The different levels of leadership within an organisation and the varying degrees of agency and autonomy felt by leaders can result in feelings of helplessness and complicate the prioritisation process when clarity is lacking.

A tool that may be helpful is called the “spheres of influence”, which aims to bridge the gap between awareness and action by focusing on a leader’s perception of control and where their cognitive and physical resources are best applied.

Although the roots of the concept might be attributed to Albert Bandura’s work on self-efficacy (1997) or Viktor Frankl’s existential psychology (1959), the modern popularisation came from Stephen R Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989).

As a tool, the “spheres of influence” is a powerful self-reflection activity - even more so when used within coaching and mentoring relationships.

What is the ‘spheres of influence’ model?

The model is commonly visualised as three concentric circles:

• Circle of control: areas where the individual has direct authority or decision-making power.
• Circle of influence: areas where the individual can indirectly affect outcomes.
• Circle of concern: areas over which the individual has no control.

Once completed, the model highlights possible inefficiencies in resource allocation and fuels reflection and dialogue about how individuals can focus more on their circle of influence and the things that they can actually do something about.

Why might it work?

It reduces overwhelm

The volume and importance of items that school leaders need to think about can lead to a state of hyper-vigilance, anxiety and overwhelm. Reallocating items to other circles can create more selective focus and the ability to offload or de-prioritise items, thus lightening the cognitive and emotional load.

It enhances self-efficacy

Learned helplessness is a state where individuals stop trying to change a negative situation because they believe they have no control or have experienced successive failure in the past (Seligman, 1975). The small consecutive wins that come from focusing on the circle of control boost confidence and provide resilience against setbacks.

It promotes proactivity

Large circles of concern often cause paralysis as leaders fail to see a way forward or a clear next step. Focusing more on the circles of control and influence, and thus enlarging them, creates a catalyst for change and provides the necessary boost to get started.

How does it work?

Step 1: the dump

The first step in the process is creating an exhaustive list of all the current stressors, tasks, niggles or worries that are consuming the individual’s mind and emotional energy. It is important at this stage to try not to filter or categorise because this can limit what gets recorded. This step is often improved by the presence of other people.

Step 2: the sort

The next step is creating a paper-based or digital set of concentric circles to house the items and to move them into their relevant home:

• Circle of control: items that the individual has direct authority and decision-making power over.
• Circle of influence: items that the individual can affect indirectly through persuasion, collaboration and leadership.
• Circle of concern: items that the individual cannot control or influence.

Step 3: the review

Once all of the items have been allocated within the circles, the next step is to review the rationale behind their placement, explore the objective evidence to ensure that they are in the right place and then reflect on the relative allocation of time and effort within each circle. This stage often creates the cognitive dissonance and reality check required for change.

Step 4: the plan

The final step of the process is to action plan how to reallocate time, energy and effort on to items that are within the circle of control. This process is often improved if it is done collaboratively so that delegation, resourcing and deimplementation can be discussed.

Potential pitfalls?

Circle boundaries and item allocation are largely subjective decisions by the user and can cause overly large circles of concern, the abdication of responsibility and defensive avoidance.

At the other end of the scale, over-allocation to the circle of control can come from ill-perceived expectations and result in micro-management and reduced professional development for others.

My experience

I have long benefited from the support of coaches and mentors during my career, and it is there that I first completed a spheres of influence activity. For me, the process was in equal parts freeing and frustrating.

I took solace in the loosening of my worries about things that I couldn’t control but experienced an increased torture from the volume of items that I perceived to be in that circle.

The major benefit for me has been the informal way that the circles have entered my everyday thinking and influenced my ability to instantly locate “emergencies” and rationally allocate my time, effort and emotions.

Chris Baker is school improvement and teaching and learning lead at Cabot Learning Federation, a multi-academy trust that runs 17 primary schools, 12 secondaries, one all-through school, two alternative provisions and three special schools

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