Katrina Bourke

Nobody really prepares you for middle leadership.

You're good at your job. That's usually why you got tapped on the shoulder.

But being good at your job and leading a team are two very different things.

One of the leaders in my current Middle Leaders group put it this way: when she thinks about the tensions of leadership, she imagines herself connected to a whole lot of ropes, all pulling in different directions.

And those ropes, that tension has a purpose, they give us an opportunity to decide what we stand for, and what helps us stand upright.

That's the kind of thinking we do together in the Middle Leaders program. Learning to work with the tensions rather than against them.

We begin our next Emerging and Middle Leaders project next term.

More details here: https://katrinabourke.com/emerging-middle-leaders/

Fighting against a system is exhausting.
It's too big, too slow, too indifferent. It will grind you down if you let it.

Margaret Wheatley writes about 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

Think: places where humans are valued and seen. Where patience, kindness and genuine listening are the operating conditions.

An island could be a team, a school, a relationship.

Building and tending those islands is fighting 𝘧𝘰𝘳. For your people, for a change, for the vision you are working to achieve.

Fighting for requires intention and energy and courage. It requires you to take a stand. But it doesn't require you to take on the whole system.

What are your islands of sanity? What's worth taking a stand for?

I've had about half a dozen coffees with school leaders over the past couple of weeks.
Just catching up. Talking about leadership, about education, about what's happening and what's hard right now.

This weekend, with a bit of space to slow down, I realised my brain had been quietly making connections across all of those conversations and, one thread ran through every single one of them.

These leaders are working out how to advocate for, challenge, grow and champion the humans they lead, inside an increasingly centralised, systematised context. Every day, and offten without much support or company.

In each of those conversations it became clear that what they were looking for was real stories and examples of other leaders doing the same thing. They want to get practical and curious about what's working and what's not.
My coffee companions all wanted to talk about what courageous leadership actually looks like and feels like when you're in the thick of it.

That's Common Ground.

It's the community for leaders who are trying to stay buoyant and stand on their sacred ground, and, who want the company of others doing the same.

We begin this term. Founding member spots are still open, and the first twelve members lock in the founding price for good, plus get a 1:1 coaching session with me.

If that sounds like your people, come and join us!

https://link.msgsndr.com/sp/def4bc47147

Inbox anxiety.

More than one school leader has described it to me: that sense of dread that comes each morning when they sit down to begin sorting through emails. In fact it often begins before, on the way to work, maybe even when they first wake...

What's going to be in my inbox today? What requests, complaints, accusations am I about to face?

And the question underneath that one, will I be supported and backed up in a timely and reasonable way to deal with it?

If that's familiar, you're not alone. And you're not losing it. You're leading in a role and system that asks a lot.

You may have heard me tell the story about the leader who once bravely shared in a room full of her peers: "It's good to know I'm not the only one running a sh*tshow."

The room erupted into relieved laughter. There was a sense of: finally, someone said it out loud.

That moment is part of why I built Common Ground.

It's a monthly online space for school leaders to gather, think out loud, laugh at the chaos, and do the kind of leadership reflection we mean to do but so often push to the bottom of the list.

It's not therapy. It's not fluffy. And it's definitely not another thing to feel guilty about not keeping up with.

Just honest conversation, practical tools, and a group of leaders who get it.

Founding memberships are still open. The first 12 members lock in their price for good and receive a 1:1 coaching session with me.

When things get choppy, you'll know there's a whole group of seasoned sh*tshow leaders who have your back.

https://link.msgsndr.com/sp/16c09693e8e

It's nearing the end of week two of this term, have you already faced a situation that wasn't on your term two bingo card?

It happens all the time; something lands on your desk that wasn't on anyone's radar. A parent situation. A staffing issue. A decision that needs to be made before you've even had your first proper coffee.

There's always an "I didn't see that coming" moment, isn't there?

It's the nature of leadership. We are always holding and navigating tensions.

We can't know all the answers or have a pre-prepared strategy for every scenario, that's just not practical or realistic. And because of that, it means that those moments that arise can feel a bit like we've had the rug pulled out from under us.

Sacred ground catches you when you lose your footing. Your leadership sacred ground isn't a repository of all the answers you need, but it is built from your values, your vision, your experience and so, it does provide guiding rails.

Your values tell you what matters when everything is competing for your attention. Your vision reminds you how you want to show up and what you're trying to achieve. Your experience, all of it, including the moments you'd rather forget, has been building your capacity for exactly this.

Sacred Ground doesn't give you the script. It gives you the footing to ride the waves of complexity that come with leadership.

What are you standing on this term?

Every autumn I am obsessed with finding fungi.

Last week I was so obsessed that I drove halfway to the Macedon Ranges before realising I hadn't put petrol in the car.

I had all the love. None of the logistics.

Love and logistics is one of the real tensions of leadership; the passion that got you there and the practicalities of actually doing the job don't always get equal weight.

Middle leadership is a lot like that. You care deeply, and then the reality of the role catches up with you.

If that's where you are right now, consider joining the emerging and middle leaders project kicking off in term three.

More info: https://link.msgsndr.com/sp/3890fc9c0b7

I once heard Elad Levinson describe leadership as 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰.

It's so true, the ground is always moving. Conditions shift. Just when you think you've found your footing, something changes.

That's this term, and that's every term.

Your Sacred Ground is your ballast, it's what keeps you grounded. It doesn't stop things changing or moving, but it keeps you buoyant.

What part of your sacred ground will you be intentional about this term?

I explore ideas like this in practical ways each week in my newsletter on grounded leadership.

Subscribe here http://eepurl.com/b-l7ev

Leadership doesn't have a single shape.

But many systems reward performance more visibly than they recognise thoughtful, human-centred leadership.

So we notice:
Loud confidence.
Polished certainty.
Public performance.

And we risk overlooking leaders who:
Listen deeply.
Think carefully.
Show up intentionally.

Those are leadership qualities worth seeing, practising and championing.

I've begun working with a new group of middle leaders this term.

Already I know they are smart, thoughtful women, ready to emerge.

I asked them what they believed it meant to be a grounded leader.

They spoke about leaders who are approachable, present, and who know their craft in a way that has depth and resonance.

They spoke about leaders who can stand their ground. Who make decisions aligned with their values and are able to say 'I couldn't have done it any other way.'

And I loved that they spoke about ego. Or rather, the absence of it.

Grounded leadership isn't a personality type or leadership style. It's building your Sacred Ground layer by layer: values, vision, habits, skills, emotional intelligence. And of course, the courage to act in alignment with those layers, even when it's uncomfortable.

That's what we're building this year.