Authentic Leadership in Schools How to Win Hearts and Minds

Foreword

Author's Note

1. Introduction

2. Why Now?: Leading With Authenticity in Uncertain Times

3. Vision and Values: The DNA of Authentic Leadership

4. Belonging

5. Mission, Strategy and Accountability (Without Losing Yourself)

6. No ‘I’ in Team: Leading Without Losing Yourself

7. Trust and Compassion: Why Trust is Not a Soft Skill

8. Necessary Conversations: Accountability as an Act of Care

9. This is How It's Done 

10. Wearing the Badge

11. The Challenges: Leading When Leadership Isn’t Easy

12. Contributors: Authentic Leadership in Practice

13. Standing at the Threshold

Biography

Evelyn Forde, MBE is a former President of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and an esteemed headteacher. Recognised for her outstanding contributions to education, particularly in promoting diversity and inclusion in schools, Evelyn was awarded an MBE for her services to education. After concluding her tenure in formal leadership roles, she remains actively involved in the education sector, providing consultancy services to schools and educational bodies on issues of leadership, equity and school improvement strategies.

"Evelyn Forde stands out for me as a leader. Brave in her drive for justice in a society where there are unlevel playfields. Uncompromising - in her passion, commitment and drive to ensure there is equity for all. Authentic in what she does, how she acts and who she champions."

- John Murphy, Education Leadership Mentor, Advisor & Public Speaker

"Evelyn epitomises values-led leadership in action, whether leading schools or spearheading initiatives that increase diverse representation in education. In her authentic style, she is that rare phenomenon: an integrous leader fully committed to transforming organisations and society with lasting, measurable change. This is a superb book from a remarkable woman. Courageous and timely, it is a must-read that will be invaluable in any leader’s toolkit."

- Michelle Moore, Global Speaker

"Evelyn makes her argument with clarity and wisdom. Her integrity, and considered demand for better practice, is irresistible."

- Sinead McBrearty, Chief Executive Officer at Education Support

"There are very few leadership books that tell the truth without shouting. This is one of them.

What Evelyn Forde offers here is not a new framework or a polished theory of leadership. It is something far more powerful and far more needed: an honest reckoning with what it means to lead human beings, in complex systems, with integrity intact.

At the heart of this book is a simple but radical proposition: that belonging is not a programme, a policy or a box to be ticked, but a leadership responsibility. Evelyn reminds us that culture is shaped not by what leaders say they value, but by what people experience every day in how decisions are made, how mistakes are handled, how power is exercised and how dignity is protected

This is values-led leadership in its truest form. Leadership that understands that standards and care are not opposites. That accountability does not require fear. That people can only give their best in environments where they feel seen, safe and able to bring their whole selves to the table.

What struck me most is the moral clarity running through these pages. Evelyn is unapologetic in naming the emotional labour carried by staff, the quiet erosion that happens when voices are ignored, and the profound difference it makes when leaders choose repair over defensiveness, humility over ego, humanity over hierarchy. This is leadership that does not hide behind systems, but takes responsibility for how those systems land on real people.

As someone who has spent decades working across civil society, education and global youth leadership, I know that trust is the currency that determines whether institutions endure or erode. Trust is built when leaders are consistent, self-aware and willing to be honest about both their power and their limitations. Evelyn writes from lived experience, not abstraction, and it shows. Her reflections on authenticity, imposter syndrome and the courage to lead as yourself will resonate with anyone who has ever felt they had to contort themselves to fit a leadership mould that was never designed for them

This book speaks directly to the moment we are in. A moment where traditional command-and-control models are no longer sufficient. Where people are asking not just for competence, but for conscience. Not just for vision, but for values. Not just for leaders who can drive outcomes, but for leaders who can hold people with care while doing so.

Belonging, as Evelyn so powerfully shows, is the foundation from which becoming is possible. When people feel they belong, they take risks, they lead, they stay, they grow. That is true in schools, in organisations, and in society more broadly. Cultures of belonging do not happen by accident. They are created, sustained and protected by leaders who understand that how we lead matters just as much as what we achieve.

This is a book for leaders who are prepared to look inward as well as outward. For those who understand that authentic leadership is not performative, but deeply relational. And for those who believe, as I do, that the most lasting legacies are built not through control, but through trust, integrity and humanity."

- Dr. Tessy Ojo, CBE, Chief, The Diana Award