This leadership book hits differently. It’s not filled with verbose strategy, political opinion or random soundbites; the pages contain leadership lessons that are relevant to leaders at any stage in their careers. My highlighter has never worked so hard – marking paragraphs of Patrick’s sage advice as I reflected on my own leadership. This is one book I will be advising any leader that I coach to add to the top of their reading list.

Patrick Cozier’s Calm Leadership is a timely and essential contribution to the literature on school leadership from one of the few Black head teachers of African-Caribbean heritage in the country. From his honest admission that he edited himself to avoid certain stereotypes about Black people to his ability to maintain a healthy perspective on things after his mother’s passing, Cozier provides a genuine, humane and inspirational take on running a school. A mix of autobiography and hard-won professional learning, Calm Leadership is a heart-warming, practical book, which will help any leader to train themselves to think calmly and avoid the tendency to ‘awfulise everything in leadership!’ One of the few books I recommend all school leaders should read.

Patrick Cozier’s Calm Leadership is a wonderful book on many levels. It’s a searingly honest and personal account of his own 20-year journey as a school leader, exploring his emotional journey as a rare Black male head teacher in a demanding London comprehensive school and his gradual acknowledgement and acceptance of the difficulties this entails. Beyond the challenges, however, Patrick’s story is brimming with optimism; it’s an inspiring story about finding joy in headship through being your authentic self. The CALM structure that informs the book provides a brilliant framework for new and aspiring head teachers to explore their own feelings about the pressures of headship. It’s rare to read something so insightful, and so open and honest about leaders’ feelings in the role and I’m sure this will inspire many people across the profession.

I was drawn immediately to Chapter 5 – Strand 4: Embracing the Difficulty of Leadership. It’s a natural instinct for me to look for advice or solution to the challenges of leadership first. Patrick said the following – I stopped and was comforted:

‘Leadership has felt less challenging for me, not because it gets easier but because I am becoming better.’

The book is full of wisdom that comforts the soul of a leader and points a way to the potential of your ‘better self’.

Calm Leadership is access to quality support for the heart of leaders. I love reading this.

Calm Leadership is exactly what the sector needs right now. In his warm, practical voice Patrick Cozier shows that it is possible to have a longstanding, high profile career and remain grounded and positive. In giving advice to his younger self, Patrick provides a road map and commentary on how to find the balance between being robust and kind, between having hard conversations and being compassionate. At its heart, Patrick reminds us that leadership is primarily about people; that we have the capacity to remain focused and optimistic even under pressure and that it’s possible to create a calm, caring environment where all can thrive. Great advice for all leaders in education.

This book is a gift, not only to the education profession, but also to leaders in every sphere of life. I have had the privilege of knowing Patrick for many years, first meeting him when we worked together as coach and coachee in his early years of headship.

What he has accomplished in this book is truly remarkable. With every page, you can feel Patrick’s calm presence: in his words, his stories and in the quiet wisdom he shares so generously. His reflections are not abstract theories but lived truths, grounded in years of authentic leadership experience.

Calm Leadership is more than a book; it is a manifesto for our times. Patrick challenges the outdated tropes of leadership as heroic, untouchable or unrelatable, and instead offers an alternative: leadership that is humane, person-centred, compassionate and, above all, calm. In an era often defined by noise, urgency and burnout, this perspective feels both refreshing and essential.

Drawing on nearly two decades of headship, Patrick writes with rare honesty and insight. The wisdom he imparts could only come from someone who has walked the path with courage, learned deeply from both triumphs and trials, and emerged with a clarity of vision that can inspire others.

This book is a remarkable achievement, practical, profound and interspersed with humour. I would unreservedly recommend it to leaders at any stage of their journey. As Patrick reminds us, leadership is never a finished project; it is a continual process of growth and learning. For anyone committed to leading with integrity, purpose and calm, this book will be an invaluable companion.

Patrick’s book, like the man himself, is more than just calm. It is wise, compassionate, sensible and revolutionary. Patrick is a rare voice in the world of education and the communities he serves benefit everyday from his compassionate and aspirational leadership. We are at a critical moment in time: enormous change, multiple crises and the appeal of leadership is declining. Patrick’s timely book is a call to arms for leading in a more human and sustainable way – never have we needed his voice more than now.

A novel approach to taking up the reins, Calm Leadership is both an inspiring reflection on overcoming the challenges of leadership and a practical guide to harnessing the power of emotional intelligence in the workplace. Drawing on 20 years of successful leadership experience, Patrick shares not just his own authentic insights but also a deeply human journey to which we all can relate. Calm Leadership grapples with issues from impostor syndrome to budget deficits and shines the light on a better way forward for our future leaders: leading not with an iron-fist but with empathy, purpose and perspective. These are qualities that, Patrick argues, are far better suited to the complexities of modern working life than the hard-line approaches of old. Against a backdrop of high head-teacher turnover and stubbornly poor ethnic representation in senior roles, Calm Leadership offers an antidote to the self-doubt and insecurity that plague too many of us. It provides a breath of fresh air our schools – and our society – have desperately needed.

We’ve seen a number of titles penned by serving headteachers over the years that are effectively part memoir, part practical guide – but not many that are as admirably frank about the brutal levels of difficulty and self-doubt that come with the job as Calm Leadership.