There’s a reason so many students shy away from challenge.
It’s not because they’re lazy. Or afraid. Or unwilling to try.
It’s because they’ve bought into a story—a story they see reinforced in the world around them every day.
They see someone who’s brilliant in maths. Or confident on stage. Or highly skilled in sport.
And they think, “That’s just who they are. I could never do that.”
What they don’t see is the backstory.
The Greatness Gap
I call this the Greatness Gap—the space between what a student sees on the surface, and the story that sits underneath.
We’ve all heard students say:
- “She’s just smart.”
- “He’s really good at that.”
- “They were born to do this.”
But what they rarely see are the hours of effort, the years of stretch, the feedback acted on, the failures learned from.
The danger isn’t that students compare themselves to others.
The danger is that they compare their now to someone else’s end result.
And when they don’t see the journey, they assume it never happened.
The mindset that holds them back
The moment a student believes someone else’s success is unreachable, they stop seeing it as something they could one day achieve.
It’s not a lack of aspiration—it’s a lack of belief.
And this belief doesn’t come from thin air. It comes from a culture that celebrates outcomes, but hides the process.
It’s reinforced every time a report card says “gifted” without context.
Every time a high achiever is labelled “brilliant” but never “persistent.”
Every time a student’s journey is reduced to their result.
Revealing the journey
If you’re a school leader, this is one of the most important mindset shifts you can bring to your culture.
Start talking about backstories.
Encourage your staff to reveal the journey, not just celebrate the outcome.
When recognising student success, go beyond the grade:
- Highlight the revision they did after feedback.
- Talk about the risks they took during the process.
- Emphasise how they stretched into new learning.
And don’t stop with students. Share backstories in staff meetings. Model them in leadership. Make growth visible at every level of the school.
The moment it clicks
When students start to see that success isn’t automatic—but built—everything changes.
They stop asking, “Am I the kind of person who can do this?”
And start asking, “What would it take for me to become the kind of person who can?”
That’s the beginning of agency.
That’s the moment the future opens up.
And that’s when real learning begins.
What backstories could you share about your own learning journey with your staff? And what successes in your school could benefit from having their backstories revealed?
