Gather at the Firepit: Storytelling and Connection at the Heart of Leadership
In ancient communities, people gathered around the firepit, to share stories, to teach, to mourn, to celebrate, and to imagine futures not yet written. The firepit was not just warmth; it was a centre of human connection and collective wisdom.
In today’s schools, though we may no longer gather around literal fires, the need for this kind of gathering remains just as vital, perhaps even more so in an age of relentless pace, digital distraction, and institutional complexity.
At Seeds of Knowledge, we use the metaphor of gathering at the firepit to remind leaders of a timeless truth, storytelling and connection are at the heart of transformative leadership.
When leaders create intentional spaces where staff, learners, families, and communities can come together, not just to transact, but to connect, they build the relational trust and shared meaning that sustain school culture through both triumphs and trials.
This is why we believe that in every school, there must be spaces for listening and sharing:
Staff meetings where human stories are honoured, not just data discussed
Professional learning communities where vulnerability and curiosity are safe
Assemblies and celebrations where the school’s values come alive through narrative
Informal moments where laughter, memory, and meaning are woven into daily life
As William Butler Yeats famously said:
"Education is not about filling a bucket but lighting a fire."
The fire that truly lights a school is not only knowledge, it is belonging, shared purpose, and the sense of being part of a story larger than oneself.
For leaders, gathering at the firepit means showing up with authentic presence. It means listening more than speaking, honouring diverse voices, and allowing space for the emotional life of the community to be seen and heard. It also means recognising that in times of uncertainty or change, the firepit becomes even more important. In such moments, people do not first need new policies, they need spaces to process, to connect, and to remember that they are not alone.
At Seeds of Knowledge, we encourage leaders to ask:
Where are the “firepits” in our school life? Are they strong enough?
Whose voices are heard around them, and whose are missing?
How can we create more intentional spaces for shared story and connection?
Gathering at the firepit is not about sentimentality, it is about building the relational fabric that holds a school together. When this fabric is strong, schools become places of resilience, creativity, and collective care.
And within such spaces of belonging, people are more willing to stretch, to risk, to grow. This brings us to our next reflection, standing under the canopy, exploring how leadership creates protective and empowering spaces where others can flourish.
Communities need protection as they grow. The next reflection invites us to consider the canopy, and how visionary leadership creates conditions where others can flourish beneath its shelter.
