As I ponder the upcoming new year, I find myself frequently reflecting on my journey. The trajectory of my career has been a beautiful one, but it is safe to say that my growth and development as a human being and educator rests on the shoulders of those who generously took the time to mentor and coach me to be better today than I was yesterday. Think back: Who are the individuals who provided space for collaboration, reflection, and the embrace of both success and failure?

The conversations that mattered most were those that allowed me room to breathe. This sounds rather simple doesn’t it? It’s not, I can assure you. When you have the privilege to encounter people who gifted you the wings you needed to take flight, grow your potential, and illuminate the leader that is living inside you, that is deeply special. It takes a level of emotional intelligence to be the colleague who takes time out of their days to mentor, coach, guide, leverage your strengths, and breathe life into the places you are meant to be. 

Who We Are, is How We Lead

If you are in the field of education, you are acutely aware of the time constraints that can become a barrier to the growth and development of educators. To address this challenge, I have strived to make every interaction with the educators in my immediate learning community and beyond as intentional as possible. During my recent listening of Adam Grant’s Re: Thinking Learning podcast, I came across a powerful statement from guest Brené Brown, “Who we are, is how we lead.” This statement deeply resonated with me. At my core, I will always view myself as a teacher and a coach; this has been my guiding principle in my approach to leadership. Through my background in instructional coaching and my continuous pursuit of learning including engaging in professional learning, reflective writing, reading insightful books, listening to podcasts, and observing the actions of exceptional leaders, I have to deeply value the power of leading and living through a coaching mindset.

About a year ago, Joshua Stamper asked me the following question on his Aspire to Lead podcast: Lauren, which role has most prepared you for the leadership role you are serving in today? I’ll share a brief answer. It was the role of instructional coach. Let me explain how I see the role as it is easily misunderstood in many different educational organizations. To me, it’s a thinking partner, a knowledgeable colleague who recognizes the gifts in others and helps them see things in ways they haven’t seen before. 

So, as we approach a new year, can leaders commit to leading with a coaching mindset? And by that I mean offering others a coaching invitation to grow, support, and distribute leadership across an organization while keeping the focus on teaching and learning. Here are some ideas to think about:

1. We Are All Connected at the Core: All of the people in your organizations are connected. We are all pieces of a puzzle that connect to bring a bigger picture to fruition. Everything we say and do has the potential to influence the present and the future. As a collective unit, there is never one person to blame. Therefore, it is a shared responsibility in working toward meeting your goals.
2. Meet People Where They Are: Lead the work with an empathetic lens. Take the time to actively listen, understand, and value why people are where they are. This provides an opportunity to create targeted goals and shape the work in which you lead. Everyone starts somewhere, but they don’t have to stay there! Refrain from judgment and help that person move forward in their practice with integrity, compassion, and grace.
3. Trust is the Foundation: Your colleagues will not open up to you about their challenges and belief systems until trust is established. They have to know that you are keeping students and their interests at the center of the conversations. This will take time. Follow through on your words through action, be supportive in your responses, and keep concerns and struggles sacred.
4. Use Words Wisely: Words have the potential to create the worlds in which you are living in. Be mindful of your word choice when responding to the strengths, hopes, and needs of the people you are supporting. Your vision can only be fulfilled if you lead with intention and speak with purpose.
5. Be Present and Patient: It is easy to be concerned and frustrated when you aren’t seeing the goals you are working toward happen fast enough. Repeat after me: Meaningful change and growth takes time. AGAIN…MEANINGFUL CHANGE AND GROWTH TAKES TIME! When you work with people and kids in education, time is undefined. It’s the process that matters. It’s the work you are putting into rowing towards your destination. Be present, keep focused on the goals, let go of impatience, and the results will come!

Moving Forward:

Let’s be the lanterns guiding others along new paths to their destinations. Let’s acknowledge that we are the narrators of our own stories. Let’s lean into what’s possible and capitalize on each other’s strengths. Courage, after all, is contagious. Let’s foster conversations about what works and doesn’t work for the betterment of our students. Let’s embrace a coaching mindset—an investment in the emotional deposit box of those in our communities—and watch amazing things happen.