SHARON Parkes was on a plane flying from Brisbane to Perth when she decided to retire as the principal of Warners Bay High.
Flicking through the in-flight magazine on her way to swim with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef during the April holidays, Dr Parkes read an interview with the president of the International Olympic Committee about how to know when it's the right time to step down.
"He was saying it is almost like being an athlete - you want to finish on top, not when you're coming second place," Dr Parkes said.
"It really resonated with me.
"When I got off the plane I told my daughter, her husband and two children 'I've got to talk to you about something'."
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Since leaving the role - which she held for 14 years - on July 31, she has returned to the school to be part of the year 12 cohort's graduation, formal and first Higher School Certificate exam, as well as to welcome the new principal Marcus Neale to the fold.
But she has also returned to the air.
She visited Scotland, England and Ireland in September and will fly on Tuesday October 22 to Shanghai, to be a keynote speaker at the biennial International Confederation of Principals Convention.
Dr Parkes previously spoke at the 2017 conference in Capetown, in Helsinki in 2015 and Cairns in 2013.
Her address this year is Sustainable Leadership: Ideas From The Field and will include lessons she learned from her 47 years in education, including 24 as a principal.
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"Locally and internationally there's been a decline in the number of people putting their hands up for leadership positions as principals, deputy principals, head teachers and so on," she said.
"I want to provide practical ideas so you can sustain leadership over a long period and show the strategies we are using at NSW government schools.
"If I can say something that will resonate with two or three people that would be great."
Dr Parkes will draw on research from the NSW Secondary Principals' Council's 2017 survey on principal wellbeing.
Dr Parkes, who has recently handed over the leadership of the council's principal support reference group, said the survey found 86 per cent of principals spend more than 50 hours at school every week on work-related activities.
It also found 50.9 per cent of principals said they felt it was necessary to do school work on weekends and 96 per cent during school holidays.
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"It can get hot at the top," she said.
"When you're a principal you're expected to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.
"You're not only looking at the curriculum and teaching and learning, but you're an administration manager, site manager, workplace health and safety manager, looking at human resources and teacher accreditation.
"I'll be talking about using alternate structures so you can regain focus on teaching and learning.
"Because of the government reforms we have more flexibility with funding and there are structures we can put in place - hiring a business manager, a site manager, some schools employ three or four deputies, others have a head teacher of wellbeing."
Dr Parkes said after taking this approach she was able to do more lesson observation - which she introduced as mandatory for teachers wanting promotion or casual teachers wanting permanent positions - as well as run leadership programs for staff and students.
She said staying "professionally aware" was vital.
"Some principals say 'I can't get out and do professional learning', but it is okay to step out and do learning as your school's lead learner.
"Take time out and don't feel selfish about it - look what you'll be bringing back."
She said one of the hallmarks of her leadership had been building strong relationships and a strong team.
She said this included celebrating successes, "so people feel good about the time and effort they are putting in and as recognition of the hard work they do".
Dr Parkes said she would also address the importance of maintaining work-life balance to stay refreshed.
"We really have not got that right yet," she said.
"It's not a 9am to 3pm job, but we can try and put structures in life so you can be in a healthy weight range and keep a healthy balance."
Dr Parkes said she had followed a model of scheduling the "big rocks" and letting small gravel filter through her calendar.
"If you want to do something, you've got to schedule it in," she said.
"I thought 'What sort of person am I?'. I'm a morning person, so I'd go to the gym and have a run, even if it was at 5.30am.
"The small rocks still happened. It's about being able to turn away from work and pursue a passion so you can maintain that positive mindset."
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