MAT Leadership through mergers and growth

Hayley Mintern shares insights and perspectives gained from supporting a growing number of trusts through periods of expansion, many of them complex, fast-moving and emotionally demanding. Originally featured in School Management Plus

Key considerations, and the leadership roles emerging

As the MAT sector continues to evolve, mergers and growth are increasingly a feature of the system rather than an exception to it. Financial pressures, sustainability concerns, regional strategies and improvement imperatives are all contributing to a landscape in which scale is often positioned as both solution and safeguard. What becomes clear very quickly, however, is that growth is not simply a structural exercise. It is a test of leadership maturity, organisational design and cultural clarity.

Growth fundamentally changes the work of leadership

One of the most significant challenges for MAT leaders is recognising that growth – particularly through merger – changes the nature of leadership itself. In smaller trusts, leaders are often close to schools, people and decisions. As organisations grow, leadership becomes more mediated, more strategic and more dependent on others. Decision-making takes longer, communication requires greater discipline and the consequences of misalignment are amplified. Boards that navigate growth well tend to ask not ‘Can we grow?’ but ‘Are we designed to grow?’ That distinction matters. Growth that outpaces leadership capacity creates fragility rather than resilience.

As trusts grow in size and complexity, we are seeing a clear evolution in leadership structures. culture: the most underestimated risk

Executive capacity, not individual heroes

A consistent theme we see across growth scenarios is a move away from reliance on a small number of individuals carrying disproportionate responsibility. As trusts expand, sustainability comes from depth, not individuals.

This has led to:

• greater investment in executive capacity
• clearer role definition and ownership
• more intentional succession planning at both executive and senior levels.

Increasingly, boards are recognising that leadership risk sits not just in performance, but in over-dependence. Distributed leadership, when done well, strengthens decision-making and builds organisational confidence during periods of change.

The evolution of leadership structures and roles

As trusts grow in size and complexity, we are seeing a clear evolution in leadership structures. These changes are not cosmetic; they reflect a more sophisticated understanding of what system leadership requires.

Roles increasingly seen include:

• Chief Operating Officer (COO) Now common in larger trusts, the COO role has broadened significantly. Beyond estates and compliance, COOs are often responsible for organisational design, operational risk, infrastructure planning and long-term sustainability.
• Deputy CEO/Executive Director roles These roles provide strategic depth and delivery capacity, often with responsibility for education, transformation or trust-wide strategy. They also play a critical role in succession planning. Directors of Education or School Improvement These are increasingly systemfacing roles, accountable for performance across multiple schools or regions rather than individual institutions.
• Regional or cluster leadership roles Designed to bridge the gap between the centre and schools, these post holders are responsible for maintaining local intelligence while ensuring consistency and accountability at scale.
• People, culture and talent roles These are some of the most notable growth areas in leadership roles. Trusts are increasingly recognising that recruitment, retention, leadership development and culture require dedicated, specialist leadership.

Distributed leadership, when done well, strengthens decision making

What this means for individual leaders

Periods of growth often prompt reflection for individual MAT leaders. Roles evolve, expectations shift and the skills required at scale are not always the same as those needed earlier in a trust’s journey.

We are seeing more leaders asking:

• Where do I add the greatest value now?
• Am I energised by scale and complexity, or drained by it?
• Do I want to lead through others, or remain closer to schools?

Importantly, we are also seeing highly credible leaders make deliberate decisions to step into redefined or newly created roles within growing trusts. These are not sideways moves, but strategic responses to a changing system.

Boards are recruiting differently

It is also clear that boards’ expectations have shifted. In growth scenarios, recruitment conversations focus less on an individual’s profile and more on leadership capability in context.

Boards are increasingly prioritising:

• system leadership experience
• comfort with ambiguity and change
• the ability to build and lead teams
• emotional intelligence, judgement and credibilityExperience of merger, integration or organisational transformation is fast becoming a differentiator at senior level.

Opportunity and honesty

Growth within the MAT sector brings opportunity, but it also demands honesty: about leadership capacity, about organisational readiness, and about the difference between ambition and capability the trusts that navigate this well are those that view growth not as an end in itself, but as a catalyst to professionalise, strengthen and future-proof their leadership. For leaders and boards alike, in many situations the question is no longer whether growth will come but whether the organisation is truly prepared for what growth requires.

Growth that outpaces leadership capacity creates fragility

Culture: the most underestimated risk

While financial and educational due diligence enquiries rightly dominate merger discussions, culture remains the most underestimated risk.

Cultural misalignment rarely shows up immediately. It emerges over time in inconsistent decision-making, erosion of trust, resistance to change and ambiguity around autonomy and accountability. Leaders navigating mergers need to understand:

• how power and influence operate in practice
• where decisions genuinely sit
• what schools believe the trust ‘stands for’.

From Anderson Quigley’s experience, the most effective leaders approach merger not simply as integration of systems, but as relationship work. Visibility, listening and consistency of behaviour matter as much as strategic intent.

Independent School Sector: Facing a Structural Reset | AQ

Hayley has supported the education sector for the last ten years, providing executive search and interim and consultancy solutions to Independent Schools, Academy Trusts, FE Colleges, and Universities. Her specialty is understanding the education sector and connecting talent that is passionate about providing high quality inclusive education. Hayley has built a track record with education leaders and helped many organisations identifying top talent.

Hayley has a passion for education, she is a governor for MAT working closely with the head and trust leaders to ensure excellent levels of education. She previously worked closely with England Rugby Schools to deliver inclusive sport in schools and has strong understanding of the curriculum.

You can email her at hayley.mintern@andersonquigley.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.