Reimagining Leadership in International Education: A Futures-Focused Approach

By Matt Hall & Gill Kelly, Making Stuff Better

For the better part of the last seven years, we have been meeting and working with international school leaders who are open to noticing and reimagining their leadership in this era of rapid global transformation.

It has not escaped the attention of most international school leaders that their leadership must now transcend traditional management paradigms and embrace a forward-thinking, adaptive model. There is also general consensus among educators, leaders and policymakers that significant change is required if our education systems are to broach the challenges that young people will face in the future. This is the broad message of the invaluable 2021 UNESCO report Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education^[1], which is also echoed by the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 Report^[2], and most recently in recent research and activity on future competencies for students^[3] from the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The excellent book The School I’d Like^[4] offers a child’s perspective on how schooling might be different. The US-based organisation What School Could Be^[5] offers similar insights.

The future of education demands more than incremental improvements—it requires a fundamental reimagining of our approach to learning, leadership, and organisational development. We know this. The question we often get is – “how do I do that AND everything else I need to get done in my role? When do I get the TIME for this shift when I need to keep everything running?” From our own work as school leaders, we remember this tension all too well and we understand the pressures you face.

Futures Literacy: Authoring Our Educational Trajectory

This is where Futures Literacy comes in. Traditional leadership often views the future as something to be predicted or managed. However, Futures Literacy represents a profound shift—seeing the future as something to be actively authored rather than passively encountered. This perspective empowers educational leaders to become architects of possibility, moving beyond reactive strategies to proactive innovation.

The core of Futures Literacy lies in understanding the dynamic relationship between past, present, and potential futures. It’s about developing a nuanced capacity to challenge existing mental models and imagine alternative educational landscapes.

Futures-Focused Leadership

Our recent research paper and accompanying podcast series on Futures-Focused Leadership^[6] showed us that a holistic view across four interconnected domains is the key to stepping into being a leader who has the insight, connectedness, authenticity and flexibility needed to cope in our VUCA^[7](Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world:

Ecological: Understanding environmental sustainability and systemic interconnectedness, understanding how to take meaningful actions in a context of great ecological seismic shifts

Political: Navigating complex institutional and societal dynamics, especially in the historically unequal world of international schooling – how do we move into futures where all in our communities are enabled to thrive?

Educational: Continuously evolving pedagogical approaches, including the questioning of existing systems and high-stakes exams

Technological: Leveraging emerging tools and platforms thoughtfully and keeping students engaged, connected but also protected from overwhelm or abuse

In framing our research paper, it was important to ensure that the voices of experienced, expert practitioners and leaders were represented in dialogue for the concepts, ideas, and provocations laid out in the paper.  To that end, scoping interviews were carried out with leading figures across the international school sector in order to also capture their thinking about futures-focused leadership and the future of international schools. The paper was also shared with a select group of international school leaders for feedback and critique, which was duly incorporated.

Let’s take the first domain, ecological, as an example. We explored the question of the ecology of a school by asking leaders in the international school sector what they considered to be a ‘good’ school. It was revealing that none of our interviewees articulated the ‘goodness’ of a school in terms of measurable metrics, but instead were drawn to talk about the ‘feel’ or ‘sense’ one gets when entering a school. It’s likely that only through educational expertise and experience is it possible to hone this skill of anticipation – of sensing a school space.^[8]

In each case, interviewers talked about the related qualities of a school ecosystem that suggest it is thriving. Maryssa O’Connor, CEO/Principal of GEMS Wellington International School (UAE) described the feeling when you walk into a school and experience “a sense of freedom and excitement, often related to project-based learning, and sometimes resting uncomfortably with the sense of tension or foreboding if the shadow of formal assessment looms over a school”. COBIS’s CEO, Colin Bell, summarised that good schools create “a feeling of belonging, safety, and being cherished”. He offered the example of when a student tour of the school yields evidence of mutual respect for everyone in the school, in all roles. This lived experience of community implies a thriving and healthy ecosystem, which may then feed into an equally flourishing global community of citizens who embody the ‘feel’ of a good school.

