ICP Insights
Inspiring words from the ICP Executive
Lessons from John Bruton and the Art of Leading with Grace
As I tuned into the funeral of our former Prime Minister, John Bruton, a poignant scene unfolded before me, capturing the essence of leadership and humanity. The gathering of leaders, once divided by their ideologies and policies, now stood united in their respect and...
New Year’s Message from the ICP President – January 2024
'Let us cling together as the years go by;Oh my love, my loveIn the quiet of the nightLet our candle always burnLet us never lose the lessons we have learned.' These beautiful words of Brian May resonate in my mind as the new year begins. He wrote this song after...
Four Things I Learnt from ICP’s COP 28 Seminar
Welcome Mhlanga told us that ‘school leaders have to lead’. If we want the response to the world’s changing climate to have a high profile in our schools and associations, then the example has to come from the top. It is not an issue to delegate to others. We...
The View from the COP
When I told my family in Liverpool that I had been given the chance to attend the COP, they assumed that I was referring to the Kop at Anfield and that I had somehow managed to but tickets to watch my beloved football club. Sadly I haven’t got any football tickets,...
Walking On in Rovaniemi
I am writing this article a few days after the ending of our Council meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland. Given that our time together saw the release of the latest Principal Health Barometer survey from Finland, it might be expected that the meeting would have a rather...
Postcard from Eswatini
It was a great privilege to be invited to be the guest speaker at the African Confederation of Principals Conference in Eswatini. I had heard a great deal about ACP from my colleagues, particularly my predecessor as ICP President, Alta Van Heerden, who was a former...
Who Cares for the School Principal?
Many ICP colleagues have asked us to re-publish this wonderfully perceptive article by ICP's former President, the late Alta Van Heerden The wellbeing of school principals has been the study of Prof. Phil Riley and others for a number of years. Statistics coming out...
Postcard from Kenya
If I had to use two words to sum up my time as ICP President it would be ‘a privilege’. To have the opportunity to work with and learn from colleagues across the world is a once in a lifetime experience that I will always treasure and value. This week, as I stood up...
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Last week we held our first Forum for Life Members. The Forum was a wonderful opportunity to bring together a group of colleagues who had made a distinguished contribution to the work of ICP, representing areas as diverse as North America, Europe, India...
May 2023 Update- why Eurovision reminds me of ICP
I can’t claim to be a fan of the Eurovision song contest. Yet two things about it caught my attention this year. One was the fact that it was held in my home city of Liverpool and the other was the impact of countries around the world spending time with each other. I...
Message from the ICP President April 2023
Dear Colleagues I hope that you were able to enjoy a well earned rest and some time away from the job over the past few weeks. As we move further into April many of us find ourselves either starting or about to start a new term. During my 23 years as School Principal,...
You Don’t Walk Alone
You Don't Walk Alone Alongside my family and love of porridge, the great passion of my life is following Liverpool Football Club. LFC is of course famous for its anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ The problem for many of us in the leadership community is that we often...
