Understanding Self as Leader

At this week’s Cranbrook Teachers Talking Teaching session, Cranbrook’s Director of Service Aaron Nolan presented ‘Understanding Self as Leader’, sharing key insights from his participation in the AISNSW Aspiring and Early Leaders Programme.

The session opened with the foundational question, “What is leadership, and why do we want it?” – a prompt that framed the discussion around the four pillars of leadership: curiosity, competence, capacity and confidence. Aaron emphasised the importance of seeking feedback from trusted friends and family to better understand what drives us, and how this self-knowledge can shape leadership identity.

Participants were encouraged to reflect on their personal purpose, drawing on the idea that “it is impossible to have a great life unless it is meaningful. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.” This connected to the course’s broader focus on intrinsic motivation and the value of aligning leadership practice with personal values and strengths.

Aaron outlined several leadership models explored in the program, including transactional, transformational, servant, agile, instructional, distributed and authentic leadership, each offering a different lens through which to consider effective leadership in educational settings.

A key message from the session was captured in the quote “leaders bring the weather” (Helen Lee), which served as a reminder of the influence leaders have in shaping the emotional tone and culture of a school.

The session concluded with a reflection on the process of constructing a personal leadership statement, grounded in four elements: purpose, intent, strengths and articulation, encouraging all staff to think deeply about their own approach to leadership.

Hannah Thomas
Director of Professional Learning