Teachers Corner 207
HOW A 2AM IDEA BECAME A SOLD-OUT GLOBAL MOVEMENT KIND LEADERSHIP
A Book That Outgrew Its Shelf Since its release on 20 March 2026, Kind Leadership has moved from a notepad scribble to a framework being taught in staffrooms on four continents. Top 10 Amazon Teaching category, UK 4 countries delivering CHASE training: UAE, Hong Kong, UK, China next 80 leaders at the Women in Education Hong Kong session
Joanna Povall, Author of Kind Leadership
Joanna Povall’s book on leading schools with empathy, honesty and impact has sold out in the USA and Australia, climbed Amazon’s Teaching charts, and sparked book clubs from Yorkshire to Hong Kong, with the UAE and China next. Here, Joanna shares the story behind the CHASE framework and why kindness might be the most disciplined leadership skill of all.
I t began in 2024, as many things do with me, in the quiet hours of the night. At 2am, unable to sleep and with my mind refusing to settle, I found myself circling the same question: how could I explain kind leadership in a way that people would actually understand? I kept thinking of the quote attributed to Al Capone, “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.” I wanted to challenge that idea head-on, to break down the misconception that kindness is soft, and to offer leaders a clear framework they could actually use. Something practical. Something grounded. Something that spoke to the heart of what leadership in schools could be. Kind. That restless night planted the seed.
A few days later, at 5.45am, driving past a petrol station on my way to work, the CHASE framework arrived almost fully formed. It was one of those strange moments of clarity that seem to come only when you are not trying. I parked the car at school and scribbled the first outline in a notepad I keep in my bag. The truth is, the framework grew out of my own experience, specifically, the experience of unkind leadership. I had seen the damage it could do, and I knew I never wanted anyone else to feel what I had felt. Writing became my way of turning something painful into something constructive. I simply wanted to bring a little more kindness into schools, and to ask leaders to reflect. Once I started writing, the ideas and stories kept coming.
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