We need to talk - Change Starts Here

Happy Friday Leaders,

This week I’m excited to share with you the inspiration behind my new book, "Change Starts Here," co-authored with the brilliant Efraim Lerner. This book is a result of our experiences and observations in education, and I want to give you a glimpse into what drove us to write it.

As I've watched the global teacher recruitment and retention crisis unfold, I've noticed that one of the core issues is a lack of teacher autonomy and self-efficacy. When educators feel like they have little control over their work and lack confidence in their decision-making abilities, it's no surprise that job satisfaction and retention suffer.

In the face of rapid change, such as the recent boom of GenAI, educators are feeling even more uncertain.

It's a perfect storm, and you'd think that schools would be in a prime position to lead and innovate.

But instead, we're seeing the opposite.

External voices—policymakers, companies, and consultants—have stepped in to fill the void. While they often have good intentions and bring valuable ideas, their increasing involvement has led to a slow erosion of organisational confidence in schools. By outsourcing decision-making and expertise, schools are losing the knowledge and skills necessary to drive sustainable change from within.

I believe that the way forward is to re-empower school communities to drive change from the inside out. This doesn't mean shutting out the outside world entirely, but rather engaging with external actors only when the school community fully understands its purpose. As Powell and Kusuma-Powell rightly said, "It's all about reclaiming our profession."

"Change Starts Here" is our contribution to this conversation. I hope that this book will inspire and empower you to take back control of your profession and drive meaningful, sustainable change in your schools.

Stay tuned for more updates and have a great weekend!

Shane

P.S. Here’s a couple of recent conversations on the podcast to take you in to the weekend:

And here’s an important live session next week. Sign up here: