TASMANIA 2021 HELPING SCHOOLS LEADERS FLOURISH, NOT JUST COPE
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HELPING SCHOOLS LEADERS FLOURISH, NOT JUST COPE
TASMANIA
2021
CONTAC T :
P : +61 2956 45763
E : team@dradamfraser.com
W : theflourishmovement.com
INDEX
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... Page 3
How the program started ................................................................................................ Page 4
The Flourish Movement .................................................................................................. Page 5
RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM
Results Overview ............................................................................................................. Page 7
WELLBEING
The importance of wellbeing ........................................................................................... Page 9
INTRO DUCT I O N
AS RESEARC HER S WE SPEC I ALI S E I N NU M B E RS, DATA A ND ACC U RA-
CY. WE DON’T SPEC IALISE I N E M OT I ON. H OWE V E R, ‘T H E FLOU RI S H
MOVEMENT’ HAS BEEN A VE RY E MOT I ONAL P ROJ EC T TO WO RK ON.
T H IS PROJEC T HAS BEEN E Y E OP E NI NG I N T E RM S O F WH AT AN E X-
T RAORDINAR Y GROUP OF P EO P LE S C H OOL P RI NC I PALS ARE.
T HEY LI T E RALLY NE E D TO WE A R CA P E S TO WO R K.
Over the last three years a plethora of data has been pub- The guilt that principals feel when they are not able to be
lished, such as Assoc Professor Phil Riley’s work, showing everything to everybody is palpable.
that the role is very challenging. The result is many school
principals exhibit significant increases in stress levels, emo- You could say in some ways the principals are too devoted,
tional drain and feelings of burnout and frustration. too resilient and too optimistic for their own good. We
need to protect them, not because they are weak, but
The Flourish Movement has been an altruistic partnership because they are too strong.
between Dr Adam Fraser, Dr John Molineux from Deakin
University and the school principals in NSW (led by Bob Wearing the armour comes at a cost. The most significant
Willetts). This program has been designed with principals, is the impact on their personal lives. They lack work family
for principals. The collaborative nature of the program is balance and the stress of the day comes home with them.
one of the reasons why it has been so incredibly successful. It also has a huge impact on their health, with many princi-
pals suffering significant health issues that can be related to
A surprising finding of our research is how the school prin- stress. Finally, their passion for the job is being eroded. The
cipals cope with such a difficult job. What school principals high levels of reporting and compliance take them further
have in common is they have a suit of armour that they pull from the joy of focusing on education and making the
on each day to go to work. school a better place to work and attend.
The armour consists of two parts: The Flourish Movement is a place where they can take off
the armour, sit with their colleagues, be supported and have
• Their incredibly high level of psychological capital. Psy- authentic and real conversations.
chological capital consists of confidence, hope, resilience
and optimism. It is a tool kit they draw on to deal with high Whilst this sounds like a sad tale it has a happy ending. Just
levels of pressure and stress. like the principals themselves, we have hope and optimism
for their future. The greatest things we have learnt from
• The second is the high level of meaning and purpose the Flourish Movement is that the principals are incredibly
they have attached to the role. For them this job is a true adaptable and have an amazing capacity to change their
vocation, it is bigger than themselves. This strong connec- behaviour to improve their wellbeing, how efficient they
tion to meaning and purpose spurs them on to tolerate the are at work, their ability to deal with negative thoughts and
difficult parts of the job. emotions and their capacity to clearly articulate what they
want to stand for as a leader. Given support and guidance,
While this armour protects them, it is a heavy burden to
school principals have the capacity to dramatically evolve
carry. The maintenance of the armour requires them to
the way they work to make the job more sustainable, en-
push themselves constantly, to overwork, to over commit
joyable and more impactful.
and to feel guilty about taking time for themselves or their
family. Dr Adam Fraser
3 Dr Adam Fraser
HOW T HE P RO GRA M STA RT E D
The Flourish Movement was initiated by a group of rural school principals from New
South Wales coordinated by Bob Willetts. The group contacted Dr Adam Fraser to
help them address their declining wellbeing and growing difficulty in managing the
complexity of the role. Dr Fraser suggested that the project be incorporated into
a research framework, where evidence could be generated to inform the group of
their specific challenges and difficulties. As well as potentially supply results to de-
cision makers in the state Education Department. To achieve this Dr Fraser brought
on Dr Molineux from Deakin University to co-ordinate the research arm of the
Flourish Movement. Bob Willetts was the key internal contact for coordination of
the group with Dr Molineux and Dr Fraser.
