Know Yourself, Lead Better | A Conversation with Alicia Drummond

My guest today is Alicia Drummond, a BACP accredited therapist and creator of The Wellbeing Hub. This conversation dives deep into why self-awareness is the foundation of effective school leadership. We explore how your internal state directly impacts your school's culture, and Alicia shares practical tools for understanding your triggers, biases, and leadership patterns. From attachment styles to the OK Corral framework, this episode is packed with actionable strategies you can use immediately.Key Points CoveredThe internal-external connection: Research shows a leader's internal state directly impacts school cultureUnderstanding triggers: How childhood experiences create leadership patterns and why physical responses are early warning systemsAttachment styles in leadership: Four styles (secure, avoidant, ambivalent, disorganised) and how they affect your ability to trust and delegatePersonal bias exercise: Practical tool to identify your "in-group" and how it affects who you support vs. overlookThe OK Corral framework: Four positions (I'm OK/You're OK, etc.) that determine how you show up in relationshipsHero/anti-hero exercise: Understanding your light and shadow sides to catch yourself when moving toward unhelpful patternsChoice, control, confidence: How awareness doesn't solve problems but gives you options for how to respondPractical meditation: Simple daily practice for building self-awareness and emotional regulation This conversation challenged me to think about how often we rush to fix external problems when the real work starts internally. The research showing how a leader's internal state directly impacts school culture is a powerful reminder that working on ourselves isn't selfish - it's essential leadership development.LinksThe Wellbeing Hub  Episode PartnerThe International Curriculum Association: Learn moreJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.