Survival Skill #1: Empathy, not Sympathy

“Empathy is not connecting to an experience.Empathy is connecting to the emotions that underpin an experience.” Brené Brown’s, Dare to Lead, speaks to a survival skill for pushing through this difficult time. The COVID-19 experience has opened up a range of emotions some of which we have never felt before. Brené says, “When the heart…

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Team Effectiveness: Life or Death

“Houston: We have a problem!” What if the effectiveness of your team were a life or death situation like the Challenger disaster? What if your team knew there was an “o-ring” flaw in some aspect of teaching and learning and you failed to address it? While some would say that our work as educators does…

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Time Bomb or Time Multiplier?

Call it for your team . . . Is being on your team more like a “time bomb”? or more like a “time multiplier?” What makes the difference? You know the answer if you have experienced the “time multiplier” effect when working on a team. It’s like a dream team. Imagine this team and the…

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Team Effectiveness: How to Get It!

How does a team become high-performing and most importantly how do they stay there? When in place, these five attributes of high-performance can make a high-performing team a reality. Working Agreements – Whether they are called Norms, Agreements, or Covenants to Excellence, the team is intentional about the development of working agreements. The hallmark; however,…

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Belonging Goes a Long Way on the Road to Improvement!

One Principal, who recognizes the importance of belonging as a key strategy for improvement in his school, works to create opportunities for frequent and regular conversation with and between staff and students. He believes the synergy that comes from collaborative work will accelerate progress in the school. He believes leadership is convening; that small groups…

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Clean out! Throw out! Reach out!

Spring heralds the season of rebirth, renewal, spring cleaning and freshness. We can apply these principles of Spring to our own lives as well, as we dig out of the muck of winter and get unstuck from old assumptions, negative thoughts, and cluttered and unproductive thinking.  Whether you work in a business, in a school,…

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