Across the country, leaders are writing SEFs, SIPs, subject development plans and appraisal objectives. Teachers are reflecting on their practice. Middle leaders are shaping their priorities. Senior teams are preparing for the year ahead.
And far too often, one crucial element is missing.
Not the judgement.
Not the evidence.
Not the intended actions.
The missing piece is the why.
Why are things the way they are?
Why is this area secure, or struggling?
Why has progress stalled?
Why are the same challenges reappearing year after year?
If we cannot answer the why, then even the most beautifully written plan risks becoming little more than a list of hopes.
This is not a minor oversight.
It is the core discipline that separates meaningful improvement from a paper exercise.
And it’s the reason force-field analysis sits at the very heart of the iAbacus process.
The Habit That Holds Schools Back
Schools are full of well-intentioned planning. Leaders and staff work tirelessly to evaluate, prioritise and act. But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Much school improvement fails not because the actions were wrong — but because they were chosen before the problem was properly understood.
It’s why:
- SEFs focus on “where we are now” and “what we plan to do next”…
- SIPs list actions without explaining the forces holding things in place…
- Subject development plans outline priorities without diagnosing the pressures shaping them…
- Appraisal objectives aim at outcomes without naming what truly helps or hinders professional growth…
We are brilliant at describing what and what next.
We are far less disciplined about interrogating why.
And yet, the why is where clarity lives.
The Power of Force-Field Analysis
Force-field analysis isn’t new.
It’s rooted in the work of Kurt Lewin (1951), one of the most influential thinkers in behavioural science. Lewin demonstrated that performance is the result of two opposing sets of forces:
- Forces driving improvement
- Forces restraining it
Change happens when you strengthen the drivers or weaken the restraints — ideally both.
More than 70 years later, this simple model remains one of the most effective ways to understand and influence human behaviour, organisational culture and performance.
And yet, in school improvement?
It is often missing entirely.
This is why iAbacus puts it at the centre of the process.
Why iAbacus Refuses to Jump From Judgement to Action
Inside iAbacus, force-field analysis isn’t an optional extra.
It is the bridge between knowing and doing.
After:
- Making a judgement,
- Reviewing the criteria, and
- Adding evidence,
iAbacus deliberately stops you.
Not to slow you down — but to prevent strategic blindness.
You are guided to explore two lists:
Helping factors
What’s driving success?
What’s working?
What strengths, routines, resources, habits or people are pushing you forward?
Hindering factors
What’s resisting change?
What’s limiting progress?
What pressures, inconsistencies, constraints or blind spots are pulling you backwards?
You prioritise the most significant.
You focus on the ones you can influence.
And in that moment, your understanding deepens.
This is where patterns emerge.
This is where causes come into view.
This is where leadership becomes strategic, not reactive.
This Isn’t Just a Step — It’s the Heart of Improvement
When you understand the forces shaping your current reality, your plan stops being guesswork.
A SEF becomes a diagnosis.
A SIP becomes a strategy.
A subject plan becomes a precision tool.
A teacher’s CPD objective becomes purposeful.
A MAT-wide priority becomes rooted in real organisational insight.
The why changes everything.
It is the difference between:
- treating symptoms or addressing causes
- listing actions or designing interventions
- filling in boxes or enabling genuine improvement
- repeating cycles or breaking them
This is why John Pearce and Daniel O’Brien describe the helping/hindering stage as the most powerful moment in the entire iAbacus process.
It’s why leaders describe iAbacus as “a revelation”.
It’s why staff say it sharpens their thinking.
It’s why whole teams create smarter, clearer plans with less effort.
And it’s why schools who adopt this discipline see stronger, more sustainable improvement.
The Bead Only Moves When the Thinking Does
Sliding the bead to the right isn’t about optimism — it’s about clarity.
When teams:
- understand their reality deeply,
- identify the true forces at play,
- prioritise what matters, and
- plan with precision,
the bead moves because improvement becomes inevitable, not simply aspirational.
That is the real power of force-field analysis.
That is why it sits at the centre of iAbacus.
And that is why no SEF, SIP, subject plan or appraisal cycle should be written without it.
Ready to see how this works in your school?
If you want school improvement to be clearer, more strategic and rooted in real insight — rather than assumptions — iAbacus makes it effortless.
Book a personal demo to see the force-field analysis in action and explore how iAbacus supports whole-school and trust-wide improvement.
Or start a free trial and experience the full process with your team.
