Professional Development → Dr Jake Madden

The Hidden Costs of Overworking During the Holidays: Why School Leaders Need a True Break

Attention school leaders: This holiday season, prioritise rest over catching up on work. Constant connectivity and an endless to-do list can lead to burnout and reduced effectiveness. Set clear boundaries, delegate tasks, and turn off work notifications. Engage in activities that bring you joy and help you recharge. Remember, true leadership isn’t about how much you work, but the quality of your impact. A rested leader is a better leader!

The holiday season, often filled with joy, family, and relaxation, can be anything but restful for school leaders. Emails, strategic plans, and unfinished administrative tasks loom large, tempting even the most disciplined among us to keep working. But here’s a provocative question: What if working during the Christmas break does more harm than good?

Smart school leaders are increasingly recognising the hidden costs of sacrificing their well-earned breaks. While the desire to stay ahead may seem admirable, it often leads to burnout, reduced creativity, and diminished effectiveness. The inability to truly disconnect impacts not only the individual but the entire school community. This holiday season, let’s challenge the idea that working through Christmas is a badge of honour and explore why prioritising rest is an essential act of leadership.

The Costs of Overworking During Holidays

The Endless To-Do List

School leaders often find themselves trapped in a cycle of perpetual work, with the holiday break appearing as a chance to “catch up.” Yet the reality is that tasks never truly end—they only accumulate. This relentless treadmill can erode energy and enthusiasm, leaving leaders depleted before the new term even begins.

A Misplaced Sense of Dedication

Equating constant work with commitment is a common misconception. Sacrificing personal time to prove dedication not only risks burnout but also diminishes overall effectiveness. True leadership isn’t measured by how much you work—it’s defined by the quality of your impact.

The Challenge of Disconnecting

In today’s hyperconnected world, technology makes it almost impossible to unplug. Notifications from emails, messages, and platforms blur the boundaries between work and personal life, making genuine rest elusive. Without intentional disconnection, stress becomes a constant companion.

The Fear of Falling Behind

The anxiety of returning to a backlog often drives school leaders to work through their breaks. Ironically, this approach is counterproductive. Research shows that prolonged overwork hampers productivity, creativity, and decision-making—key attributes of effective leadership.

How to Take a True Holiday Break

Set Clear Boundaries

Effective school leaders communicate their intention to rest with staff, students, and parents, establishing firm boundaries for the holiday period. Use tools like out-of-office email responses to manage expectations and protect your time.

Plan and Delegate

Preparation is key. Before the break, prioritise and delegate tasks to trusted team members. Empower your staff to handle routine matters, demonstrating trust and fostering a culture of shared responsibility.

Turn Off Work Notifications

Resist the urge to check emails or messages during the break. Turning off notifications—or even temporarily uninstalling work-related apps—can help create the mental space needed for genuine rest.

Engage in Restorative Activities

Use the holiday to reconnect with family, pursue hobbies, or engage in activities that inspire you. Whether it’s a long walk, reading a good book, or simply relaxing at home, these moments of joy and reflection are investments in your well-being.

Why Rested Leaders Lead Better

Rest isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity for effective leadership. When school leaders prioritise their well-being, the benefits ripple throughout their schools. Rested leaders are:

More patient and empathetic, fostering stronger relationships with staff and students.
Better equipped to tackle challenges with creativity and resilience.
Able to model healthy work habits, promoting a balanced culture within the school community.

By taking time to reflect and recharge, leaders return to their roles with renewed energy, fresh perspectives, and enhanced decision-making abilities.

A Call to Action for School Leaders

As the holiday season unfolds, resist the urge to view your time off as an opportunity to “catch up.” Instead, embrace it as a time to restore your energy, refocus your vision, and prioritise what truly matters.

Remember: leadership isn’t about how hard you work—it’s about how well you lead. This Christmas, give yourself the gift of rest. It’s not just a gift for you but for your entire school community, ensuring you return ready to inspire, guide, and lead with purpose.

Leading School Improvement: Strategies for Effective Change

This latest book by Dr Jake Madden continues his school improvement research by providing teachers and school and education system leaders with an insight into what school improvement requires and importantly how to implement such a program in a school in the UAE.

The success of any school improvement initiative depends on strong leadership. Regardless of a school’s philosophy, curriculum, or teaching approach, the goal remains the same—to enhance student learning. At the heart of this transformation is effective teaching, which thrives when supported by intentional leadership strategies.

At Al Yasat Private School in Abu Dhabi, we have developed a structured approach to leading school improvement that integrates:

A strategic teaching improvement intent (the goal)
A leadership approach that drives change
The use of data to inform decision-making

This framework is supported by a professional learning model called Teacher as Researcher (TAR). This method allows educators to engage in action-based research, helping them reflect on and improve their teaching practices in real-time.

The Teacher as Researcher (TAR) Approach

TAR is an innovative professional learning model that encourages teachers to investigate their own teaching methods and refine their strategies based on evidence. By adopting TAR, educators can:

✅ Identify challenges and opportunities in their classrooms
✅ Use data-driven insights to improve instruction
✅ Collaborate with peers to enhance student learning outcomes

The impact of this teaching improvement model has been recorded in two key publications:

📘 Teachers TEACHing Teachers
📘 School Reform: Case Studies in Teaching Improvement

These works highlight how empowering teachers as researchers leads to sustainable school improvement.

