The Principal's Perspective

The Principal's Perspective
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The Principal's Perspective is an insightful series exploring the challenges and triumphs of educational leadership, co-hosted by academic leaders and Westbourne Grammar School Principal Adrian Camm and Associate Principal Teagan Collins.

  1. 4d ago

    The Currency of Leadership

    What's the real cost of that decision? This week on The Principal's Perspective, Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins explore leadership capital - the invisible resource that underpins every decision a school leader makes, from their first 90 days to navigating crisis and establishing long-term community trust. Drawing on their own shared leadership experience, Adrian and Teagan talk through real moments where capital was spent too soon, feedback that didn't land because the relationship wasn't there yet, and how decision sequencing supports strategy. Highlights: • Building leadership capital deliberately and strategically from day one • Understanding the true cost of structural, personnel and culture decisions before you make them • The sequencing framework - how to identify quick wins, protect your reserves, and time your big calls • What happens when a leader gets it wrong, and the practical steps to recover • Why authentic responsiveness, not stubbornness, is the mark of a credible leader • The role of community, board relationships, and visibility in sustaining your capital long term This is a conversation for principals and senior leaders who want to lead with greater intention and spend their influence wisely. Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Show Notes Books & resources referenced in this episode: • The Right Hand: Conversations with the Chiefs of Staff to the World's Most Powerful People - Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks • Harvard Business Review: Leadership That Gets Results - Daniel Goleman • The First 90 Days - Michael D. Watkins • Outline of a Theory of Practice - Pierre Bourdieu

  2. Jul 2

    Superstars and High Achievers

    Is hiring stars a smart strategy - or risky business? In this episode of The Principal’s Perspective, Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins explore the hidden trade-offs that come with appointing high achievers. They discuss why high performance isn’t always the same as high impact and how to identify red flags in recruitment. This is a practical episode with tips for leaders around what to do once a high achiever is in the role to ensure they strengthen, not strain the team. They explore: • Why some high achievers thrive only in certain systems and contexts. • How ambition can show up as entitlement and impatience. • What to listen for in interviews to separate confidence from capability. • How to set up the guardrails - direction, clear expectations, and coaching structures to support success. • Why the best staffing profiles are built on balance and not a team of “A listers” only. A thoughtful conversation for leaders building culture through every recruitment decision. Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Show Notes: The Risky Business of Hiring Stars

  3. Jun 18

    Is your EVP driving culture?

    Are your workplace promises attracting the staff you need? This week on The Principal’s Perspective, Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins move beyond the recruitment crisis to discuss the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and how structural choices like significant workload reduction and professional autonomy create a culture where teachers can thrive. Highlights: • EVP fundamentals and why articulating your proposition matters • Westbourne’s approach to workload and autonomy • Shifting professional learning inward to amplify staff expertise • Using onsite resources to create time and support wellbeing This practical conversation is for principals and senior leaders who want to develop a workplace that people choose and want to stay. Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠⁠⁠ Show Notes: Westbourne's EVP

  4. Jun 4

    From Drain to Gain – Making Meetings Work

    Are your meetings driving progress - or just filling calendars? In this episode of The Principal’s Perspective, Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins examine meetings not just as calendar events, but as powerful signals of school culture and leadership practice. They share the structure of executive meetings at Westbourne and reflect more broadly on meetings that don’t work and how leaders can redesign them with greater purpose. This fast-paced conversation also covers how to make one-on-one meetings more valuable, and the trade-offs leaders need to consider when creating time efficiencies. They explore: The risk of senior teams getting stuck in the wrong level of discussion. Why leaders need clarity about where decisions should be made. The tension between efficiency and making people feel seen, heard, and valued. How meeting habits across an organisation can either strengthen or weaken culture. It' a thoughtful and highly practical episode for school leaders wanting to improve how time gets spent. Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠⁠

