Proactive Listening
What your result means
Voice
Diverse and inclusive
Understanding
Deep thematic analysis and triangulation of data
Action
Stakeholders generate solutions, growing participation
Communication
Clear, transparent updates
Voice
At the proactive stage, voice practice and listening are worked into planning through diverse methods the majority of the time and tied to strategic priorities, with leaders modelling openness, responsiveness, and psychological safety. What this looks like:
- Regular listening cycles are embedded into planning and improvement processes.
- A variety of methods are used (surveys, focus groups, digital platforms, forums).
- Listening is tied to strategic priorities and ongoing dialogue.
- Leaders consistently model openness and responsiveness, creating psychological safety.
Understanding
Insights are triangulated across groups, valuing both rational and emotional data. They are used strategically, with leaders modelling curiosity and openness. How this looks:
- Triangulation across staff, pupil, and parent data.
- Both rational and emotional data (“say-feel”) are analysed and valued.
- Insights from the feedback are used to inform trust or school-level strategy.
- Leaders model curiosity by discussing both numbers and emotions, explicitly naming themes in open forums.
Action
Clear, accountable plans involve stakeholders in shaping solutions, with leaders tackling root causes and visibly prioritising voice in decisions. This means:
- Leaders are seen to prioritise stakeholder voice in strategic decisions, showing that responsiveness builds trust.
- There are clear action plans with accountability and regular review.
- Stakeholders are actively involved in shaping and implementing solutions.
- Leaders address underlying causes, not just symptoms.
Communication
When it comes to communication, multi-channel, transparent updates build trust, with leaders explicitly linking actions to stakeholder voice. This looks like:
- Transparent messaging that includes both positive and difficult outcomes.
- Stakeholders starting to trust the process, seeing a visible link between voice and action.
- Leaders explicitly linking actions back to what stakeholders said, showing empathy and respect
- Multi-channel communication becoming a routine.
3 steps to move from Proactive Listening to Embedded Listening
At the Proactive Listening stage, organisations move beyond simply collecting data to analysing patterns and themes in depth, including across stakeholder groups. Meanwhile, leaders model emotional intelligence and create psychologically safe spaces where staff, pupils, and parents feel respected and encouraged to contribute.
Trust builds as people see a visible link between their input and organisational action.
To reach the Embedded stage, listening must move from being a “strategic initiative” to a natural, constant feature of your culture. The goal is to move from stakeholders simply participating in the process to stakeholders genuinely co-owning the outcomes.
To move towards Embedded Listening, focus on:
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#1 Co-creating and co-owning solutions
Move beyond simply asking for ideas and begin delegating the authority and resources to staff, pupils, and parents to lead the implementation of changes. When stakeholders take the lead on executing solutions, they transition from being “users” of the system to being “architects” of the school’s future.
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#2 Embed listening into trust-wide strategy
Integrate voice data into your highest-level decision-making processes, ensuring it is a standing item at board meetings and a central pillar of your long-term improvement plans.
By cross-referencing insights from all three stakeholder groups, you can ensure that your trust-wide strategy is truly responsive to the needs of the whole community.
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#3 Reinforce listening as a leadership behaviour
Formalise listening as a core competency for all leaders, ensuring that the habits of openness, empathy, and responsiveness are modelled from the top down. This makes listening an institutional constant that survives changes in personnel, rather than a “project” that ends when a specific leader moves on.