: Leveraging the COM‑B model in educational leadership In this 2nd blog in the series, Stella Jones discusses using the COM‑B model to enhance leadership, motivation, and growth.
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Leveraging the COM‑B model in educational leadership
In this 2nd blog in the series, Stella Jones discusses using the COM‑B model to enhance leadership, motivation, and growth.
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by Town End Research School
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In today’s dynamic educational landscape, effective leadership hinges on practical frameworks that inspire growth and engagement. One such framework is the COM‑B model, which stands for Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour. This model helps educational leaders create environments where both staff and students can thrive by focusing on the factors that drive positive behaviour.
However, understanding motivation in schools requires not just focusing on external structures but also internal needs. This is where Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT) offers a valuable perspective. SDT highlights the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in fostering intrinsic motivation. When combined with the COM‑B model, these principles can transform leadership practices, creating a more supportive, motivating environment.
Understanding the COM‑B model
The COM‑B model is a comprehensive approach to behaviour change. It highlights three essential components:
- Capability: The skills and knowledge necessary to perform a behaviour.
- Opportunity: External factors that make a behaviour possible.
- Motivation: Internal processes that drive our decisions to engage in certain behaviours.
When these components are aligned, leaders can better support positive behaviours and personal growth in both staff and students. But motivation is particularly complex, and here SDT provides deeper insight by emphasising intrinsic motivation over external rewards.Click hereto access a free list of sample questions that may support you to use COM‑B in your setting.
Cultivating capability
Capability involves both the physical and psychological skills required to excel. In schools, this means providing staff with training, resources, and a culture of continuous development. Educational leaders can foster this by ensuring staff feel competent, which aligns with SDT’s emphasis on competence – the need to feel effective in interactions with the environment.
Exceptional leaders cultivate capability by encouraging professional learning opportunities and critical reflection. As Peps Mccrea notes, “expertise is about consistently strong performance against a core task,” and leaders should focus on building their team’s expertise. When staff feel capable, they are more likely to engage in innovative teaching and take ownership of their roles, which, in turn, enhances student outcomes.
Optimising opportunities
In the COM‑B model, opportunity refers to external factors that influence behaviour. In schools, this includes the physical environment, resources, and school culture. Leaders can create these opportunities by ensuring equitable access to materials, time and support.
According to Walt Disney, there are three types of people: the Well Poisoners, the Lawn Mowers and the Life Enhancers.
Educational leaders should strive to be Life Enhancers, creating spaces where everyone can excel. This means fostering a collaborative, inclusive culture that removes barriers to success and encourages creativity. When leaders make these opportunities available, they provide the social structures and autonomy that SDT emphasises as key drivers of motivation and well-being.
Fostering motivation
Motivation is at the heart of the COM‑B model, and in schools, fostering motivation is about building autonomy and relatedness – key principles from Self-Determination Theory. Motivation thrives when people feel they have control over their work (autonomy), are supported in their social environment (relatedness) and feel competent.
Educational leaders can cultivate motivation by building positive, reciprocal relationships and by recognising achievements. This approach shifts away from simply rewarding behaviour towards fostering a deep sense of belonging and purpose. When leaders focus on intrinsic motivation, they help staff and students develop the internal drive to succeed, which is more sustainable than relying on external rewards.
Behaviour change in educational leadership
The COM‑B model, enhanced by Self-Determination Theory, provides a structured approach to understanding behaviour in educational settings. By focusing on capability, opportunity and motivation – and adding the dimensions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness – leaders can drive meaningful, positive change.
This combined approach reminds us that effective leadership is not just about ensuring structures are in place, but about creating a motivational climate where everyone feels they can contribute, grow, and thrive. Leaders who embody this ethos create vibrant educational environments where students and staff alike are inspired to reach their full potential.
If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend that you sign up to Peps Mccrea’s Evidence Snacks. These are FREE bitesize snippets of research evidence that support teaching and learning. They arrive in your inbox each Thursday.