  5. May 19

    Banning or Band-aid

    In this year’s premiere of The Principal’s Perspective, Dr. Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins enter the high-stakes topic of technology bans. With new legislation targeting mobile phones, smartwatches, and social media, they discuss the operational reality and teacher burden and the way teens bypass restrictions. It’s a provocative conversation about moving from prohibition to preparation. You’ll learn: How history is littered with examples of how fear drives panic The impact on isolated young people when their social pathways are restricted The administrative reality of schools becoming the enforcers How young people are bypassing the bans and going underground Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins:⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠⁠ Show Notes: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America – Allan Collins & Richard Halverson

  6. 11/26/2025

    Candid with Your Toughest Questions

    A principal interview panel, emotional labour you can’t rehearse for, staff who feel powerless, and AI that’s changing how leaders work. In this year’s final episode, Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins take on your toughest questions. Join in as they: Go deeper into principal interview technique, the questions that really distinguish candidates, and how to respond with authenticity rather than polished jargon. Explore what can and can’t be taught about the emotional and political labour of principalship – and how aspiring leaders can still prepare. Break down daily practices, wellbeing routines and calendar design that help leaders stay effective, visible and human. Discuss how Adrian is using AI in his role as principal – from analysis of complex information to a new, more personalised school website – and where he draws the line on AI‑generated comms. Adrian and Teagan close out 2025 with a conversation that is both thought-provoking and immediately useful, helping you refine your leadership approach and prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead.  Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins:⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠ Show Notes: Brené Brown – Strong Ground Julia Baird – Bright Shining and Phosphorescence Patrick Lencioni – The Ideal Team Player Viktor E. Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning Jane Wilkinson – Practice Matters in Educational Leadership1

  7. 11/12/2025

    When Tradition Meets Innovation | A change management case study 

    How do schools reimagine long held traditions for modern contexts? Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins share the story of Westbourne Grammar’s shift from chapel and chaplaincy to a philosophy led program called Echoes and Dialogues.  They reveal the tension, stakeholder engagement, and data informed reflection behind this change, and how leadership humility and philosophical dialogue create belonging and critical thinking.  You’ll learn:  How to evaluate which traditions still serve your purpose. How to involve staff, students, and families in change. Why decoupling religion from wellbeing can open space reflection. How philosophy builds ethical, articulate future leaders. A thought-provoking case study in courageously leading reform while protecting community identity.  Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Teagan Collins:⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/⁠  Show Notes:  Carl Jung – Modern Man in Search of a Soul  Michael Polanyi – The Tacit Dimension

  8. 10/28/2025

    Systems Thinking Principalship

    From purpose to performance through systems thinking.  Everything in a school is connected. Dr Adrian Camm and Teagan Collins unpack a five-linkage model: Purpose → Strategy → Capabilities → Organisational Design → Management Systems and show how leaders can create coherence. Hear how misalignment shows up (trust, retention, clarity), what to prioritise because you can’t do it all, and how to use reverse-engineering questions and simple two-by-two prioritisation to sequence change. They share examples for talent management, leadership capability frameworks, coaching, student leadership redesign, and radical transparency.  You’ll learn:  How to define ‘winning’ for your context and choose what not to do  How to spot and fix capability gaps that block strategic delivery How to decentralise decisions without losing alignment  How to communicate openly because radical transparency builds trust What is one thing you will realign to strengthen thelinkages and remove friction from your structure?  Want to learn more about our hosts? Connect with them on LinkedIn: Dr Adrian Camm: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Teagan Collins:https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagan-collins-45699811a/ Show Notes:  Jonathan Trevor - Align: A Leadership Blueprint for Aligning Purpose, Strategy, and Organization  A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin – Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works  L. David Marquet – Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders Marshall Goldsmith – What Got You Here Won’t Get You There  AHISA - Association of Heads ofIndependent Schools of Australia | Home

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About

The Principal's Perspective is an insightful series exploring the challenges and triumphs of educational leadership, co-hosted by academic leaders and Westbourne Grammar School Principal Adrian Camm and Associate Principal Teagan Collins.

Information

  • Creator
    The Principal's Perspective
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Principal's Perspective
  • Show Website
    The Principal's Perspective

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