info@headmastershelpdesk.com
info@headmastershelpdesk.com
We live in a dynamic world, which requires evolving leaders. With education leadership in mind, I wish to refer to John Maxwell’s “11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace”. Change is so rapid today that leaders must do much more than stay the course to succeed. The key is to learn HOW to leadershift. How open are you to change? Are you willing to ask more questions than giving answers? Are you willing to become a better listener and observer? Are you willing to rely more on intuition and creativity?
The leadershifts that John Maxwell discusses require you to change the way you think, act, and ultimately lead in order to be successful in an ever-changing world.
Leadershift is the ability and willingness to make leadership changes that will positively enhance organisational and personal growth. By employing ‘leadershifting’, it will help us move forward in the face of the natural temptation to remain the same. It encourages us to become innovative, move out of our comfort zones, question conventional wisdom, and embrace change. Within education leadership, this concept is vital to guiding teachers and principals for relevant, transforming schools and institutions.
“If you want to be an effective leader, then you must leadershift.”
To reach one’s leadership potential, one needs to shift from soloist to conductor. What does that mean? I needed to change how I could help others; not just myself: change the focus from me to we. By doing so, it increased my energy while I was leading.
The school environment has many moving parts. This all-encompassing view makes for better engagement across all departments and levels to create better school principals, department heads, and management.
“Be the first to give or add value to another person when you can.”
When we make the shift to focus on growth, that means that we have started to adopt a long-term mindset, i.e. a growth mindset. We go from improving in spurts to improving day after day to reach our potential as consistency compounds. That is essential as one’s level of success will never exceed one’s level of personal development.
“When you make the personal development shift from goals to growth and embrace the process of layered learning, you will never stop getting better. And your level of success can keep expanding.”
If your aim is to reach your potential and be the best leader that you can be and make the greatest impact, then you must shift from perks to price in your leadership. What does that actually mean? There is a price that stands between you and your potential. If you want to be a better leader, then you need to ‘pay’ for it by doing many unamazing things, setting the example for your team.
“People do what people continually see. The more consistent you are, the more consistent they will want to be. “
Pleasing people is not the same as leading people. No leader can please everyone all the time. We need to make the leadershift from pleasing to challenging them.
“Good leadership always challenges people to rise to the occasion, become their best, and achieve more.”
We all tend to fall into one of four different zones when it comes to innovation, which impacts on how we live, how we lead, and what we achieve:
> Coasting Zone (do as little as possible);
> Comfort Zone (do what I have always done);
> Challenge Zone (attempt to do what I have not done before);
> Creative Zone (attempt to think what I have never thought before).
If your aim is to take your leadership to higher levels, you need to make the leadershift from maintaining to creating and trying to live in the creative zone.
“Do not ever get comfortable. Make the shift to abundance. Get out on the edge. Break new ground. Seize opportunity. Get creative. “
The reproduction shift is about changing from being a personal producer to an equipper of others. It takes you from the solitary climb to watching many people climb to the top of their own ladders. From there, you can enjoy the view from the top together.
“Leaders who shift from ladder-climber to ladder-builder help new leaders stretch to their potential.”
Changing from directing to connecting will be one of the most valuable shifts you will ever make. Not only are relationships better, but ideas also improve because they are flowing in both directions. People work better together and the team becomes stronger.
“If even the greatest leaders need encouragement, then everyone does.”
When you value diversity and are genuinely open to the ideas and insights of other people, you open up the possibility of discovering fresh ideas, building a better team, and gaining new ground.
“If we can connect where we are similar and contribute using our differences, we can accomplish great things.”
Moral authority makes you worthy of respect, inspires trust and confidence, and enables you to lead at the highest standards of performance. By doing this, you will increase your potential influence to those who are not necessarily part of your immediate team.
“You don’t get to grant yourself moral authority – only others can give it to you and they must do so freely.”
The impact shift from trained leaders to transformational leaders will bring the greatest change to your life and the lives of those around you. If your actions inspire people to dream more, do more, and become more, then you are a transformational leader. You influence people to think, speak, and act in ways that make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others.
“Change does not happen unless transformational leaders commit themselves to making a difference in their community and invite others to join them in the process.”
This leadershift should be the most natural shift one can make, but many people miss it. Your calling, when you find and embrace it, will result in the merging of your skills, talents, character traits, and experiences. It will utilise your experience, your gifts, and the lessons you have learnt. It will be evident from the deep desire to create, lead, inspire, and make a difference.
“Our calling is the gift we give the world while we are still alive. Our legacy is our gift to the world after we die.”
John Maxwell has certainly provided us with a number of ‘leadershifts’ that will take us from good to better. If we are prepared to take small steps in that direction every day, these fundamental changes will help us to reach full leadership potential.
Education leadership does not need to be a lonely path. At Headmaster’s Help Desk, through professional education consulting services, I impart essential leadershifts and leadership skills to help school heads, management and teachers thrive. Let’s work together for agile, meaningful leadership. Contact us to find out more.
References:
John Maxwell [2018] – “Leadershift: 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace”
John Maxwell [2025] – John C Maxwell Daily Planner 2025