Leading a decision you didn’t make
Much of a middle leader’s work is carrying out decisions made by others. Doing it well means being honest with your team without undermining the decision, and finding the parts you can genuinely shape.
The questions for this step
- I understand the reasons for the decision well enough to explain them.
- I’ve raised any concerns privately with the person who made the decision.
- I know which parts of it I’m able to adapt for my team.
- I can present it to my team honestly, without pretending I chose it and without undermining it.
Understand the reasoning
You can’t explain a decision you don’t understand. Ask the person who made it what problem it solves, what alternatives were considered and why this one was chosen. Ask for the evidence if there is some.
You don’t have to agree with the reasoning to understand it. But your team will ask why, and “because I was told to” rarely lands well.
Raise concerns through the right channel
If you have concerns, raise them privately and early, with the person who made the decision. Be specific: what you think will go wrong, for whom, and what might help.
Raising concerns properly is part of being a good leader, not disloyalty. Airing them first in front of your team is a different thing, and it usually makes the decision harder to carry out and your position harder to hold.
Work out what you can shape
Most decisions have fixed parts and flexible parts. Ask directly which is which: the timing, the order, how it’s introduced, how it looks in your subject or year group.
Knowing what you can adapt gives your team something real to contribute, and turns a decision made elsewhere into something you’re leading together.
Talk to your team honestly
You don’t need to pretend you chose it, and you shouldn’t undermine it. Something like this works: “This decision was made by the leadership team. Here’s the reasoning. I raised some questions, and here’s what I learned. Here’s what we can shape as a team.”
Be clear about what’s fixed and what isn’t. Listen to concerns, pass the important ones on, and tell your team what happened to them.
When to escalate further
Sometimes a concern is serious enough to take further: if the decision puts students’ safety or wellbeing at risk, breaks policy or the law, or creates a workload problem that can’t be managed. Put it in writing, keep it factual, and follow your school’s procedures.
If the concern is about approach rather than principle, it’s usually better to carry out the decision well, gather evidence of how it’s going, and bring that evidence back at the review point.
Templates
Leading a decision I didn’t make
A planner for carrying out a decision made above you: understand it, raise concerns properly, find what you can shape, and present it honestly.
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