School Culture Archives - Azimuth | Education Consultancy & Fractional Digital Strategy

Leadership & Coaching

23 April, 2026

Why Schools Keep Promoting the Wrong People

A head I once worked with led an oversubscribed independent girls’ school in suburban Surrey. By every available measure she was a successful head. Results were strong. Parents were satisfied.…

José Picardo 0

Leadership & Coaching

29 December, 2025

Six Damaging Metaphors We Use In Schools, And How to Avoid Them

Schools run on stories. I get that. I once worked with a headteacher who began assemblies by saying, “What I am about to tell you never happened, but it is…

José Picardo 0

Leadership & Coaching

20 August, 2025

20 Signs of Emotionally Mature Leadership

Leadership rarely happens in calm conditions. It often emerges in environments that are challenging, political, resource-constrained, and frequently unforgiving. Technical skills and sharp strategy are, of course, important, but they…

José Picardo 2

Leadership & Coaching

14 August, 2025

Cakeism and Car Salesmanship: The Hidden Cost of Over-Promising in Schools

This piece is written to prompt reflection. School leadership is complex, high-stakes work, often carried out under intense scrutiny and pressure to deliver more with less. The temptation to promise…

José Picardo 3

Leadership & Coaching

6 May, 2025

Ten Signs of a Truly Healthy School Culture — Not Just a High-Performing One

I find it peculiarly ironic that institutions devoted so passionately to the development of young minds can, all too easily, lose sight of the conditions that nurture the adults who…

José Picardo 1

Leadership & Coaching

2 May, 2025

Beware the Octopus Head: Why Control Isn’t the Same as Leadership

While this reflection is grounded in school leadership (where I have worked and coached for many years) the dynamics described here echo more widely, across organisations, sectors and hierarchies. Wherever…

José Picardo 1