Breakout Session 1 - 16th September at 12:25 - 1:05
The Inner Game of Leadership: Coaching, Mentoring, and Leading in Complexity
| Presenter/s: | Pip Woodward |
| Type: | Interactive workshop backed by research |
| Keywords: | Complexity, Leading, Coaching, Self Awareness |
Abstract
In today’s increasingly complex educational landscape, the most impactful leaders are those who lead with compassion, courage, and deep self-awareness. Technical solutions alone are no longer sufficient. In times of complexity and uncertainty, leaders must lead differently—shifting from control to capacity, from answers to inquiry, and from individual heroics to collective growth.
Central to this shift is the development of effective coaching and mentoring practices within schools. When embedded as everyday ways of working, coaching and mentoring become powerful drivers of professional learning, sense-making, and collective problem-solving. They move schools beyond compliance-driven improvement toward cultures characterised by trust, curiosity, and continuous growth.
It is about understanding how we show up as leaders, how our assumptions shape our actions, and how we create the conditions for others to think more deeply, act more courageously, and lead more authentically.
By strengthening reflective leadership and coaching capability, educational leaders can navigate difficult conversations with empathy and clarity, build relational trust that sustains change, and develop others’ agency and professional identity.
This workshop will explore how educational leaders can strengthen their coaching and mentoring capabilities to lead effectively in complex and uncertain contexts. Participants will examine how self-awareness, reflective practice, and a shift from “having answers” to fostering inquiry can enhance professional learning, relational trust, and collective problem-solving within schools
Biography
Pip Woodward
Pip is a Deputy Principal at Ōtūmoetai College in Tauranga. She has previously worked on a national Ministry of Education project supporting whole-school approaches to student wellbeing. Pip also facilitates the micro-credential course Effective Mentoring Practices for Secondary Teachers in Aotearoa NZ, delivered by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. She holds qualifications in leadership coaching and has a background in complexity and adult development theories, supported by a Master’s thesis in these areas. Pip is committed to fostering inclusive, supportive school environments that promote wellbeing and growth for both students and staff.