In the words of Frank and Stan:
This week we are delighted to welcome back Neil Jurd, author of ‘The Leadership Book’, former army officer and RMA Sandhurst instructor and now a business leader of a training organisation in leadership development and coaching. Neil has an MA from Cranfield University and a fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management. He was appointed OBE in 2021 and awarded the British Citizen Award in 2020. Along with this impressive CV Neil is a very interesting and well informed colleague.
The chat considers how Neil’s military training and experience influenced his approach to leadership. He gives some clear, practical examples with the discussion moving on to trust and humility as key themes. Stan then considers what’s caught his eyes this week and focuses on an MA dissertation he received for comment from Lucy Truman, a regular guest on the Frank and Stan Chat. He reflects on how the period of COVID encouraged local authority staff to get on with decision making without having to consult. He wonders whether consultation is currently getting in the way of decision making. Neil then reflects on the impact of AI on essay writing and how it weakens the writing style and reduces individuality.
Frank then ponders over the surprising news that the DWP had harvested some pupil data from the DfE to check on benefit fraud. This arrangement was not widely known. We all then considered what other data is being shared on citizens.
A varied and interesting chat. Hope you enjoy it.
Frank Norris and Stan Johnson have been friends since 1995. Both have had successful and lengthy careers in education. Frank was a very senior HMI with Ofsted for 11 years and was CEO of the Coop Academies Trust for 6 years.
Stan was seconded to Ofsted for a year and then returned to headship before working as a senior adviser with Lancashire LA. He has latterly led a successful education consultancy in the North West. Prior to Covid-19 the two colleagues would meet in Manchester for a pint or two but the pandemic put an end to that.
On 1 May 2020, they recorded their first video chat as a way of recording their emotions and reactions to the pandemic. After putting the video on Youtube as a safe place to store their discussions they realised that some followers began to appear and were interested in their leadership perspectives. Now, with over 170 weekly episodes and usually an eminent guest joining them, they have a growing and increasingly influential following.
