I’ve sat in many meetings with school leaders where the energy is the room is great. Lots of head-nodding, pen-scribbling and what feels like great alignment. Yet months later, things look remarkably… the same. The website is still confusing to parents. The communications strategy is still driven by daily firefighting. The Enquiry list in the CRM still hasn’t been followed up.
Why does this happen?
Unsurprisingly, what I’ve observed is that the good energy and genuine commitment from these meetings typically disappears into the vacuum of school busy-ness and complexity. Either the project lacked clarity (people didn’t know what to do), cohesion (people didn’t trust each other or weren’t clear on their roles), confidence (people weren’t convinced about the way forward), or capacity (people didn’t have the skills or tools they needed).
From my work with schools, the answer isn’t a lack of good people. It’s that good people don’t automatically make a team that can produce good work or design a project that’s primed to deliver. Change initiatives in school teams tend to share four traits. I call them the Four C’s:
- Clarity: “We see what matters, and what doesn’t.”
- Confidence: “We can trust this path.”
- Cohesion: “Our enrollment, marketing, and admissions are finally pulling in the same direction.”
- Capacity: “We’re not so stretched; we can actually manage this.”
Clarity Sparks It
When everyone knows what the goal is, and what their role is, execution becomes simpler. Research consistently shows that teams with clear goals and role definition perform better. Studies of public-sector teams found that clarity of goals had a direct impact on performance and motivation.
Think of the British rowing team who asked themselves before every action: “Will it make the boat go faster?” That simple question created clarity of purpose that drove them to Olympic gold. Schools need the same discipline. Every communication, every parent interaction, every policy should answer: “Will it help a family understand and trust our school?”
When I work with schools, establishing this clarity is often the first step. We map what families actually need at each stage of their journey and create shared criteria for decision-making. If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard “I’m not sure if this is even worth doing” about an enrolment activity, I’d be rich. Sometimes people don’t even know what job needs to be done… A classic clarity issue!
Confidence Carries It
Confidence means trust. Trust in each other, and trust in the path forward. Google’s Project Aristotle found that the number one factor in effective teams was psychological safety — people feeling safe to speak up, share ideas, and take risks.
Patrick Lencioni calls trust the foundation of cohesive teams. Without it, you won’t get commitment or honest debate. With it, teams move faster because they aren’t second-guessing every step.
In schools, confidence means your registrar trusts marketing to handle messaging, and marketing trusts admissions to deliver on promises. It means staff aren’t looking over their shoulders but are moving forward together.
I remember sitting in one meeting where I learned the marketing manager was running a tour campaign, but wasn’t invited to the actual tour planning meetings. This is a lack of confidence. The team didn’t trust each other enough to collaborate effectively, which negatively impacts other parts of the initiative.
Cohesion Strengthens It
Cohesion is the difference between a collection of individuals and a real team.
In a school setting, cohesion is when enrolment, marketing, and leadership stop pulling in different directions and start reinforcing each other. Families feel that unity. The story of the school becomes consistent and trustworthy.
Cohesion can be particularly messy for schools. Where people care deeply, conflict or defensiveness can arise. I’ve found that having a third-party, like Bolsta, facilitate focused discussion can be instrumental in getting constructive momentum. Sometimes teams just need a neutral voice to help them see how their contributions create the overall family experience.
Capacity Sustains It
This one is often overlooked. A team can have clarity, confidence, and cohesion, but if they’re working beyond their limits, burnout is inevitable.
Capacity means you have the people, skills, and bandwidth to execute. It means prioritising what matters and creating slack in the system. Research shows that teams scheduled at only 80% capacity maintain better performance because they can absorb surprises without compromising quality.
Most schools I walk into have a capacity gap — people are overworked, performing multiple roles, and don’t necessarily have the tools they need to do the job that needs to be done.
How Bolsta Builds the Four C’s
At Bolsta Education, we help schools cut through the noise and build teams that embody the Four C’s:
- Clarity
We map the enrolment journey from the parent’s perspective, then align internal actions to real needs. - Confidence
We anchor strategy in behavioural data and family insights, so teams can trust the direction, not just the intention. - Cohesion
We bring enrolment, marketing and leadership into one room, build shared language, and design handovers that feel seamless for families. - Capacity
We identify structural blockers, eliminate friction, and reshape enrolment processes to be sustainable for staff and meaningful for families.
Rather than jumping straight to tactics — new websites, better brochures, different events — I start by ensuring teams have these four foundations in place.
Clarity means mapping what families actually need at each stage, then aligning all communications around those needs rather than internal departmental structures.
Confidence starts with honest assessment; looking at enrolment data and family feedback without judgment, so improvements are based on real insights.
Cohesion gets different team members to see how their contributions create the overall family experience, then optimises handoffs so families feel they’re dealing with one coordinated team.
Capacity designs enrolment processes that are sustainable for staff while creating better family experiences — often by eliminating steps that serve only internal needs.
Clarity sparks it. Confidence carries it. Cohesion strengthens it. Capacity sustains it.
When schools get these right, families feel it. Staff thrive. And enrollments grow in a way that is steady, sustainable, and human.
About the author
Jacob Shultz
Founder, Bolsta Education
Jacob is a specialist in experience strategy for schools. His focus is on improving the lived experience of schools — through story, systems and the small moments that shape how families feel.
