Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026This is the same material I take into rooms, condensed onto a page. Over the next two weeks I will run the commandments one at a time, with the track that belongs to each. 000
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026There is also a soundtrack, because the virtues in this book weren’t learned from management theory. They were learned growing up in Birmingham, & hip-hop was part of the curriculum. Integrity is scored by Jay-Z, courage by Nas, vision by Wu-Tang Clan, and practical wisdom by Gang Starr and 50 Cent 120
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Marcus Rashford against Boris Johnson on integrity. Jacinda Ardern against the founder of WeWork on humility. Malcolm X against Liz Truss on practical wisdom. 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Every commandment is tested against the public record rather than my opinion. For each one I put two real leaders side by side. One who held the virtue when it cost them something, and one who abandoned it the moment it became inconvenient. 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Ten commandments, each one written as a refusal rather than a slogan. Never sacrifice your integrity. Never let fear freeze your flow. Never lead what you don’t live. The list runs on through humility, empathy, accountability, service, relentlessness, vision and practical wisdom. 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026ow the Book Works, and the Soundtrack Here is how The 10 Character Commandments works, so you know what you are buying on July 7th. #The10CharacterCommandmentsOfLeadership #LeadWithVirtue 110
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Twenty years of work like that is why the The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues made me an Ambassador of Character, and it is what I bring when I speak to leadership teams and conferences. The book is the written version of it. The 10 Character Commandments is out on 7th July 010
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026The words a leader allows in a building become the limits of who feels they belong inside it. 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026I was a Deputy then. I am an Executive Headteacher now, and the refusals have hardened. I correct "hard to reach" in the room, because most of the time we are the ones who are hard to access. "Low ability" and "disadvantaged" get the same treatment. 110
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026 I have never forgotten what that meeting taught me about how fast a child becomes inconvenient to a leader under pressure. 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026What the boy had done didn't warrant a permanent exclusion, and we both knew it. I lost. The child was moved to alternative provision, which was the quiet way of removing a child without the permanent exclusion paperwork at the time. 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Why Me? When I was a Deputy Head, a Headteacher I worked under said, about a child, after a verbal exchange, get him out of my school. I calmed the situation, then went to his office and told him the decision was wrong. #The10CharacterCommandmentsOfLeadership #LeadWithVirtue 100
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 13/01/2025#IncludED was a great event… when the trains finally allowed me to get there! It was a great pleasure to present and meet so many people committed to providing an inclusive education 000
Reposted by Adrian McLeanBennie Kara @benniekara.bsky.social · 06/10/2024There are 5 spaces left on the Leading the Diverse Curriculum course, led by @hannahwilson.bsky.social & me. This course looks at the theory & process of curriculum leadership and diversity. We love leading our cohorts & there’s still time to join the next one. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leading-th...eventbrite.co.ukLeading the Diverse Curriculum - Cohort 5A Diverse Curriculum allows young people to see and be seen in the curriculum 197
Reposted by Adrian McLeanAlex Quigley @alexjquigley.bsky.social · 06/10/2024‘The weight of school leadership: When ‘getting it right’ keeps you up at night’ A thoughtful blog by Gemma Alldritt on what keeps leaders up at night (and what can help): researchschool.org.uk/billesley/ne...researchschool.org.ukThe Weight of School Leadership: When "Getting it Right" Keeps You Up…Our Evidence Lead in Education, Gemma Alldritt, reflects on the many different facets of school leadership. 144
Reposted by Adrian McLeanHannah Wilson ACC FCCT FRSA @hannahwilson.bsky.social · 18/09/2024Great opening keynote from @characterguy.bsky.social on the bridge between DEIB, pastoral practices & character education. Learning about a new term - phronesis. How character is formed and the difference between virtues/ values. #DiverseEd 053
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 06/10/2024Went to see #BecomingNancyMusical @birminghamrep with the family last night. A beautiful tale of discovery, courage & a whole host of moral virtues. Most fascinating was how the phronesis (practical wisdom) of key characters developed through the story set in a time of rampant homophobia & racism 000
Reposted by Adrian McLeanHannah Wilson ACC FCCT FRSA @hannahwilson.bsky.social · 09/09/2024Join us in Sheffield on 6/10/24 for #DiverseEd Sheffield: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/diverseed-... @characterguy.bsky.social 052
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 02/09/2024Thank you for your feedback and kind words. I am so glad that you have taken some positive actions from the talk and the message I intended. Thank you 😊 110
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 01/09/2024Thank you! Thought I’d make the leap from over there to the place to be 😊 111
Adrian McLean @characterguy.bsky.social · 01/09/2024I had the honor of delivering my TED Talk on #InclusiveAllyship outlining ways to support each other & the essential character traits needed to challenge the status quo. Watch here: youtu.be/-krLTF1e9v8?... What were your key takeaways? #InclusiveAllyship #TEDTalk #DEIyoutu.beInclusive Allyship | Adrian Mclean | TEDxWolverhamptonYouTube video by TEDx Talks 2105
