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120 student school leaders gathered at Wellington College for this year’s Heads of School Conference, a day led by the College’s own Heads of College and themed around one idea: Leadership Beyond Limits. It was an inspiring day, and one that sent every student home with a renewed sense of what their position of influence is really for.
The morning opened with a keynote from Amanda Farr, European Product Marketing Director at Apple, whose talk was titled “Pay It Forward.” Amanda spoke candidly about her career in technology and gaming, the barriers she has had to overcome, both internal and external, and the people who helped her along the way. Her message was that overcoming your own limits is only half the task; the other half is removing them for others. Some of the proudest moments of her career, she told the students, have come from watching other people achieve something they never believed possible, rather than from her own achievements. She challenged our student leaders to use their influence for good, to make their schools better places, and to use their voices to lift others up and help them move beyond their limits. As she put it, it is not about how far you go, but about how far you help others go.
The second keynote, “Serve to Lead,” was delivered by Brigadier Wight-Boycott, who drew on stories from his years in service to explore what makes leadership trusted and lasting. He spoke about the importance of building trust, of putting the needs of your team ahead of your own, of delegating further than feels comfortable, and above all of leading by example. Coming after Amanda’s call to lift others up, his words gave students a practical picture of what that looks like in practice.
Alongside the keynotes, break-out sessions gave students the chance to explore leadership themes in smaller groups, and there was plenty of time for networking, with leaders from different schools sharing ideas, challenges and encouragement.
Everyone left the day feeling inspired, and determined to use their positions of influence to lift others up and make a positive difference in their schools and beyond.
