heard and how, ultimately, the way you conduct yourself and your gatherings can make an enormous difference.

PiXL is a partnership of 3,000 schools and colleges spanning KS1-5, focusing on equipping leaders and teachers to bring a better future and brighter hope to young people. Learn more at www.pixl.org.uk

In the penultimate episode of Series 2, PiXL CEO Rachel Johnson is joined by school leaders Will Teece and Jessica Moody to discuss their thoughts around Kim Scott's book Radical Candor, and how its premise could improve school leadership and create happier and healthier workplaces.

Radical Candor is about caring personally but challenging directly, allowing us to give guidance and feedback that’s both kind and clear, specific and sincere. How can we cultivate this in ourselves and our teams?

In this episode, Rachel Johnson speaks with senior leaders Claire Knight and Matt Hardman about Ajaz Ahmed’s book ‘Limitless’.

They explore the challenges of mastering one’s craft, how to stay focused, communicating your message clearly and what happens in schools when we don’t. With practical examples of where it’s gone well, and when it hasn’t, there are many valuable lessons here for leaders and teachers who want to stay focused and perform a handful of significant tasks well, rather than being overwhelmed by too many tasks not done well. Rachel, Claire and Matt address the very real challenge of overwhelm in schools.

“Education has been the primary instrument of change in my own life, the lever upward in the world.”

In this episode, Rachel Johnson and sixth-form leader, Balli Dail & Head of school, Sara Marshallsay, reflect on Michelle Obama’s book ‘Becoming’. 

Michelle’s guidance counselor once told her she wasn’t ‘Princeton Material’. Much of the conversation focuses on metaphorical glass ceilings and how we all have a role to play in our schools to promote possibility, to allow everyone to feel seen, and to develop in students an inner voice that reassures them that they are ‘good enough'.

PiXL is a partnership of 3,000 schools and colleges spanning KS1-5, focusing on equipping leaders and teachers to bring a better future and brighter hope to young people. Learn more at www.pixl.org.uk

In this episode, Rachel is joined by school leaders, Christopher Harris and Dave McPartlin, to discuss Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller ‘David and Goliath’.

The trio talk about a range of subjects, from being the underdogs, to how they have tried to raise aspiration in young people, and why often unconventional thinking should be welcomed. This episode has lots of laughter but also touches on some profound topics related to education and leadership.

PiXL is a partnership of 3,000 schools and colleges spanning KS1-5, focusing on equipping leaders and teachers to bring a better future and brighter hope to young people. Learn more at www.pixl.org.uk

The book ‘How Women Rise’ focuses on 12 habits that have been identified consistently as holding women particularly back from success in their careers. Whatever your gender, all of us need help to overcome the areas of our character that hold us back. Bijal Pandya and Emma Pitcher, both senior leaders, join Rachel Johnson to discuss their key takeaways from the book, speaking about how it resonated with each of them in turn. With honesty and humour, join them to explore the things that can stop us all being the leaders we want to be.

PiXL is a partnership of 3,000 schools and colleges spanning KS1-5, focusing on equipping leaders and teachers to bring a better future and brighter hope to young people. Learn more at www.pixl.org.uk

In this episode, Rachel Johnson is joined by two school leaders; Daniel Opoku of Ark Blake Academy and Richard Tyrrell of The Kingston Academy, to discuss 'Essentialism' by Greg McKeown.

According to McKeown, an Essentialist lives by three principles: they do less but better, they follow the disciplined pursuit of less, and, ultimately, they live a life that really matters. In education, where there are often 101 things we should do in a finite space of time, could practising the book's premise change the way we think and lead?

PiXL is a partnership of 3,000 schools and colleges spanning KS1-5, focusing on equipping leaders and teachers to bring a better future and brighter hope to young people. Learn more at www.pixl.org.uk

Series 2 of PiXL’s Leadership Bookclub begins with a discussion around a classic leadership book: Legacy by James Kerr.

Rachel Johnson (CEO of PiXL) speaks with school leaders Matthew Crawford (CEO of Embark Federation) and Sue Plant (Head of School at John Taylor Free School) about their key takeaways from the book.

What legacy do you hope to create? What is your place in your school’s history, and how can you lead it into a bright future?

PiXL is a partnership of 3,000 schools and colleges spanning KS1-5, focusing on equipping leaders and teachers to bring a better future and brighter hope to young people. Learn more at www.pixl.org.uk