‘Twas weeks before Christmas when all through the schools,
Coach leaders were patiently maintaining the rules.
Kid’s products were hung in the hallways with care,
Pronouncing vacation days soon would be there.
The teachers were planning, state goals to embed,
While visions of freedom danced in their heads.
As events and reports had numbered umpteen,
Soon tension and drama arrived on the scene.
Coach leaders surveyed the lay of the land
Wanting to support, to come up with a plan.
What gift could they give to all they adore,
A gem that will bless them and then bless some more?
Away to their iPhones they flew like a flash,
Searching for info to uncover their cache.
They also remembered something they’d heard,
From a writer named Kegan, he passed on this word.
Behind every complaint a leader may hear,
There lies a commitment that the holder holds dear.
Listen coach leaders and listen for that;
It will lighten your load and make room for a chat.
When people feel heard they begin to reveal,
What’s important to them and how they do feel.
Their thinking-out-loud leads to the clues,
Of what they can try and what they will do.
To listen is free and comes from the heart,
Gets others unstuck, a new place to start.
Just listen coach leader and then you’ll agree,
How listening shows caring and sets everyone free.
The coach leader decided to do what he’d read,
He modeled good listening and did what he said.
Soon listening behaviors spread through the nation,
Reported in papers and on every news station.
As leaders showed listening to parents and teacher,
And teachers to students and all people creatures;
Conflicts resolved, hatred melted away,
And peace reigned triumphantly all of the days.
So listen coach leader and feel the impact,
The power, the results of a deep interact.

Additional information regarding Kegan’s statement may be found in the Oct. 11, 2013 speech at Harvard Business School—Power of TED (powerofted/behind every complaint lays a commitment)

By Edna Harris, PCC