It was Eleanor Roosevelt who said;
“At a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a Fairy Godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.”
But what does Curiosity and the School Business Manager look like and how important is it for an effective School Leader?
Fairy tales aside, curiosity is an important trait for any profession. Imagine what we’d be without it? There would be no ambition or desire to learn more. We wouldn’t test new ideas. Challenges would be ignored and eagerness for life itself would be jeopardised. Basically, we’d have stayed in the Stone Age.
As the saying goes…The Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.
As a School Business Manager I’m currently curious about a range of issues which encourage me to think about how I can make my own role more effective and collaborate more widely;
I like to think big…
- How can I build relationships and network more widely with School Business Managers in the UK and internationally? What can I usefully give and what would be the advantages, to me and them? What is there to learn from overseas education operations practice, and what can we share on UK practice in return?
- Where is the School Business Management profession heading? How best can I use my time and interests to support the evolution of the profession (without overly impacting my own role)? And in moments of self-doubt… Should I even be getting involved? Do I better serve my Trust by keeping my head down and focusing on my small corner of the country?
- Where should I be taking my own professional development? Am I limiting my career by concentrating on self-learn projects that interest me, such as website development? Should I be undertaking formal training courses?
- Where should I be positioning myself in Trust growth strategy? How can I encourage an increase in collaborative practice in my region?
My curiosity isn’t only ‘big picture’ stuff…
- How can I make our Trust Support Staff performance review process more fit for purpose? I want a process that will motivate and inspire staff, not just tick boxes on pay and conditions.
- What tools can we develop to support my teams in managing workload during a time of growth and development?
- How can we future-proof the schools in the Trust? Especially with regard to a sustainable finance model and affording the maintenance and development of our buildings?
- How can I make sure while all of the above is going on that my well-being (and that of my colleagues) isn’t compromised?
But this is a big picture…
There is such a lot going on at the moment, both locally, nationally and on the world stage and my own curiosity tells me that Education is one of the most important cogs in the gears our future, politically, economically and socially. A curious School Business Manager is one that is continually learning, developing and encouraging growth. Not only of themselves, but of their teams, networks and wider contacts. It’s about being agile. To keep moving forward and helping to focus the seemingly perpetual change.
In the 2020’s, improved communication and new national affiliations will make our world even smaller. I anticipate that the curious School Business Manager will be outward facing, supporting our profession’s development as well as our contribution to impact young people all over the world.
How curious are you about the future of the School Business Manager?
WorkingSBM 