Similarly, in discussing the concept of creating schools that work to create “global citizens”, and the huge responsibility and opportunity that this affords futures-focused leaders, we spoke to Angeline Aow, PYP Coordinator at Berlin International School and International Advisor (focused on Inclusion via Diversity, Equity and Anti-racism – I-DEA) with the Council of International Schools,about our shared and individual responsibilities in this area. She encouraged us to all consider our individual purpose and responsibility of why we become educators at all, in order to reconnect with the vision of a future we want to aspire towards.

“If we don’t have that creative imagination to really think boldly and differently about where we could be compared to where we are now, then we’ve already denied ourselves that choice…sometimes our own thinking gets in the way. We are so busy upholding the cultural norms and structures that exist now, because that takes a lot of energy and commitment, but maybe what we’re upholding hasn’t worked for everyone, and certainly students are telling us that’s the case.”
Angeline Aow, Berlin International School

Regenerative Practice: Reconnecting and Reflecting

Modern educational leaders are starting to see the benefit of slowing down, and embracing something we call #slowurgency at MSB. It’s about taking time to prioritise regenerative practice—an approach that goes beyond sustainability to create more balanced, generative, and therefore transformative environments. This means creating space for:

• Intentional slowdown and reflection
• Meaningful reconnection with core educational purposes (and in fact, our core purpose as educators and humans)
  Critical examination of existing practices
  

By embracing regenerative practices, we can foster school environments that are not just functional, but truly dynamic and life-affirming.

“I am a great believer in professional coaching. As a school leader we have little control at what lands on our desk or enters our day. Coaching allows me to step back, reflect and regain balance. I highly recommend it for school leaders.”
Mark Leppard MBE, Headmaster, The British School Al Khubairat

Strategic Flexibility: The Adhocractic Approach

Traditional strategic planning often produces rigid, predictive frameworks that quickly become obsolete. In contrast, an adhocractic approach emphasises process over predetermined outcomes, adaptability as a core organisational competency and flexibility in response to emerging challenges.

This approach recognizes that in a complex, rapidly changing world, the ability to pivot and respond dynamically is more valuable than adherence to static plans. This concept has been reinforced by both our one-on-one and panel conversations with educators as they acknowledge the need to balance taking action with making thoughtful and sustained progress without rushing. It became especially apparent when talking to a group of school leaders around the technological domain of leadership for the future:

“Because technology is changing so fast, and not everybody is comfortable with change, we need to slow down, be mindful and conscientious of our steps forward. And if we’re looking at assessment, or where knowledge is generated, at the centre of all of this is human vulnerability. Do we really understand where the technology is going to take us? Do we really understand the implications?”
Yasmine Aslam-Hashmi, IB World Educator – Zurich, Switzerland

Conscious Leadership: Rising Above the Line

A critical aspect of future-focused leadership is developing consciousness about one’s leadership stance. The “above the line” model by Jim Dethmer^[9] challenges leaders to move from defensive, control-oriented positions to spaces characterised by openness, curiosity, a commitment to listening and learning, and perhaps most importantly, a willingness to be wrong. This shift requires profound personal development and a commitment to continuous growth, but it’s something that school leaders who work with us have told us has been a crucial part of their own transformation: as leaders, but also as people.

We particularly like Nicholas Janni’s work on the Leader as Healer (2017): it’s a book we will often share with our leadership mastermind cohorts to get folks thinking about how leader-healers  have, quote, “ explored and integrated wounded parts of themselves and developed higher levels of consciousness and innovative capacity, abilities that all cultures have described for thousands of years. They bring their thinking, emotional and embodied selves to the figurative leadership table together and thus have access to a vastly bigger range of perception and intelligence than the thinking mind alone can offer.”^[10]

We welcomed Nicholas on to the MSB podcast, Principled, in February 2024, to discuss “How to Just Be: Unfreezing Our Leadership Potential^[11]. It’s a recommended listen if any of the above has been resonant with you.

