Recently Fairholme College hosted our annual Dinner on the Downs event. It was an evening of great collegial warmth as colleagues shared a meal and enjoyed each other’s company. Our time together was so reflective of ACEL’s ability to bring people together professionally and socially.
At the start of the evening Fairholme’s principal Dr Leigh Hobart spoke briefly about the concepts of clarity, empathy, courage and conviction. It was a thoughtful and engaging way to start the evening, setting the tone for some rich collegial fellowship. These four words struck a chord, and I have been thinking about them ever since. It may well be that the essence of leading our learning communities is underscored by a quaternity of determinants founded specifically on: clarity in thought, empathy in relationship, courage in action and conviction of belief. In our complex world, with so many challenges, such thinking or a renewal of such thinking is vital.
Clarity is a reassuring word. What does it mean to have clarity educationally? Clarity can emerge from a combination of thorough and reflective thoughtfulness. Such insight takes time, skill and patience as well as a focussed determination to understand the array of complex and often competing interests and agendas associated with our various work spaces. To me the search for clarity is associated with having a clear and unambiguous understanding of our underlying societal educational mission. This mission is founded on the idea and ideal of a universal free education and its importance as the fundamental bedrock of our civil society. We must guard against all that takes us away from our duty of upholding, treasuring and maintaining our common humanity based on our well-honed foundations of liberal freedom. The words ‘sacred mission’ are not ill-considered in this context. Educational institutions in the third decade of the 21st century are facing unparalleled and confronting issues ranging from the creeping and unknown impact of AI through to the consequences of illicit and harmful social media misuse. The difficulties underscoring such issues are Rumsfeldian in nature. The known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns create surprises, or perhaps increasingly foreseeable and overwhelming inevitabilities. Leadership clarity is possible but it takes reflection, purpose, wisdom and strength.
Empathy is a word we use frequently often ignoring just how difficult it is to achieve. Some years ago, I was very fortunate to attend an in-service led by Brother Damien Price at Brigidine College Indooroopilly. It was one of those transformational magical moments of learning. We speak so often about empathy as the ability to ‘walk in someone else’s shoes’. Challenging this, Brother Damien asked us to stand in a circle and remove one of our shoes and throw it in the middle of the circle. He then asked us to grab someone else’s shoes, put it on and take a stroll. Of course it wasn’t easy. It was such a simple yet powerful learning experience. I’ve repeated it with many groups of students over the years particularly when teaching income and wealth inequality. The outcome always is that it is not as easy to walk in someone else’s shoes. Empathy requires deep understanding, humility as well as spacious and gracious thinking. It is also a call to challenge unhelpful binary thinking.
Courage is also a word with so many layers. In our leadership space perhaps, courage is the ability to face jarring orthodoxy or emergent change or crisis with considered and careful conviction. Educational leadership requires its proponents to be courageous today perhaps more so than other eras as the bedrocks of our concept of civilisation continue to be challenged on so many fronts. Courage is needed whether in unpacking the complexities associated with geo-strategic disintegration, addressing politically layered climate change policy division or grappling with the issues associated with gender identity. Our world is one in which courageously tempered and carefully considered leadership is becoming increasingly important. Schools are issues-based organisations. The reality is that the issues confronting our schools as learning organisations are becoming much more layered and complex. What it means to be courageous in this context is at times confronting.
Conviction goes hand in hand with the ideas associated with clarity, empathy and courage. Perhaps social media and its misuse is robbing the world of conviction. Conviction is not the same as fixed mindedness. The old saying of British economist Lord John Maynard Keynes is of use when thinking about the fluidity of conviction. Keynes observed, “when the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do sir”? Such an observation was a gift to the art of decision of making. Sadly the spectre of faceless terrifying trolling, in conjunction with the odious nature of an increasingly embedded cancel culture, has further eroded the grounded goodness of thoughtful conviction. The old phrase ‘courage of our convictions’ might be becoming harder to enact. We can all have the ‘courage of our convictions’ providing we can civilly and empathetically respect the convictions of others. In a fair society this should be the fundamental bond of our humanity. At times the word conviction is used as an insult. This is sad because the outcome can often lead to a blancmange of dithering uncertainty.
It seems to me that the world would be a kinder, fairer and more secure place if we could genuinely say that our leadership lenses were well-honed by the ideals of clarity, empathy, courage and conviction. This would be a wonderful platform for effective 21st century leadership either at the school or institutional or geo-strategic level. Sprinkle the essence of ‘respect’ in there as well and who knows what could be achieved. Thank you, Dr Hobart, for starting our dinner discussion so thoughtfully.
It would be remiss to conclude the theme of our Dinner on the Downs without mentioning two ACEL stalwarts. Talking with Dr Joan Conway and Dr Dorothy Andrews at the dinner was a privilege. They have been active ACEL members and highly regarded UniSQ academics for many years, contributing much to both the field of education generally and to educational leadership more specifically. Both Drs Andrews and Conway represent all that is good about the ACEL community of scholars. May they continue their wonderful work.
Meet the Queensland Executive Tom McCormick
I am a passionate educator who believes that relationships are at the heart of meaningful learning, and that a strong sense of humanity must underpin every aspect of education. I champion a restorative practice approach, fostering connection, accountability, and empathy in school communities.
My professional journey has spanned both the state and independent sectors, across two countries, and in both co-educational and all-girls school environments. This diverse experience has given me a broad perspective on the different ways schools operate and has strengthened my belief in the importance of responsive, inclusive, and values-based leadership.
In my current role as Head of Senior School at Fairholme College, I’m committed to engaging deeply with educational trends, innovations, and challenges. I see it as my responsibility to cultivate a school culture that fosters curiosity, independence, and global-mindedness, both in students and among colleagues. I actively seek learning opportunities, visiting schools nationally and internationally during the holidays, reading widely in educational literature, and leading a professional reading group within my school. I also established the Darling Downs Deputies and Heads of Sub School Collegiate, a network I currently chair.
For the past four years, I’ve been a part of the ACELQ Darling Downs conveyor group, working to provide rich networking and learning opportunities for educators across the region. I’m especially passionate about supporting new and aspiring leaders. I’ve organised events such as a Early Career Teacher Dinners, an Aspirant Leaders Conference, and a Research Masterclass evening (in partnership with UniSQ).
At my core, I am a connector, a provocateur, and a learning enthusiast. I’m always seeking ways to grow my own knowledge and leadership, but just as importantly, I strive to empower and uplift others on their journey. I am excited to become a Board Executive member of ACEL Queensland, and look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the governance, strategic leadership and community of ACELQ.
Dr Bruce Addison
ACEL QLD Branch President