Evaluating the Impact of Teaching Improvement

The learning model guiding this approach was carefully developed and implemented during the 2016/2017 academic year. In 2019/2020, we conducted an evaluation project to measure the impact of this strategy on teaching and student performance.

The results, compiled with contributions from Dr Denis Peters, Dr Asif Padela, Mr Thomas O’Meara, Mrs Reem Rekieh, and Dr Paul Triegaardt, will be published in an upcoming book, set for release in April/May 2020.

This book will serve as a valuable resource for school leaders and educators seeking evidence-based strategies for leading school improvement.

A Guide for School Leaders

For school leaders looking to restructure their schools and drive improvement, this book provides practical insights into:

Leadership formation and its role in shaping school success
Strategic decision-making to enhance teaching quality
Using data to track progress and refine improvement plans

While not all schools will adopt the Al Yasat School Improvement Model, this resource offers a framework for leaders to reflect on their own approaches and identify meaningful ways to improve student learning.

Final Thoughts

Leading school improvement requires a strategic, data-driven approach that empowers teachers and strengthens leadership. Schools that embrace teacher-led research, collaborative learning, and evidence-based decision-making are best positioned to raise student outcomes.

With the right leadership strategies, professional development, and commitment to improvement, schools can create a lasting impact on student success.

7 Ways to Support Your Professional (Educational) Reading

Every effective teacher wants to be a better practitioner tomorrow than they are today. They are always looking to improve. While attending conferences and workshops, undertaking courses or joining a professional association are helpful activities to develop your prowess as a teacher, the reading of academic journals and educational texts/books is a good way to meet your own learning needs.

Professional reading for teachers is one of the simplest ways to improve practice. Great teachers want to be better tomorrow than today. Courses and conferences help, but reading gives you steady, low-cost learning. It also lets you choose what you need, when you need it.

If you struggle to find time, you are not alone. The goal is not to read everything. The goal is to build a habit that supports your classroom work.

Why professional reading for teachers matters

Reading keeps your thinking fresh. It helps you test assumptions and sharpen decisions. It also gives you practical strategies you can try the next day.

It works best when you read with a clear link to your pupils. That link might be engagement, behaviour, SEN support, questioning, or assessment. When the reading connects to a real problem, you are more likely to act.

Professional reading for teachers: 7 habits that work

1) Set clear targets

Choose a realistic target for a term or semester. Start small so you can win early. For example, one article a week or one book each half term.

Write your target down and review it monthly. Adjust if your workload changes. Consistency matters more than volume.

2) Schedule a regular reading time

Put reading into your week like any other priority. Fifteen minutes is enough to keep momentum. The best time is the one you can repeat.

Try common “anchor” times, such as:

before breakfast
during your commute
after a staff meeting
after dinner, before screens

3) Keep a live reading list

Your day-to-day teaching throws up questions. Capture them as they appear. This makes your reading purposeful, not random.

Use a note on your phone or a small notebook. Add topics like SEN strategies, learning centres, feedback, or questioning. When you next browse a journal or bookshop, you will know what to look for.

4) Read with a purpose, then take action

Before you start, write one question you want answered. While you read, take short notes. Keep them simple so you will use them later.

Aim to leave each reading session with:

one idea to try this week
one question to discuss with a colleague
one quote or model worth saving

5) Join or start a school book club

Reading is easier when others expect you to show up. A book club creates gentle accountability. It also turns reading into shared practice.

Keep it light and consistent. Meet for 30 minutes every two to three weeks. Choose short chapters or one article at a time.

6) Write about what you read

Writing helps you think clearly. It also helps you remember and apply ideas. You do not need to publish in a journal to benefit.

Try one of these formats:

a short reflection for your team
a one-page summary with “what I will try”
a quick post on your staff platform or blog

7) Keep a book with you

Carry a book, or carry access to one. Reading moments appear in small gaps. Waiting rooms, trains, and quiet mornings add up over time.

Use what fits your life:

a paperback in your bag
an e-reader app on your phone
an audiobook for walks and commutes
a podcast linked to your current topic

A simple weekly routine you can start now

Keep it easy for the first four weeks. Pick one topic, one text, and one time. Then repeat.

Monday: 15 minutes reading
Wednesday: 10 minutes notes and one action step
Friday: share one idea with a colleague
Next week: try the idea in one lesson

Professional reading for teachers works when it becomes normal. Start small, stay steady, and connect reading to real classroom choices. Over time, you will build both knowledge and confidence.

Professional Development is a Key Indicator of School Success

The role of the teacher is key to student success and that is why leaders spend plenty of time developing and engaging in professional development. Teacher PD is pivotal to school success. What does professional learning look like in your school. This 90 second clip gives insight to what teachers can expect at mine.

Michael Fullan in his unpublished paper, Learning is the Work, states that learning on the job, day after day, is the work teachers need to be committed to. With the mover towards collaborative learning and the fact fact that teachers learn best from their colleagues, the provision of a job embedded professional development program to foster teacher development is a must.

School principals take on the school leadership with a commitment to helping the school improve. A key mechanism for this is teacher professional development. How a leader approaches PD for teachers should be a consideration for teachers when looking for new positions!