In Summary: Our Guiding Principles for Conscious Leadership

Several key principles have therefore emerged for us as an org throughout the years as being crucial for conscious, future-focused international school leaders:

1. **Small is Good, Small is All**: Recognise that meaningful change often starts with incremental, thoughtful interventions. Piloting something in a small way can lead to beautiful results.

2. **What You Pay Attention to Grows**: Cultivate intentional focus, understanding that organisational energy follows leadership attention. Take time to notice the ecology of your school. Really noticing is showing love. And schools ought to offer that.

3. **See the People, Trust the People**: Place human potential at the center of organisational development. Really see, and hear your staff. Trust them and empower them to do their best work.

4. **Less Preparation, More Presence**: Prioritise authentic engagement over elaborate planning.

5. **Be Like Water**:The final metaphorical guidance is powerful in its simplicity.

In leadership, this means finding fluid adaptability to flow around obstacles, to transform spaces and find resilience in the face of resistance. “Never a Failure, Always a Lesson” is a good mantra to embody: futures-focused leadership is not about achieving perfect outcomes, but about maintaining a learning mindset. Every challenge is an opportunity for growth, every setback a potential breakthrough.

As international school leaders, you are not just managing institutions—you  are actively shaping the future of global education for generations to come. And for that most noble of purposes, we believe it’s worth slowing down and paying your full attention to the task at hand. We’d love to accompany you on that journey.

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For more info about how to join MSB’s next cohort of Conscious Leaders, visit:

https://linktr.ee/makingstuffbetter

Editor’s Note: MSB creates regenerative learning spaces for visionary school leaders. A specialist executive coaching and coach training company for international schools, they believe that educators are at the heart of our shared responsibility to shape a better future for our young people, our communities and our planet. Working with over 250 international school leaders, including large projects with leading international school groups, they are the go-to executive coaching and coach training provider in the international school market.

ECIS note: Matt will be presenting a Futures-Focused Leadership Laboratory at the ECIS Leadership conference in Stuttgart, on 04 April, 10:30-11:30).

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Matt Hall is co-founder of MSB, the world’s leading executive coaching and coach training company for international schools. MSB believe that schools shape their future and Matt’s is deeply committed to leading a team of 35 experienced and qualified coaches and coach trainers to fulfil this purpose. Matt is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, a CTI-trained coach, and an experienced senior leader both in the UK state sector and internationally. He loves both education and coaching and in particular the intersection between these two worlds, both practically and theoretically.

Gill Kelly knows what it means to lead and to learn. As a former headteacher of three different and diverse schools, she brings great creativity, insight and gravitas to those that she works with. Her approach to life is reflected in her fundamental belief in the innate ability of people to change themselves and their setting. Gill is an artist who works in oil on a large abstract scale. As a CTI-trained coach she has an invaluable toolkit (artist’s palette!) to help others achieve the life that they want. When not splashing oil paints around canvas or pursuing a bargain pair of brightly-coloured shoes, Gill delivers across all of the MSB programmes and is responsible for the overall operations of the company.

REFERENCES

^[1] https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/reimagining-our-futures-together-new-social-contract-education

^[2] https://www.oecd.org/en/about/projects/future-of-education-and-skills-2030.html

^[3] https://www.ibo.org/research/curriculum-research/cross-programme/competencies-of-the-future/

^[4] https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203439074/school-like-catherine-burke-ian-grosvenor

^[5] https://www.whatschoolcouldbe.org/

^[6] https://makingstuffbetter.com/futures-focused-leadership/

^[7] https://hbr.org/2014/01/what-vuca-really-means-for-you

^[8] Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools: An MSB Research Paper, produced in partnership with Dr Patrick Alexander (2024)

^[9] https://conscious.is/blogs/what-motivates-a-conscious-leader

^[10] https://www.nicholasjanni.com/leader-as-healer/

^[11] https://principled.buzzsprout.com/2113221/episodes/14070462-s2ep12-how-to-just-be-unfreezing-our-leadership-potential-with-nicholas-janni/