"Take care of these and the score takes care of itself.". Bill Walsh
So...as an educational leader what, for you, are 'these'?
Right now, to what extent are 'these' being taken care of across your school?
Without getting into too much of a discussion what, for you, would be 'the score'? For the sake of this article we can assume 'the score' as being improved pupil outcomes for every pupil. But what is it that actually has the biggest impact on 'the score' and how do we, as leaders, ensure we focus relentlessly on these factors?
Although there are main influences on the success or effectiveness of any school, it is the professional culture of a school has the biggest impact. Agree or disagree?
If we agree then, as leaders, we must be able to define what we mean by 'professional culture'...we need to be leading with a shared working definition.
For us, the professional culture of our school is...
Leaders must not mistake the professional culture with the climate of the school. Every school has a professional culture and every school has a climate. They both contribute to the effectiveness of a school but they are not the same. One can influence the other but, ultimately, it is the professional culture that has the biggest impact.
The climate is more about the 'mood' of the team or organisation. It refers to the immediate work environment. It encompasses the day-to-day interactions between team members, the attitudes team members have towards the work they do, and the emotional tone of the team. Organisational or team climate can be measured through surveying team members and is often used to identify areas for improvement to help boost leadership performance.
The professional culture, on the other hand, is much more about 'how we do things around here'. It refers to the shared values, beliefs, and norms that guide the professional behaviours of an individual or collective. The professional culture can be more difficult to measure than climate as it is often implicit and requires a deep understanding of the organisation's dynamics. Professional culture refers to the collective behaviours, values, and norms that dictate how colleagues interact and operate within an organisation. It influences decision-making, communication styles, and work ethics, shaping the organisation's overall performance. A strong professional culture fosters respect, challenge, high levels of accountability, and innovation, while a weak culture can breed inefficiency, conflict, and low morale.
Essentially...The professional culture of any organisation is shaped by the worst behaviour the leaders, and staff, are willing to tolerate.
A scenario that might be all too familiar. A high-performing or established member of staff with a track record of disruptive or even hurtful behaviours continues to carry on unchallenged. The individual is not called-out because of their perceived value to the organisation. Leaders think they can’t afford to lose this person’s contributions—so they choose to let things slide.
This decision has three serious side effects despite the offender’s rain-making ability:
The staff loses confidence and trust in their leader
The professional culture suffers severe damage
A weakened perception of the organisation, as a whole
For some leaders it can be difficult to challenge the disruptive behaviours of higher-performing member of staff but not doing so causes far worse consequences.
Leaders do not create the professional culture of their school or team but do have the ultimate responsibility for shaping the organisation’s culture, and they let everyone down by turning a blind eye to poor behaviour from certain colleagues. In doing so, they signal to the rest of the staff that it’s okay to be offensive if you bring in enough value or manage a critical department. Employees watching intolerable colleagues avoid negative repercussions will lose respect for their leaders and begin to mistrust the motive behind everything they do, making alignment around anything almost impossible.
It is so important to recognise that leaders DO NOT create the professional culture within the school they lead but, rather, introduce the systems and processes that go to share the professional culture. It is these systems and processes that go to develop the high-performance behaviours and attitudes needed for success.
So, what do we know about the professional culture of a school?
Every school has one...although they are not always 'strong' or vibrant.
It is the biggest influence on the success of the school i.e. the biggest influence on pupil outcomes
Every member of the organisation can influence the professional culture but it is the leaders who can have the biggest impact
Crucially...the professional culture of any organisation is as a result of historical events, by those yesterday, last week, last month, last year or five years ago.
So, a key question for organisational leaders, must be...what need to be the future events that will shape our professional culture towards our 'ideal self'? In other words, how do we need to reshape and refine our systems and processes so that they are even more effective in developing the high-performance behaviours and attitudes of all staff?
At this point, it might be worth considering 5 types of professional culture:
Toxic
Stagnant
Pleasant
Unproductive success
Strong and vibrant
What would be your descriptions of each? Where would you place the professional culture of your school or the individual teams across the schools?
Does every leader work from an agreed understanding of what each might look like. Clarity precedes competence.
An organisation or team that functions with a strong, vibrant professional culture can be referred to as being culturally proficient...as opposed to being culturally inefficient e.g. toxic, stagnant or even pleasant. Teachers typically work to maintain a culture of nice, and in doing so, avoid critical conversations about ineffective classroom instruction and assessment practices.
Being culturally proficient begins with 2 key concepts:
An agreed, shared and understood core purpose
4 or 5 cultural values (principles) on which the professional culture is built. It is these cultural values that influence decision-making around systems and processes.
Perhaps the shared and understood core purpose should be the same for every single school across the world e.g. To improve the lives and life-chances of every pupil
However, the cultural values are more specific to the individual organisation but MUST then go to influence decision-making, especially regarding the reshaping and refining of systems and processes.
If we go back to the quote at the beginning of this article...Take care of these and the score takes care of itself...perhaps the 'these' are the organisation's cultural values.
An example of a cultural value might be...collective responsibility. However, a value (or principle) is a belief that shapes the actions we take and the behaviours we demonstrate. Leaders must design the processes that will strengthen a genuine demonstration of collective responsibility across the organisation. In many schools or teams, there is still an over-reliance on a few lead figures and this is the polar opposite of 'collective responsibility'.
So...what are your school's cultural values (not school values) and how are these influencing 'how we do things around here'?
An organisation's cultural values are more than just a few words...they are the benchmarks for how everyone, within the community, behaves, acts, communicates, interacts, learns, grows and develops. If we accept that the professional culture has the biggest influence on the success of an organisation or team, then the leaders MUST be responsible for carrying out a deep-dive, especially around these cultural values. Which of these values are most embedded and how do we know? Are they as embedded in all teams or some teams? How do we know?
What does a deep-dive into the professional culture of your school look like?
How could you reshape and refine it so that it is even more effective?
While the professional culture can enhance organisational effectiveness, maintaining it requires consistent effort. Some challenges include resistance to change, misalignment between leadership actions and stated values, and the influence of external factors such as government shifts or technological advancements. Organisations must actively work to reinforce their culture through increasing the depth of leadership capital, rethinking processes designed around professional learning and growth, and continuous feedback mechanisms.
Conclusion
Professional culture is a critical determinant of an organisation’s success. It influences employee engagement, teamwork, decision-making, leadership, and talent retention. Organisations that prioritise and nurture a strong professional culture create an environment that drives innovation, efficiency, and long-term success. By continuously fostering a positive and ethical workplace, organisations can achieve their strategic objectives and maintain a sense of continuous improvement.
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