What is strategy work for you?

Strategy is really a conversation. It is not about a neat plan on paper, but about us -- leadership, teachers and students -- talking together about where we are going, why and how. Strategy work is dynamic and continuous. It is not the document that is most important, but the common understanding and the conversation that binds it all together.

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The strategy is not mine. It has come into being in a community. My job is to keep the direction -- and keep the conversation alive. I, as a leader, have to ask the fundamental questions that keep the focus on purpose and direction.

“Strategy is not something you do once — it is something you do all the time.”

What is the biggest challenge in your strategy work?

There was someone laughing in the teachers room when we presented the profile on Competent Citizenship years back. It seemed so far removed from reality at the time. But we stuck together. The challenge, in particular, has been to create belief that change is possible -- and that what you do can actually change a school culture.

In addition, implementation is often underestimated. We need to take implementation seriously. If five teachers have developed something in a committee, it must come into play throughout the organization -- not as an inspiration, but as new common practice. However, it can create opposition and conflict that everyone has to be involved.

“Change without resistance does not exist. If no one responds, we probably haven't moved on anything significant.”

How do you manage your strategy?

It is a management responsibility to set a clear framework and make some choices. And from there, keep the strategic conversation going -- both in day-to-day management and in school structures. I often ask the question: What exactly is the purpose of this? Why are we doing this?
It is my job to get us to see how the small and big things are related to what we want to be as a school. It requires honest and clear leadership. It applies both internally and externally with sharp messages. If you do not control the narrative about your school, someone else will.

“I believe in honest leadership. If something has already been decided, then we should not pretend it is not. I would rather say: This is not up for discussion — and then I will give a thorough justification.”

Honest leadership is also admitting mistakes. We have had plenty of misfires, examples of miscommunication and a lack of involvement when it is gone all, way too quickly. It is only fair that, as a leader, I admit that.

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The secondary school sector has a particular strength: a critical and engaged culture. Teachers want meaningful change and that's a gift. But it also challenges that your employees are enormously self-driven and capable academics who are qualified to think differently than you. So it takes both responsiveness and courage to stand firm in the face of an entire college of teachers.

Strategy at Frederiksberg Gymnasium

In recent years, Frederiksberg Gymnasium has distinguished itself with a clear strategic profile: competent citizenship, which has significantly changed the school and its success. The profile applies to everyone at the school and is supported by 12 simple dogmas. The profile has changed school practice and permeates everyday life; applies to everything from the way teachers collaborate, to how students are involved in projects and how to communicate remotely.