The Orchestra Without Rehearsals

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Although often attributed to management thinker Peter Drucker, the phrase captures an essential truth about schools: even the most carefully designed strategic plan will fail if it is not continually reinforced through shared experiences, relationships, and collective purpose.

Imagine attending a performance by one of the world's greatest orchestras. The musicians are individually exceptional, having trained in elite conservatoires across the globe, and every player possesses extraordinary technical ability and years of professional experience. Yet there is one critical flaw in their preparation: they only rehearse together once every few months, relying instead on emails, individual practice, and the assumption that excellence at the individual level will naturally translate into excellence at the collective level.

The outcome would be entirely predictable. Despite the brilliance of each musician, tempo would drift, interpretation would vary, subtle cues would be missed, and what should have been a harmonious performance would become little more than a collection of talented individuals playing simultaneously rather than collaboratively.

Large international schools face precisely the same challenge.

As schools continue to expand, often serving over 2,000 students and employing hundreds of staff members representing dozens of nationalities and educational traditions, there is an understandable temptation to replace weekly staff meetings and assemblies with digital communication. Calendars become increasingly congested, teaching loads intensify, and logistical considerations make gathering an entire community appear inefficient. Yet this perspective fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of these regular gatherings. Their value does not primarily lie in the dissemination of information but in the cultivation of organisational culture, collective identity, and shared purpose (Schein & Schein, 2021).

Staff Meetings: Building Collective Efficacy

One of the most common criticisms of staff meetings is that much of the content could simply be communicated via email. In many cases, this criticism is justified. Administrative updates, procedural reminders, and calendar changes rarely justify taking an hour from busy educators.

However, reducing staff meetings to information transmission fundamentally overlooks their deeper organisational function.

John Hattie's synthesis of over 1,600 meta-analyses identifies collective teacher efficacy as one of the strongest influences on student achievement, demonstrating that what teachers believe they can accomplish together matters enormously for learning outcomes (Hattie, 2023). Collective efficacy is not simply the sum of individual competence; rather, it is the shared conviction that a faculty can positively influence students regardless of background or circumstance.

Such beliefs cannot be developed through policy documents alone. They emerge through repeated opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, celebration, and reflection.

Weekly staff meetings therefore become opportunities to build professional identity. Teachers hear examples of innovative practice from colleagues whom they might otherwise never encounter. Learning support teams gain insight into classroom developments. Specialist teachers understand wider school priorities, while leaders continually articulate and refine a shared vision.

This is particularly significant within international schools, where educators often arrive from different national systems, curricular traditions, and pedagogical philosophies. Without regular opportunities to align expectations and language, departments risk becoming isolated communities operating according to their own assumptions rather than contributors to a coherent institutional culture.

Assemblies: The Rituals That Build Belonging

If staff meetings align adults, assemblies align the entire school community.

Educational theorist Etienne Wenger argues that learning occurs within communities of practice, where identity develops through participation in shared experiences rather than through information alone (Wenger, 1998). Assemblies represent one of the few occasions when an entire school simultaneously participates in such meaning-making.

Students rarely remember the mission statement displayed in reception.

They remember standing alongside peers from different year groups to celebrate achievement, hearing stories that inspired courage or compassion, watching classmates perform, or participating in moments of reflection during significant global events. These experiences become part of the institution's collective memory and contribute to what Andy Hargreaves describes as the emotional and social capital of successful schools (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012).

For internationally mobile students, whose educational journeys may span several countries and multiple school systems, these rituals are especially important. They foster belonging not through nationality or language but through shared experience.

Assemblies answer a question that every child implicitly asks:

"What kind of community do I belong to?"

Leadership Requires Visibility

Leadership literature consistently emphasises that organisational trust is built through frequent, authentic interaction rather than occasional formal communication. While strategic documents provide direction, relationships provide credibility.

Michael Fullan argues that sustainable educational improvement depends upon relationships, shared moral purpose, and collaborative professionalism rather than structural reform alone (Fullan, 2020). Weekly staff meetings allow leaders to communicate not only decisions but also values, optimism, and purpose. Nuance, humour, empathy, and conviction are communicated in ways that written correspondence simply cannot replicate.

Similarly, assemblies enable students to experience leadership as relational rather than administrative. When leaders consistently celebrate kindness, resilience, creativity, and service, they communicate what the institution genuinely values far more effectively than any policy handbook could.

The False Economy of Eliminating Weekly Gatherings

Ironically, schools often reduce whole-school meetings in pursuit of efficiency.

Yet organisational research suggests that the apparent time saved frequently generates greater inefficiency elsewhere. Miscommunication increases, departments duplicate work, rumours flourish in the absence of transparent communication, and initiatives lose momentum because they are insufficiently reinforced.

Edgar Schein argues that organisational culture is created and reinforced through repeated behaviours and shared assumptions rather than formal statements of intent (Schein & Schein, 2021). In other words, culture is not what leaders write—it is what communities repeatedly do.

The same principle applies to assemblies. Without regular opportunities to gather, celebrate, and reflect collectively, students increasingly identify only with their immediate class or year group rather than with the institution as a whole. School values become slogans rather than lived experiences, and opportunities to strengthen belonging diminish.

The Importance of Organisational Rhythm

Human organisations depend upon rhythm. Families establish traditions through weekly meals. Religious communities strengthen identity through regular worship. Professional sports teams train together continuously despite the individual excellence of their athletes.

Schools are no different.

Weekly staff meetings establish a rhythm of professional reflection and collaboration, while weekly assemblies establish a rhythm of collective celebration and identity formation. These predictable rituals become organisational anchors that provide stability amid the inevitable complexity of school life.

Educational leadership often focuses on innovation, yet sustainable excellence is frequently the product of disciplined consistency rather than constant novelty.

Conclusion

Returning to the orchestra metaphor, no conductor would suggest that rehearsals become less important as the orchestra grows larger. Indeed, the opposite is true. Every additional musician increases the necessity for shared tempo, shared interpretation, and shared understanding.

The same principle applies to international schools.

The larger and more diverse the institution becomes, the greater the need for regular opportunities that align adults, inspire students, reinforce values, and sustain collective purpose. Weekly staff meetings and weekly assemblies are therefore not interruptions to the work of schools; they are among the very practices that make excellent schools possible.

The finest international schools are not simply collections of outstanding teachers and capable students. They are communities that continue, week after week, to rehearse the values, relationships, and shared vision that ultimately transform individual excellence into collective success.

References

Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a Culture of Change (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School. Teachers College Press.

Hattie, J. (2023). Visible Learning: The Sequel. Routledge.

Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. (2021). Organizational Culture and Leadership (6th ed.). Wiley.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.