Reflecting on Step 3: Unleashing the capacity of your team with Donna Winters

<p>In this reflective episode of <i>The No Silver Bullets Podcast: The Nine Steps to Executive Headship</i>, Paul Ainsworth revisits his conversation with Donna Winters, Executive Head of the Spires Federation in Lincolnshire, and explores what her leadership reveals about Step 3: Unleashing the Capacity of Your Team.</p><p></p><p>Donna leads three small rural schools — Digby, Dunston and Nocton — and her federation offers a powerful example of how executive leadership can <i>create</i> capacity rather than consume it. Paul reflects on Donna’s honesty, her innovative leadership structure, and the systems she has built to ensure clarity, trust and consistency across all three schools.</p><p>This episode explores:</p><ul><li>Why executive headship requires a shift from <i>doing</i> to <i>enabling</i></li><li>Donna’s key insight: “You cannot do it all — and that is okay”</li><li>How resisting the replication of leadership posts can strengthen a federation</li><li>The impact of shared subject leadership across small schools</li><li>How clear systems, flow charts and communication structures unlock capacity</li><li>Why caring for your team is a leadership strategy, not a soft skill</li></ul><p></p><p>Paul also connects Donna’s insights to the arguments in Step 3 of <i>The Nine Steps to Executive Headship</i>, publishing at the end of 2026.</p><p></p><p>Looking ahead, Paul previews next week’s episode on Step 4: Turning Processes into Habits, featuring Ross McGill (Teacher Toolkit) and Sam Strickland. If Step 3 is about unleashing capacity, Step 4 is about what that capacity <i>does</i> in classrooms — through routines, modelling and consistent teaching habits.</p><p></p><p>If you find these reflections useful, please like, comment, subscribe and share the podcast with colleagues. Your support helps the series reach more leaders — and ultimately, more children.</p>