Structured Listening

At structured listening, voice practice becomes more regular and linked to planning, though still inconsistent and seen as an add-on, with leaders showing curiosity but not yet modelling it fully. This means:

• Surveys and pulse checks are conducted more regularly and with clearer cycles.
• Forums (e.g., pupil, parent, staff) are used occasionally to consult on specific issues.
• Voice is increasingly linked to planning, but still treated as an additional task.
• Leaders begin to demonstrate curiosity (e.g., inviting questions at staff briefings or forums), but practice is inconsistent and not yet modelled as a core leadership behaviour.

Aggregated data with some subgroup analysis begins to inform immediate priorities, though it’s still treated more as a diagnostic tool than a dialogue, meaning:

• Aggregated data is analysed with some subgroup breakdowns.
• Patterns are identified and linked to immediate operational concerns.
• Leaders begin to connect insights to immediate priorities but still treat surveys as diagnostic tools rather than dialogue starters.

Visible “you said, we did” examples and small initiatives emerge, but actions focus on easy wins with leaders avoiding deeper challenges. This shows up as:

• Some systemic initiatives are trialled, though monitoring is patchy.
• Actions are usually centralised and focused on “easy wins.”
• Leaders take visible responsibility for a handful of issues, but avoid harder or systemic challenges.
• “You said, we did” examples become more visible.

Leaders begin to close loops more visibly, but explanations remain minimal, and progress feels slow. How this might look in practice:

• There are more deliberate attempts to report back (newsletters, assemblies, briefings).
• Explanations for what cannot change are minimal.
• Stakeholders begin to see some progress, but the pace often feels slow.
• Leaders start to be more visible in closing loops, using briefings and assemblies.

While at the Structured Listening stage, data is collected and compared across groups, responses are uneven and often slow, leaving stakeholders uncertain whether change will follow. If leaders struggle to handle challenging feedback, staff, pupils, and parents may begin to feel unsafe in sharing openly, risking the erosion of psychological safety over time.

Many organisations stop at this stage. However, to reach Proactive Listening, the focus shifts from simply collecting data to fostering a strategic, participatory culture where stakeholders help shape the solutions.

To move towards Proactive Listening, focus on: