Blog from Simon
Find the task everything else is waiting on
Find the task everything else is waiting on Simon Breakspear18 September 2026During my doctoral work at Cambridge, my supervisor suggested I take half a day off to attend a project management course. For the record, that's never a good sign. In fairness, I was...
Design change that fits a real week, not your best one
Design change that fits a real week, not your best one Simon Breakspear1 September 2026A while back I volunteered to bring two salads to a big family gathering. I own an Ottolenghi cookbook, so I aimed high. Three hours, two extra trips to the shops and one hunt for...
The Rumble Strips of School Improvement
The Rumble Strips of School Improvement Simon Breakspear25 August 2026I've been deep in the final edits of my new book, Lean Monitoring, these past few weeks, and one idea keeps following me out of the manuscript and into my conversations with school leaders. It's...
Feedback That Actually Lands
Feedback That Actually Lands Simon Breakspear14 July 2026Ask a room of school leaders why they avoid an important conversation about someone's behaviour, and the list is always the same: too busy, uncomfortable, worried about the reaction, don't want to damage the...
Stop taking resistance to change personally
Stop taking resistance to change personally Simon Breakspear2 June 2026Last month, I was coaching a school leader who had shared a well-researched change proposal with her team. The response was hesitation and quiet pushback. She said to me, "I don't understand. This...
I-Mode and R-Mode Leadership
I-Mode and R-Mode Leadership Simon Breakspear5 May 2026A few weeks ago I was bundling the kids into the Kia Sorento for the school run. My eight-year-old climbed in, clipped his seatbelt, and within thirty seconds said what he always says. "Dad, can we put it in...