Name: Andrew Arney

Title: Executive Principal

Organisation: Glenroy College

Andrew began his career as an Instrumental Music teacher in the State, Catholic and Independent systems while studying Saxophone at the Conservatorium of music.

He returned to do his teaching degree beginning his career as a classroom music and drama teacher at Gladstone Park Secondary College .

In his 14 years at Gladstone Park, Andrew built the music program from 4 students to 280, overseeing what became a thriving music and drama Department. Additionally, he took on roles in Performance and Development, Data and Assessment, Student Leadership, Domain Leadership and Senior Sub-School Leader.

After his appointment as Assistant Principal of Curriculum Innovation at Melbourne Girls College in 2016, he was given the privilege of taking on the role of Acting Principal of the college during the second year of Covid, guiding a weary community through the toughest of times.

In 2022 he was seconded to the role of Acting Principal at Macleod College, a specialist music academy in the northern suburbs, before being appointed to his current role of Executive Principal at Glenroy College.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Andrew's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

The most challenging thing I have found as an educational leader would be pacing myself and the work I lead. Education is the silver bullet for our young people, so finding the balance between successful, sustainable growth and the ingrained urgency all educators have to push for the best for their students requires quite some effort. A key mantra for me is "Festina Lente" - Hasten slowly, and I use it daily, not just for myself but for my whole team.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I was promoted pretty quickly in my teaching career, with one Principal telling me he thought I had genuine leadership potential and would go far. That feedback and their faith in me resonated and set me on a direction towards the Principalship. I have been lucky enough to have some great mentors in my time, each teaching me valuable lessons that I have taken on and moulded into my own way of being a leader.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

Although structure in the day of a school principal is a bit of a pipe dream, each day for me (chaotic or not) has a few key features - a morning coffee while walking the school grounds, classroom visits to see students and staff at work, chats on the yard at lunchtime, check ins with my leadership team on their work, and ensuring I spend some time on working through my 3 to do lists (daily, weekly and long term). As a parent I leave school to do normal parent things like cook and after school music/sport etc, and then I switch the email off at 9pm.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

I am constantly reminded to go back to the "Why" and to communicate it relentlessly. In leadership, remembering the "why" keeps us grounded in purpose and direction. It inspires a team, fuels resilience during challenges, and aligns decisions with core values. It ensuring actions are meaningful and impactful, fostering trust, motivation, and a shared vision for success.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

Good to Great by Jim Collins was a book given to me by a friend a coupe of years ago. It looks at what makes some organisations go from being just okay to truly outstanding, while others don’t. Ideas that resonated included the concept of humble yet driven leaders ("Level 5 Leaders"), focusing on what we’re best at (the "Hedgehog Concept"), staying disciplined, and using technology to boost progress, not lead it. It’s also about building the right team and facing tough truths without losing hope. The book shows how these factors work together to create long-term success and reinforces the important of sustainability leadership.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

My favourite TV show is the West Wing and there was a quote from the episode "The Shut Down", where the Vice President says: "You know what they call a leader with no followers? Just a guy taking a walk." So my advice to young educational leaders is to slow down and ensure you get genuine buy in from your team. Rushed school improvement (or any organisation) isn't sustainable and won't survive once you are no longer there to drive it.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

Building on my last response, I have a vivid memory of being a young school leader who was tasked with building the teaching and learning architecture to support what and how we taught in our school. With the knowledge that teachers are time poor I set about making their lives easier by doing all the work for them. Months were spent building from the ground a framework with supporting documents and worked examples, all referenced to research and best practice, and I was very proud of what I'd created and presented to the staff. Predictably (in hindsight) it was a dismal failure as there was no staff buy in at any level to this important work which we then had to start from scratch. In the time since I have led a great deal of organisational change in multiple schools, so this has been a key lesson for me and informs that way I do everything to this day. Slow down - get people in and build it together.