Tag: Staff Voice

‘What am I missing?’ is a question worth asking before a school leader closes a discussion. It acknowledges that the people around the table may see something the leader cannot.

Imagine a leadership team reviewing a new assessment schedule before sharing it with staff. The dates look manageable, the responsibilities appear clear, and the meeting is almost finished.

Then a teacher points out that several deadlines coincide with student conferences. Another explains that the proposed reporting process duplicates work already happening elsewhere.

These contributions could improve the plan, provided there is still room to change it. The leader’s response will help determine whether similar concerns are raised next time.

The question changes the invitation

‘Any questions?’ can be useful when checking whether people understand a proposal. However, understanding a decision and feeling able to challenge it are different things.

‘Does everyone agree?’ may also leave uncertainty about how welcome a different view would be. A colleague might remain silent because the leader appears ready to move on.

‘What am I missing?’ creates a more explicit invitation to examine the proposal. It suggests that the leader expects other people to contribute information, judgement and experience.

That distinction matters in schools, where responsibility and knowledge sit in different places. Leaders may understand the strategic purpose, while teachers recognise practical consequences within classrooms.

Administrative colleagues may notice communication gaps, and support staff may identify barriers others have overlooked. A sound decision needs access to these different perspectives before implementation exposes the gaps.

Useful phrases need credible behaviour

Several short phrases can help leaders make their intentions clearer during everyday conversations. Their value depends on whether subsequent behaviour supports the words.

‘I don’t know’ acknowledges a gap that needs investigation rather than a confident guess. ‘I’m counting on you’ communicates trust when people also receive the authority and support they need.

‘Tell me more’ creates space to understand an experience before interpreting or judging it. ‘What am I missing?’ asks others to examine the limits of the leader’s current view.

None of these phrases can repair a culture simply through frequent repetition. Colleagues will judge their meaning through what happens when someone takes the invitation seriously.

Make challenge a contribution

A colleague questioning a proposal may be trying to protect its purpose. They may support the intended improvement while recognising that the proposed approach needs adjustment.

Asking ‘What am I missing?’ gives that concern a legitimate place within the discussion. It makes identifying a weakness part of the work, rather than an interruption to it.

This connects with Amy Edmondson’s explanation of psychological safety. People need confidence that raising questions, concerns or mistakes will not lead to humiliation or punishment.

For school leaders, this means paying attention to whose contributions carry the greatest personal risk. A newly appointed teacher may experience challenging a principal differently from an established senior colleague.

Offer thinking time, invite written responses and seek views before announcing a preferred solution. ‘What am I missing?’ becomes more useful when the conditions allow people to answer honestly.

The response carries the real message

The first difficult answer is where the invitation becomes credible or begins to unravel. A leader who immediately explains away every concern makes future silence more understandable.

A more useful response begins with acknowledgement, followed by a question that deepens understanding. For example: ‘Thank you for raising that concern. Where would the greatest pressure fall?’

Then examine the contribution rather than rushing to accept or reject it. Ask what evidence supports it, who else is affected and which adjustment might help.

When the input changes your thinking, explain that change clearly to the group. ‘Your point about overlapping deadlines has changed my view. We will revise the schedule before sharing it.’

‘What am I missing?’ does not commit a leader to accepting every suggestion offered. It commits them to considering relevant contributions seriously and explaining the judgement that follows.

If the decision remains unchanged, show how the concern informed your reasoning. Where uncertainty remains, identify what will be monitored and when the decision will be reviewed.

Follow through beyond the meeting

Some colleagues will need repeated evidence before trusting that challenge is welcome. One constructive exchange cannot erase earlier experiences of being ignored, embarrassed or labelled difficult.

Ask ‘What am I missing?’ while there is still time to influence the outcome. Be clear about what remains open and which constraints the team must work within.

Return to the discussion after implementation, when colleagues can describe what actually happened. An invitation to contribute should extend beyond the moment when a decision needs support.

Over time, consistent follow-through can help leaders hear concerns earlier and examine assumptions more carefully. It can also show colleagues that their professional judgement has a place in the school’s improvement.

Before your next significant decision, ask yourself whose perspective is absent from the discussion. Then ask the people involved, ‘What am I missing?’, and give their answers time to matter.

No leader sees everything, but those who invite challenge can develop a fuller understanding.

A quick question: When someone last challenged your thinking, what did your response teach everyone else about speaking up?