Name: James Dalziel

Title: Head of School

Organisation: NIST International School

Dr. James Dalziel is currently the Head of School at the NIST International School in Bangkok, Thailand. He has been in international education leadership positions for over 20 years while working in Singapore, Switzerland, and Thailand. James holds a Doctorate and Master's in Education from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Business Administration from the Helsinki School of Economics. His most recent research focuses on leading change in complex environments. James continues to be an active workshop provider, conference presenter, authorization team leader, and member of various educational consultation groups.

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

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

Cheers,

Jonno White

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

It's very easy to say that there are many challenges to overcome as an educational leader. I think it's interesting that over the past five years, some of the biggest challenges have been a result of additional expectations being loaded onto schools and the increasing rate at which this is happening.

The greatest challenge has been the increasing number of challenges and the speed at which they are changing and growing. In the past, and maybe this is just a Halcion view, it seemed that challenges arose At a manageable rate. That is not to say that they were less challenging, simply that we seemed to have more time to collaborate, pose questions to understand, and have discussions that led to more permanent and positive outcomes. Now the biggest challenge seems to be the number of challenges.

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

I think it is quite difficult to describe how I became an educational leader. The alternative is to describe what my journey was not. It was not planned, orchestrated, sequential, smooth, deliberate, intentional, organized, or a checklist. My educational leader story Is less a formulaic novel and more akin to a flow of consciousness a piece of slam poetry.

One common touch point has been a desire to collaborate toward positive change. Focusing on becoming a better team member and empowering others, regardless of positional authority, has likely been the greatest enabler for my career as well As for others. Ambition for positional enhancement is rarely Matt with sustained success. Instead, the ambition to invest wholeheartedly in shared improvement is almost always a key ingredient in meaningful and sustained systems that support student improvement.

One of the best pieces of advice I received was (Profanity warning) “Don’t be a dick”. I interpreted this as a simplified shortcut reminder of the universal truth that positive relationships always matter more than the instrumental tasks at hand. At our best, humans are most productive and healthy when our relationships and collaborations are positive and productive and, most of all, when we work in Amelia, in which we feel a sense of belonging and shared purpose.

On the road to educational leadership is an acknowledgment of our role to provide clarity for others of our shared purpose and how we might work together to fulfill that common outcome.

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

I am one of those get up early and get going people. Maybe it's my background of growing up on a dairy farm but I acknowledge the opportunities that exist for us before 8:00 AM if we are conscious and awake to take them. I also embrace the idea of making your bed in the morning so that, if nothing else, you end the day by entering a clean and prepared bed.

I spend almost every morning from 5:00 AM in some form or another. If nothing else goes right that day, at least I've had the opportunity for some quiet, reflective time, a good coffee, and a good workout. Getting this done before 6:30 means that I am up and energized for the rest of the day. One of the lessons that I have learned as an educational leader is that there is an ideal planned and curated daily schedule, and then there is the reality of doing whatever work might need to be addressed in the moment and on that day.

This is a good reminder, daily, that the work is not about you and that our roles are to serve others as their needs may arise. I do ensure that every day I have at least one hour of quiet time for personal and professional reading to stay connected with current research or what might be happening within our educational world. I also ensure that I have at least one hour a day where I send personal emails or messages to those who matter most to ensure that those healthy relationships continue to be nurtured and are not forgotten or ignored.

I also make the time to eat well as the energy that we put in determines the quality of the energy that we can put out. Regardless of how busy the day is I always try and be home for family dinner as a way to reconnect with my partner and children. Following the evening meal is always a walk with my partner and our golden retriever followed by a tea or a glass of wine. I have learned as well that there is no end to the work, and therefore, we must put a full stop at the end of the day.

For me, this happens at around 7:00 or 8:00 PM when I pick up a good fiction novel and remind myself that there is a form of writing that includes characters and a plot and not just educational research. This detachment from blue light and work is critical in the hours before sleep and I find this time to be an important investment before a critical part of the day.

I think I underestimated the power of a good night's sleep for far too long. In the past 10 years, I have ensured at least 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep, which means adequate recovery, both physically, mentally, and emotionally from the day and is an excellent preparation for the day ahead. The discipline, of course, comes in the day-to-day routine that is constantly allowing time for energy and recovery so that we can always be at our best in all elements of our lives.

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

So many lessons every day - which one to use as an example? One lesson that I learned long ago was the power of the pause. We all recognize that allowing others the space to think and speak provides opportunities for deeper understanding on our part and for more trusting and open relationships. I've recently done more research into the power of pausing. We know this in a classroom setting in terms of the classic wait time and the seminal research done by Mary Rowe in 1986.

We know from experience and research that thinking takes time, and high-level thinking takes even longer. One of the things that I learned most recently is that new research would indicate that it takes between 5:00 to 7:00 seconds for most human brains to process high-level conceptual thoughts. Another acknowledgment is that external processors, such as distractions within a group, often get in the way of our internal processors and our ability for uninterrupted thinking.

Intentionally using strategies such as pausing after a question to allow time or pausing after a group responds to allow for the piggybacking of ideas can help elevate our collaborative conversations considerably. In addition, pausing before my responses to model thoughtfulness or signal a need to think before responding and to honor the question are also powerful strategies.

Again, we all recognize the power of wait time or pausing and exploring deeper levels of understanding help to reiterate this and support these constructive strategies that need to be practiced repeatedly within our daily work.

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?

Again, so many options to consider here that have had a meaningful and long-lasting impact on my educational leadership development. The easy one to cite, and likely the one with the longest-lasting impression continues to be Jim Collins’s classic “Good to Great” (2001). This book provided a research-based approach to the key high-leverage areas that had the biggest impact on sustainable improvements within companies.

The simple lessons, such as the hedgehog concept or getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats (to name just two), Are easy to remember, transferable into an organizational context, and actionable in terms of follow-through from a leadership perspective. If a measure of truth is that an idea endures through time, the thinking and the models within this book continue to have a positive impact on my professional practice as an educational leader to this day.

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?

The only outcome that will motivate your ongoing work and satisfy your sense of purpose is to see positive change as a result of your efforts. You will not receive the praise you deserve; you will not be rewarded financially to compensate for your investment, and you will not gain back the time you have compromised from family and friends to focus on your work at hand. Your only reward will be to see a positive change for others. If that is insufficient compensation for you, I would suggest that you invest your valuable time somewhere else.

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

This is a short story but I believe it connects directly to our work as educational leaders. Throughout my career and to this day as a head of school I have always continued to spend time in the classroom. This has either been in the form of adult workshops for leadership or teaching a senior theory of knowledge class within the International Baccalaureate program.

I was complaining one day about my workload and a colleague suggested that possibly my time spent in the classroom was not the best investment of my time given my position. I thought for a moment and responded, “Would you want to work in a hospital where the chief of surgery didn't do surgery?”.

Similarly, there is a craft of teaching that is only honored when we continue to practice that craft and the never-ending levels of skills toward ongoing development. I extended my response with a story regarding how my theory of knowledge students had made connections between the content of the classroom and the overall intent of learning for the school as a result of my involvement in their learning.

This was more of a reminder, as was this question, of the power of storytelling and that, as educational leaders, aphorisms and metaphors provide powerful messaging for our community. We need the time for thoughtful reflection to be able to develop these to support our messages and the ongoing progress of our schools and our school community. The moral of this tale is that educational leaders need to intentionally curate a series of personalized and meaningful stories to share within their community that support their positive leadership intentions.