This video is something I recorded last year in Lyon, France, emerging from a basement where I was listening to a brilliant jazz concert. As a musician and lover of jazz, I was so inspired by the mesmerising playing, but as someone passionate about leadership, I was also inspired by the metaphor of push and pull of improvisation within the structure of chord progressions and the form of the piece.

For me it was a great example of the adaptability and flexibility of great Ferocious Warmth leaders. Not only do they help clarify the structure that holds everything together, they are willing to get jazzy and mix things up! They are brilliant at creating alchemy with those they work with. I know so many leaders like this right across education and other sectors. People who are willing to stretch and experiment, yet hold boundaries for everyone to hold on to and feel safe in the complexity of the work. How is your deftness in this space?

I shout out a few Ferocious Warmth alchemists that came into my head at that moment: Ray Boyd, Anne-Marie Maw and Kristy Kendall, leaders in education in different parts of the country, and in different sectors, and could have named many more if I was writing an essay – but it was a quick video to capture the moment. I hope you enjoy the time to reflect on your ability to blend the head’s structure and logic with the heart’s passion and experimentation.

With ferocious warmth,

Tracey