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Leading with Connection: Creating a Positive School Culture Through Sustainable Connection

Cool+PrimarySecondarySocialLeadershipSocial and Emotional Learning

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Course Summary

Video transcript

Strong school leadership isn’t just strategic – it’s human.

Hi I’m Matt Pitman and I’ve teamed up with Cool+ for this course, Leading with Connection, which is designed to help school leaders create cultures where staff thrive, students grow, and trust runs deep.

Each lesson gives you clear, practical tools to build connection across your team – not as a nice extra, but as the foundation for sustainable, effective leadership.

We cover boundaries, feedback, empathy, communication, and culture-building. All in short, punchy lessons with real actions to try right away.

Because when connection is built into how you lead, everything else becomes possible.

You will learn:

Course time:

Accreditation:

Course Content

Leading with connection: Creating a positive school culture through sustainable connection

Leading with connection: Creating a positive school culture through sustainable connection

01.

Intro

02.

The role of connection in leadership

03.

Building strong relationships as a leader

04.

Creating a culture of belonging

05.

Communicating with purpose as a leader

06.

Leading through change

07.

Holding relational boundaries

08.

Leading with empathy and clarity

09.

Building a culture of feedback

10.

Embedding connection into school culture

11.

Sustaining connection as a leadership practice

12.

Reflection

13.

Congratulations

Course Writers

Instructor 1

Matt Pitman is an experienced educational leader, a doctoral candidate researching connections across school communities, and the author of The Connection Curriculum published by Amba Press. Matt’s experience is varied, from the leadership of curriculum teams and programs to student wellbeing, student improvement and community engagement portfolios. He has led Positive Education and student support programs and has a passion for working with students, parents, and staff to develop new understandings of the needs of young people in the 21st century.

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