Leading with Composure: Being the ‘Steady Hand’ Your School Needs
“When people feel a sense of panic, they look to you to see how they should react.”
If you are leading a school in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or Oman right now, your ‘To-Do’ list probably looks a bit different than it did last week. With the shift to online learning, heavy regional headlines, and the spiritual focus of Ramadan, leadership isn’t just about managing—it’s about being an anchor.
We call this ‘Leading with Composure’. It is the ability to stay calm so your staff can stay focused. But what does that actually look like in practice? And more importantly, how do you maintain that composure when you’re feeling the pressure yourself?
The schools that navigate difficult periods most successfully aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the most resources. They’re the ones where leadership maintains a steady presence that others can anchor themselves to.
Be the ‘Information Filter’
In a crisis, everyone becomes a reporter. WhatsApp groups and social media can spread worry faster than facts. Your role as a leader is to be the trusted filter between the noise and your team.
Think about it: how many times have you seen a rumour spread through your school community in minutes, only to spend hours correcting it? The emotional cost of that cycle is enormous—for you and for your staff.
The ‘One Source’ Rule
Tell your staff and parents that one official email or message from you is the only source they should follow. Be explicit about this—and then be consistent.
Stop the ‘Scroll’
Encourage your team to limit their time on news sites. Constantly checking for updates drains the energy they need for their students. Model this behaviour yourself.
Translate the News
Your job is to take complex announcements from authorities and turn them into simple, ‘What does this mean for us?’ steps for your teachers.
Practical tip: Create a simple template for your communications. Something like: “Here’s what we know. Here’s what we’re doing. Here’s what you need to do. Here’s when I’ll update you next.” This structure alone reduces anxiety because people know what to expect.
Put ‘Maslow before Bloom’
In education, we often talk about Bloom’s Taxonomy and learning objectives. But in a time of uncertainty, we must focus on Maslow—safety and belonging. A person who doesn’t feel safe cannot learn effectively, and neither can they teach effectively.
This isn’t about lowering standards. It’s about recognising that human beings have a hierarchy of needs, and if the foundational needs aren’t met, everything built on top becomes unstable.
“I know things feel a bit uncertain right now, and that’s okay.”
— Sometimes the most powerful thing a leader can say
Don’t pretend things are ‘normal’ if they aren’t. Your staff can tell when you’re being authentic, and they respect you more for it.
Start your meetings with five minutes of non-work talk. Ask how their families are or how their Ramadan is going. It lowers the stress in the room instantly.
If everyone’s worried about something, address it directly. Unspoken concerns grow larger in the imagination than they are in reality.
Practise ‘Ramadan Grace’
We are in a month of reflection and patience. Rather than seeing this as an additional challenge to manage, consider using it as your leadership strategy. The values of Ramadan—patience, compassion, community—are exactly the values that effective crisis leadership requires.
There’s something beautiful about leading through this particular time. The emphasis on patience and reflection that Ramadan brings can actually help us slow down and make better decisions, rather than reacting impulsively to every new development.
Energy Management During Fasting
Morning
Schedule ‘heavy’ thinking tasks and important meetings when energy levels are highest.
Afternoon
Reserve lighter administrative tasks and routine work for later in the day.
Be Flexible: If a teacher needs a slightly different schedule to manage family or prayer, try to accommodate them. That kindness builds a loyal team that will stick with you for years. We’ve seen this time and again—the small accommodations you make now will be remembered long after the immediate challenges have passed.
The bottom line: Flexibility during Ramadan isn’t about lowering expectations—it’s about recognising that your best people need the space to manage their personal lives while still delivering excellence at work.
Focus on the ‘Must-Know’
When students and teachers are stressed, their ‘cognitive load’ is full. They cannot process as much information as usual. This is not a character flaw or a lack of commitment—it’s simply how human brains work under pressure.
The research on this is clear: stress hormones actually reduce our capacity for complex thinking. Knowing this, we need to adjust our expectations and our approach accordingly.
Quality over Quantity
If you are teaching online, focus on the most important learning objectives. Ask yourself: “If students only remember one thing from this lesson, what should it be?”
Lower the Pressure
Remind your teachers that making a student feel calm and connected is more important than finishing every single slide in a presentation.
A useful question for your team: “What can we remove or postpone this week that won’t significantly impact student learning?” You might be surprised by how much can wait—and how much relief that creates.
Remember: students will forget most of what they learn in any given week. But they will remember how their teacher made them feel during a difficult time. That memory lasts a lifetime.
Check Your Own ‘Dashboard’
You are the pilot of the ship. If the pilot panics, the passengers will too. But here’s the thing that nobody tells you in leadership training: maintaining composure is exhausting. It takes energy to regulate your own emotions while also supporting everyone else’s.
This is why self-care isn’t selfish—it’s strategic. You cannot pour from an empty cup, as the saying goes, and it’s absolutely true in school leadership.
Your Leadership Self-Care Toolkit
Micro-Breaks
Take 60 seconds between meetings to sit in silence. No phone, no emails. Just breathe.
Don’t Lead Alone
Reach out to other principals or leaders. Sometimes just hearing someone else say, “I’m feeling it too,” is the best way to recharge.
End-of-Day Reflection
Spend two minutes writing down one thing that went well today. It rewires your brain to notice the positive.
Movement Matters
A short walk—even just around the building—can reset your nervous system and improve decision-making.
We know these suggestions might seem simple, perhaps even obvious. But the number of school leaders who skip these basics because they’re “too busy” is remarkable—and concerning. The basics work. That’s why they’re basics.
A Few More Thoughts
Before we close, we wanted to share a few additional insights that we’ve gathered from working with school leaders across the region. These don’t fit neatly into the categories above, but they’re worth mentioning.
On Communication Frequency
There’s a balance to strike between keeping people informed and overwhelming them with updates. Our general advice: communicate more frequently during the acute phase of any challenge, then gradually reduce as things stabilise. And always tell people when you’ll next be in touch—it reduces anxiety significantly.
On Admitting Uncertainty
Many leaders feel they need to have all the answers. They don’t. In fact, pretending to have answers you don’t have erodes trust faster than admitting uncertainty. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll find out and let you know by tomorrow” is a perfectly acceptable response.
On Looking After Your Middle Leaders
Your heads of department and year group leaders are often the forgotten middle. They’re absorbing pressure from above and below. Make sure you’re checking in with them specifically—they need support too, and they’re often reluctant to ask for it.
On the Long Game
However challenging this week or this month feels, remember that this period will end. Schools have weathered difficult times before, and they will again. The relationships you build and the trust you earn during difficult times will serve your school community for years to come.
Great Leaders are Grown, Not Born
Whether you need leadership coaching, NPQ support, or staff wellbeing workshops, we are here to help your school thrive—no matter what the headlines say.
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