In Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers – How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, she speaks about the difference between leaders who are multipliers and those who are what she calls diminishers. Right away, your brain is thinking about the kind of leader you are. As a “Coach Leader”, you fit within the multiplier arena because you are aware of and practice the latest neuroscience about the five domains of SCARF which you know activate safety over threat.

S = Status – Defined as “what I think you think about me”. Status is the doorway to trust in all relationships. As a Leader, you are generous with recognition of the strengths and contributions of your staff. You acknowledge daily the ways they are making a difference in the lives of your students.

C = Certainty – Certainty concerns being able to predict the near future. Related to status, if I do not know what you think about me, I will make it up. Could I be wrong? Most certainly! As Coach Leaders, a critical aspect of our work is to define and defend the standards and expectations for the school, for children, for the work of teachers. When my brain knows the certainty of what is expected, I will rise to or exceed what is possible.

A = Autonomy – Autonomy is simply choice or the illusion of choice. More and more is being written about the power of choice. In Daniel Pink’s book, Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, he says that “a sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude.” Further, he writes that today’s workforce is “calling for a renaissance of self-direction.” For Coach Leaders, we recognize that our most powerful work springs from choice within the boundaries of clearly articulated standards and expectations. Knowing the standard and then giving me the control over how I get there is just the kind of motivation Pink is talking about.

R = Relatedness – Relatedness involves deciding whether I’m “in” or “out” of a social group; the sense of friend or foe. When someone is perceived as a foe or competitor, our capacity to empathize drops significantly. Coach Leaders focus on building community and creating a sense of belonging that is essential for the development of trust in and for the work. We know and want to be schools of high performance, which evolves from environments of high trust.

F = Fairness – This element of SCARF is about a perception of fair exchange between people. Unfair exchanges generate a strong threat response and when we perceive others as unfair, we will not feel empathy for their joy or pain. As Coach Leaders, we know the value of committed listening so that we hear all voices. We hold a growth mindset for all and believe in the potential for each person. Our feedback is genuine and authentic including what needs to be said in a way that ensures the relationship stays strong.

How are you using the five domains of SCARF in your daily work to multiply the intelligence where you work?

By Karen Anderson, PCC