Shane and Chris are back for this month's Education Leaders Live, recording from Shanghai and Newcastle respectively, to unpack some of the biggest themes from recent episodes.

The conversation kicks off with the backstory behind Education Leaders itself. How it started as a hobby podcast called Travel Ed, what redundancy taught Shane about building a business, and why the "build it and they shall come" approach is terrible advice for anyone thinking about going independent.

From there, they get into Dr Chris Baker's brilliant work on poor proxies for leadership. What does it actually look like to lead well? Is visibility the same as effectiveness? And why did a child once assume Chris Baker was the new headmaster based entirely on his trench coat?

They also dig into the CPD problem. Shane shares results from a LinkedIn survey where only 1 out of roughly 100 school leaders said external workshops had genuine impact. That leads to a proper debate about where responsibility sits when training doesn't stick, and what providers should be doing differently.

Plus: the guilt of not looking busy, why teachers have the rolliest eyes of any profession, Chris's story about Rob Coe walking into his conference session, and what's coming up next on the podcast.

Episodes referenced in this conversation:

• The Work Behind Education Leaders: shaneleaning.com/podcast/151
• Poor Proxies for Leadership with Dr Chris Baker: shaneleaning.com/podcast/152
• Parent-Driven School Storytelling with Selena Boyd: shaneleaning.com/podcast/148
• What Actually Works in Teacher Development: shaneleaning.com/podcast/153

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England spends £1 billion a year on teacher professional development, yet a poll of school leaders found that just 1% said it led to lasting change in practice. This episode examines why that gap exists, drawing on a landmark 2025 report from the Teacher Development Trust, which surveyed over a thousand teachers and leaders across England. The findings are stark, but the patterns, as Shane argues, are universal and if you lead a school anywhere in the world, the problems will feel familiar.

You'll learn about the significant perception gap between what leaders think CPD achieves and what teachers actually experience, why the formats schools rely on most (workshops, online modules) are the least effective, and what the evidence actually points to instead. Shane shares five practical steps leaders can take right now, from closing the feedback gap with staff to investing in coaching and peer observation. Perhaps most urgently, the data shows a direct link between poor professional development and teacher retention and what kind of CPD would genuinely make teachers more likely to stay.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Education Leaders Intensive

Episode Partners

International Curriculum Association

Teaching Walkthrus

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we truly know if someone is a good leader? If your school relies on visible presence, constant busyness, or even a certain "look," you might be measuring the wrong things. In this thought-provoking episode, Shane is joined by experienced educator and leadership development specialist, Chris Baker, to explore the concept of 'poor proxies' for leadership. Inspired by Rob Coe's work on poor proxies for learning, Chris explains how schools often mistake correlated behaviours for the causal impact of effective leadership, potentially undermining leader well-being and organisational success.

You’ll learn to identify common poor proxies like visibility, busyness, and confidence, and discover a more impactful framework for evaluation centred on two questions: "How does this leader make people feel?" and "What does this leader enable people to do?" Chris provides a practical, immediate action plan, advising you to audit your school’s leadership frameworks, recruitment processes, and development programmes for hidden proxies. If you want to move beyond superficial metrics and cultivate leadership that genuinely empowers your team, this conversation is an essential starting point.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Connect with Chris Baker

Rob Coe's work at Evidence-Based Education

Leadership Launchpads by Chris Baker

International Curriculum Association

Teaching Walkthrus

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 151 is a milestone worth pausing on, and Shane uses it to do something he probably should have done sooner: properly introduce himself. Many listeners know the podcast but have never heard the full story of how Education Leaders grew from a simple desire for better conversations into a three-part organisation spanning a community, a coaching academy, and international school consultancy. This episode is Shane's honest account of those early uncertain months, the moment something shifted, and why he kept going long before he had any of it figured out.

You'll hear how the Education Leaders Intensive came together, what drives the self-study courses launching soon, and why Shane co-founded The Work Collaborative, a not-for-profit built on one clear conviction: schools need to restore confidence in their own judgement. Shane explains what he keeps seeing in schools around the world, the cycle of well-intentioned consultants and initiatives that never quite stick because internal capacity was never built alongside them. If you're curious about the world behind the microphone, or simply want to understand what Shane and his collaborators are actually building, this is the episode to start with.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Education Leaders Intensive
• The Work Collaborative

International Curriculum Association

Teaching Walkthrus

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to lead a ‘British’ school in an international context today? If your school promotes ‘global citizenship’ but struggles to feel truly grounded in its local community, this conversation is essential. Shane is joined by headteacher and author Simon Probert, who argues that the future success of our sector depends on moving beyond a ‘rootless’ global identity. He introduces the powerful concept of ‘rooted cosmopolitanism,' building a school identity that is deeply connected to its local place and culture while maintaining its global outlook.

You’ll learn why the term ‘global citizen’ can be problematic and loaded with privilege, and how to intentionally localise your curriculum, traditions, and community practices. The episode provides practical strategies for fostering genuine belonging, implementing effective co-leadership models between international and local leaders, and designing inclusive staff cultures that bridge cultural divides.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Simon's LinkedIn

Hartmut Rosa's 'Uncontrollability of Culture

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Stuart Hall's writings on culture and identity

Episode Partners

International Leaders Conference

Teaching Walkthrus

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You explained it clearly, they nodded, and two weeks later three people did three completely different things. This episode tackles one of the most common and costly communication breakdowns in school leadership: assuming that because you said it, it landed. Shane draws on research from Cornell and Stanford, including the "tappers and listeners" study, to explain why even experienced leaders consistently overestimate how clearly their message has been received, and why just knowing about these biases isn't enough to fix them.

The answer is a simple three-step habit called paraphrasing: signal, restate, check. You'll learn why paraphrasing is fundamentally different from just repeating words back, how it surfaces misunderstandings in the moment rather than weeks later, and why it's especially valuable in international school settings where language and cultural norms add another layer of complexity. Shane also covers how to handle the slightly awkward moment when someone looks at you like you're going oddly slowly, and why naming what you're doing dissolves that resistance almost immediately. If you're ready to try one thing this week that will change how your conversations feel, press play.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Shane Leaning's Education Leaders Intensive

International Leaders Conference

Teaching Walkthrus

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Selina Boyd, international editor of The Good Schools Guide, reveals what actually matters when parents choose schools for their children. With over a decade reviewing international schools and more than 1,600 schools assessed worldwide, Selina explains why authentic leadership isn't about what leaders say about themselves, but what parents and students say about them. This conversation challenges school leaders to rethink how they communicate their school's story in an era where parents are savvy researchers who trust other parents more than polished marketing materials.

You'll learn the specific moments that signal whether students are genuinely thriving, from children running up to show their work to sixth formers who can articulate why they chose your school. Selina shares practical examples of authentic school storytelling, including how one international school used Instagram reels to connect with future students in a way that felt genuine rather than contrived. If you're trying to build trust with prospective families whilst navigating social media and modern parent expectations, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective on letting others tell your school's story.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

The Good Schools Guide

Selina Boyd on LinkedIn

International Leaders Conference

Teaching Walkthrus

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.