Chris Herlihy Wanted a Strategic Plan His School Could Get Behind

When Chris Herlihy became principal of Te Uho o te Nikau Primary School, he inherited a strategic plan that wasn’t his.

“It was great, there was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t mine,” he says. “I found it very difficult to follow because it wasn’t mine. I’d had no input into it.”

So he decided to start again, this time through the Strategic Leadership for Principals Programme, working alongside his capacity partner Joy Millar, delivery manager Dianne Smardon and his cohort facilitator Megan McGrath.

His new vision statement went through 16 rounds of feedback from staff and students before it landed. 

His leadership team now unpacks the plan together every week, rather than Chris carrying it alone. 

Board reporting, once described as “creative writing,” now links directly back to a clear set of measurements.

Eight months into the programme, here’s what that’s added up to:
↳ A plan on a page his whole school is proud of, not one gathering dust in a drawer
↳ A leadership team genuinely brought into the work, not just informed of it
↳ Confidence to stand behind his decisions, backed by data he trusts