D R A DAM FR AS E R BOB WILLE T TS DR JOH N MOLINEUX
THE ENER GY FAC TORY NSW PPA DEAKIN UNIVERSIT Y
Author, Speaker, Researcher School Principal Researcher
4 Dr Adam Fraser
T HE F LOU R I SH M OV E M E NT
T H E FLOUR ISH MOVEMENT SP EC I ALI S E S I N I M P ROV I NG T H E WE LLB E I NG
AN D EF FEC TIVENESS OF SCH OOL LE AD E RS A ND T H E I R S TA FF. I T I S A
MOVEM ENT THAT WAS START E D BY E D U C ATORS, CO-D E S I GNE D WI T H
ED UCATORS AND DRIVEN BY OU R PA S S I ON TO S U P P O RT AN AM A ZI NG
GROUP OF PEOPLE WH O D O A V I TALLY I M P O RTANT J O B.
K EY F E ATU RE S O F THE MOV E ME N T
Designed by School Leaders Research Based Individualisation/Customis-
for School Leaders ation
This movement was started The Flourish Movement is One of the greatest features
when Bob Willetts an inspir- built on research and sci- of the Flourish Movement is
ing and proactive principal ence. It has generated one of that each group participates
from Berry Public School, the most comprehensive and in the research. This not only
engaged Dr Adam Fraser to detailed data sets on school gives them amazing insights
use his research and IP to leader wellbeing anywhere in their wellbeing, engage-
build The Flourish Move- in the world. Our research ment and behaviours. It also
ment. Bob and the principals approach involves surveys, allows us to customised the
from South Coast of NSW 10-day diary studies and in- program for each group par-
helped fine tune the program terviews conducted by our ticipating in it.
to suit the needs of educa- research partner Dr John
tors everywhere. Due to its Molineux (Senior lecturer
customised nature Flourish Deakin University).
has achieved amazing results.
O UR GOA L
Improve their wellbeing and Improve their leadership and Help them rediscover the
reduce burnout efficiency love they have for the job
5 Dr Adam Fraser
STRU CTU R E O F THE P RO GRA M
PHASE 1 - RESEARCH
We partner with Deakin Business School to understand the world of school leaders. This
phase includes a survey, a diary study and a one-on-one interview with a researcher from
Deakin University.
PHASE 2 - INTERVENTION
Education – Done through 4 full day workshops. One per term. We offer two options for
the workshops. They can do the workshop virtually (performed on zoom) or, if logistics per-
mit, we get together as a group at an offsite location.
Behaviour change strategies – These are a series of initiatives that will facilitate behaviour
change in the School Leaders and make it easier for them to implement the information
presented in the sessions. This consists of very specific action plans,
Collegial support – A large part of this program is the School Leaders learning from each
other and supporting each others development. In addition participants are broken into
buddy pairs to connect on a weekly basis to help support and keep their buddy accountable.
PHASE 3 - RE-TESTING
We measure the impact of the program by asking the participants to redo the baseline sur-
vey.
6 Dr Adam FraserRESU LTS O F T H E P RO GRA M
OV E RV I EW
7 Dr Adam FraserWE L L B E I NG
WH AT WE KNOW IS IF SC HOOL LE AD E RS FAI L TO LO OK A FT E R T H E M-
SELVES, THEIR PER SONAL LIFE AND WE LLB E I NG S U FFE R A ND I N T U RN
T H EIR S C HOOL IS NOT GET TI NG T H E B E S T V E RS I O N O F T H E I R LE A D E R.
WH Y FO CUS O N W E LLBE I NG
Wellbeing may seem like something we don’t need to have a program for. That as adults and indeed
as school leaders, if we can run a school, we should be able to get our wellbeing sorted. But our
research shows a different story.
We need to protect School Leaders not because they are weak but because they are too strong.
9 Dr Adam FraserYou can also read
