Forum Strategy National #TrustLeaders CEO Conference 2024 – Leading with contextual wisdom

In this article, Sarah Ginns shares some of the key learning points and ‘takeaways’ from last month’s seventh annual National #TrustLeaders CEO Conference.

On Thursday 19 September 2024, members of our National #TrustLeaders CEO Network came together for the National #TrustLeaders CEO Conference, at Trent Vineyard Conference Centre in Nottingham.

The conference theme was ‘Leading with contextual wisdom’, which was timely given the many societal, political, and educational challenges of the past year. Over the course of the day, contextual wisdom was considered and explored through the lens of the CEO role, the national political and social landscape, children and young people, communities and the workforce. 

Conference facilitator, Maggie Farrar opened the day, reminding us that wisdom is as much about the heart, body, and spirit as it is about the mind and that in building our wisdom, we must remain ready to learn and ready to ‘hoover the minds’ of others in the room.

Why the theme of contextual wisdom?

Forum Strategy’s CEO, Alice Gregson, opened her keynote speech by thanking our National CEO Network members for their commitment to the network and for all they do for our children and communities across the country.

Alice highlighted that the theme of this year’s conference – ‘Leading with contextual wisdom’ – is increasingly relevant in our rapidly changing educational landscape and society, and one which has listening, learning and humility at its very heart.

Considering the many events of the summer, including the election, the formation of a new government, and the signs of fragmentation and disconnect across many of our communities; Alice emphasised that understanding our context as leaders has never been more crucial.

“Alice highlighted that the theme of this year’s conference – ‘Leading with contextual wisdom’ – is increasingly relevant in our rapidly changing educational landscape and society, and one which has listening, learning and humility at its very heart.”

Because our contexts are constantly evolving and changing, Alice emphasised that as CEOs we must commit to carving out the time for ‘tuning in’, gathering insight, to sharing what we learn with others, and importantly, then responding through our leadership in a way that takes account of what we’ve learnt.

One of the many ways in which we can grow our contextual wisdom as leaders is through the partnerships we form; and Alice showed some short videos where Forum Strategy’s partners shared their reflections on the theme of contextual wisdom.

Alice next set out three key principles for how CEOs can develop and strengthen their contextual wisdom:

• Firstly, we must cultivate a deep understanding of those we serve – this means going beyond surface-level observations to gain a deep insight into the cultural, socioeconomic, and emotional factors that influence your young people, staff, and their communities.
• The second key principle relates to how we embrace flexibility and adaptability – contextual wisdom requires a willingness to be flexible and adaptable. As a CEO, this will mean developing a mindset that balances the need for stability and continuity, with being open to adjusting your plans and strategies based on the evolving needs of your communities.
• And thirdly, we must adopt a learner’s mindset and build in regular reflection time – reflective leadership with a learner’s mindset at its heart, is about regularly assessing and reassessing your actions and decisions. By cultivating a habit of reflection, you develop the ability to learn from both successes and failures, and to refine and adapt your approach over time. Protecting time for reflection and for engaging with our communities and stakeholders is often difficult for CEOs to achieve – as research underlines – but it must be a deliberate and, in time, habitual, act if we are to lead our organisational successfully.

The generation of and subsequent application of, contextual wisdom is an essential part of leadership, particularly in education. In developing contextual wisdom, we ensure our decisions are made with insight, empathy, and a true understanding of what will best serve our young people, staff, and communities.