John Kane
Founder of Kanevolve

As an executive coach working with a wide range of school leaders, I’ve noticed one theme rise above all others: resilience. It has become the central conversation in almost every coaching conversation.

Leading in schools has never been more challenging. Yet it remains entirely achievable when leaders cultivate deliberate, intentional habits that support their own resilience and that of their teams. Resilience is not about stoicism or superhuman endurance; it is the everyday practice of protecting energy, clarifying purpose, and leading in ways that allow both adults and pupils to thrive.

The demands placed on school leaders have grown more intense and multifaceted in recent years. Policy shifts, staffing pressures, community expectations, and the emotional labour of supporting pupils and staff all create conditions where leaders can feel stretched thin. Resilience in this context is not simply an individual trait; it is a leadership discipline grounded in habits, relationships, and reflective practice.

Resilient leaders think clearly under pressure, remain anchored in purpose, and sustain their energy over the long term.

The strategies below stem from the hundreds of conversations I have had with clients over the past seven years; they expand on what helps leaders cultivate the most important currency in schools – capacity. Each includes coaching questions to prompt deeper reflection and support meaningful change.

Focus on What Truly Matters

The volume of competing demands in schools can lead leaders into constant firefighting. Resilience grows when leaders deliberately strip back to the essentials—prioritising learning, safeguarding, and staff wellbeing. By reducing noise, leaders free up cognitive space for strategic thinking and better decision-making.

Coaching questions:

• What outcomes matter most for the school right now, and what must take precedence?
• What tasks or initiatives can be paused, delegated, or removed entirely?
• How will I know that my focus is aligned with the school’s long-term direction?

Set and Defend Boundaries

School leadership can easily expand to fill every waking hour if left unchecked. Boundaries protect leaders from burnout and ensure there is time for reflection, relationships, and rest—each essential for sustainable leadership. When leaders set boundaries, they also model healthy work habits for their teams.

Coaching questions:

• Where am I allowing my boundaries to slip, and what is the cost of doing so?
• Which boundaries, if strengthened, would have the greatest positive impact on my wellbeing and leadership?
• What practical steps will I take to communicate and maintain these boundaries?

Build Reflective Practice into Daily Life

Reflection helps leaders process complex challenges rather than simply react to them. Whether through journalling, coaching, or conversations with trusted colleagues, reflective practice reveals underlying patterns, supports emotional clarity, and strengthens professional judgement. Over time, it helps leaders become more intentional and self-aware.

Coaching questions:

• What recent event or challenge would benefit from deeper reflection?
• What patterns—productive or unhelpful—am I beginning to notice in my behaviour or decision-making?
• Which reflective methods help me think most clearly, and how will I embed them consistently?

Nurture a Strong Support Network

Leadership can become isolating, especially during crises. A supportive professional network counters this by offering perspective, challenge, encouragement, and specialist expertise. Strong networks ensure leaders don’t carry everything alone, and they enrich problem-solving through diverse viewpoints.

Coaching questions:

• Who are the people I rely on for honest feedback and grounding, and how often am I engaging with them?
• Where might I be leading too independently, and what support would strengthen my capacity?
• How can I build or broaden networks that reflect the challenges I’m currently facing?

Develop Emotional Regulation Skills

Leadership under pressure brings intense emotions—frustration, worry, responsibility, disappointment. Emotional regulation is the ability to notice these feelings without being driven by them. Techniques such as controlled breathing, grounding, or cognitive reframing help leaders remain composed, communicate more effectively, and make better decisions.

Coaching questions:

• What emotions tend to surface most strongly during stressful periods, and how do they affect my actions?
• Which regulation techniques work best for me when I need to regain calm?
• How can I better notice early signs that I am becoming reactive rather than reflective?

Model Healthy Transparency

Teams value leaders who are open about challenges without projecting panic or pessimism. Transparent communication strengthens trust and encourages collective problem-solving. It also reduces the internal pressure on leaders to appear endlessly strong, enabling a more authentic and sustainable approach to leadership.

Coaching questions:

• What aspects of my current challenges would be helpful—not harmful—for my team to understand?
• How can I communicate openly without transferring stress onto others?
• What might transparency achieve that silence would not?

Prioritise Physical Wellbeing

Resilient leadership depends on more than mindset alone; it also relies on physical stamina. Sleep, nutrition, hydration, and movement all support cognitive clarity and emotional stability. When leaders neglect these basics, their capacity to cope with complexity declines. Attending to physical health is therefore a strategic, not superficial, choice.

Coaching questions:

• Which part of my wellbeing—sleep, nutrition, movement—needs the most attention?
• What small, realistic habits could I implement to improve my physical resilience?
• How will I hold myself accountable for maintaining these habits during busy periods?

Prepare for Multiple Scenarios

Uncertainty drains emotional and mental resources. Scenario planning—whether for staffing shortages, behaviour spikes, or unexpected events—creates a sense of readiness. Leaders who anticipate challenges feel more in control and more able to respond calmly and confidently when situations shift.

Coaching questions:

• What scenarios are most likely to disrupt the school, and how prepared am I for each?
• What resources, systems, or people would be crucial in each scenario?
• How can planning now reduce the emotional and operational strain later?

Delegate with Purpose

Delegation is a leadership discipline that strengthens both individuals and teams. Effective delegation reduces overload, builds capability across the organisation, and enhances collective resilience. When leaders delegate well, they free themselves to focus on strategy and empower others to grow.

Coaching questions:

• Which responsibilities am I holding unnecessarily, and why?
• Who is ready—or nearly ready—to take on more, and what support would they need?
• How will I monitor delegated work without slipping into micromanagement?

Reconnect with Purpose

In challenging times, purpose acts as an anchor. It reminds leaders why the work matters and offers direction when decisions feel difficult. Returning to core values and the shared mission renews motivation and helps leaders maintain perspective, even when circumstances are tough.

Coaching questions:

• What core values are guiding my leadership at the moment, and are my actions reflecting them?
• How does the school’s mission inform the decisions I’m making in challenging times?
• What would leading with purpose look like this week?

The Importance of Time Management for Resilience

A powerful but often overlooked component of resilience is disciplined time management. It sounds obvious, but of course we need to consider our time management habits when bolstering our resilience. The irony, I find, is that in moments of high challenge and stress, the very thing that is needed the most, time management, is often the first thing to slip.

Tools such as the Eisenhower Matrix help leaders distinguish between what is urgent and what is important, creating protected time for the tasks that genuinely move the school forward. Too often, leaders become trapped in the urgent quadrant—firefighting, responding, reacting—which drains energy and narrows perspective. Shifting towards a more intentional approach requires proactive organisation, ensuring systems, diaries, and routines are set up to prioritise strategic work. It also demands commitment and dedication, as protecting time for important but not yet urgent priorities requires consistency, even when daily pressures escalate. Crucially, this approach thrives through collaboration: when teams understand the rationale behind these habits and share responsibility for managing urgent demands, leaders gain the space to think critically, plan ahead, and act strategically. Together, these behaviours transform time management from a survival tactic into a sustainable leadership discipline.

Resilience is not developed in a moment; it is built through ongoing habits, intentional reflection, and thoughtful leadership choices. By deepening their practice in each of these ten areas—and by engaging honestly with the coaching questions—school leaders can strengthen their capacity to thrive, not just survive, in demanding times.

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