Lead a Team of Support Staff – Leadership Skills

Stepping up to lead a team of teaching assistants is hard, especially when last term they were your colleagues and friends. It's easy to lose your nerve the first time someone pushes back.

Start by working out the leader you want to be. You'll think about leaders you've admired (and some you haven't) using a downloadable checklist, then pick three areas of your own to work on. There's a step-by-step plan for a meeting where your team writes a shared vision together, which you can bring them back to whenever a project drifts.

The toughest part, the difficult conversation, gets practical help too. Sit alongside rather than across the table, decide the outcome before you go in, let silence do some of the work, and leave with actions and dates agreed.