Overall impression:
The book was very readable and included stories which put the ideas into context, great quotes and brilliant analogies all used thoughtfully throughout to engage the reader. This book acknowledges that school leadership is rewarding but it can be difficult to survive in the role long-term without purpose and resilience in times of stress and adversity. Leaders need to build resilience and decisiveness, and Hilton provides practical advice for leaders to take care of themselves both physically and mentally and pass this onto those working with them.
Who is the book for and what will they learn?
The book will be useful to school leaders and aspiring leaders. It encourages them to sit, think and consider in order to build self-awareness and in turn resilience as leaders. It challenges them to look at their practice, whilst helping them to understand how they can lead positively, move forward and create a climate of resilience for themselves and those working in the school they lead, by modelling wellbeing, resilience and positive behaviours. It is a book that leaders will be able to return to time and again as a reminder or when a problem arises.
Writing style:
Hilton’s high quality, personable and honest writing is in a conversational style. He presents a supportive approach and repeatedly draws on his personal experiences. The regular suggestions of reflection time and questions mean that as readers we are asked to stop, pause and think about our resilience and how it can be improved, including building it school wide to create a climate of resilience for all. The ten traits: a sense of purpose, optimism, trust, courage, decisiveness, asking for help, a sense of fun, curiosity, taking care of yourself and others, and turning adversity into opportunity, are each thought of as balloons attached to a basket in which you travel, and the key to resilience is to keep the majority of these ten balloons inflated at any one time and not leave any one balloon deflated for any length of time.
What evidence does the author use to underpin their ideas?
Throughout the book, there is advice offered from James and perspectives from respected professionals and leading experts, plus lists of top tips which will be beneficial to all leaders. The book uses analogies and quotes from those recently in leadership, alongside practical advice and thought-provoking questions to ensure it is put into context. The meaning of each trait is identified, explored and discussed at the start of each new chapter, often with thought-provoking quotes and quoted evidence from research, with an extensive bibliography for those who want to read further on the matter.
A quote that resonates:
“Eventually we all become reactive. This is not to criticise or even pretend it’s avoidable, but it is so important that we are able to recognise it explicitly, to monitor it and to become disciplined enough to do something about it.”
Additional comments:
The tasks, activities, questions and reflections are an integral part of the book and James has obviously put time and effort into devising them and I would recommend you do not skip through them but spend the time completing to gain the full benefits. If like me you are happy to write in a book, complete your reflections and answers to the questions in pencil, so they can be revisited. If not, write or type separately and save to update at a later point.