[Kate Barker]

I enjoyed reading this book. There wasn’t anything that was particularly new but I appreciated the reinforcement of what I believe are traits and strategies in an effective coach and educator. I enjoyed the various analogies that were included such as the Horse Whisperer. The vignettes and scenarios added relevancy to the content and it allowed me to think about how I would/have handled different coaching situations.

[Kate Barker]

I think it starts with the coach asking questions about the leader’s “why” behind the idea, what would success look like, and how they would measure success. Then I would have a discussion about what they have done in the past that has been successful and how they could build upon those ideas. I would ask them what strengths they have to carry the work and who could they bring on board to brainstorm ideas and lead the work. If they are truly stuck I might suggest resources and research and/or share possible ideas that they could adapt for their community.

[Kate Barker]

I have always been one of those people who see other people doing something awesome and I want to replicate it. Early on in my principal career, I was so distracted by every “shiny new thing” that I didn’t get much traction on anything and was certainly not playing to my strengths as a leader. This tendency led to mediocre results (and a frustrated staff). I had to pause and do a lot of self-reflection about identifying my strengths and building upon those skills instead of trying to be someone I was not and not chasing strengths that were not mine. Instead, I concentrated on hiring and developing people that held strengths that were different than my own. For example, I continued to develop my strengths around multi-tiered systems of support and let someone else on my leadership team take a leadership role on master scheduling (which is definitely not a strength of mine). I had a behavior coach that was a whiz with technology and was the king of working with dysregulated students. My leadership team would frequently discuss who was going to take the lead on certain aspects of our community. We also discussed how we could tap other staff, students and caregivers to help build a cohesive and strong community based on strengths.

[Kate Barker]

The more that you know a person’s story the more empathetic a person can be. Often, we can make snap judgments about why a person is showing certain behavior. These “assumptions” can lead to a lack of trust and resentment. I have made those assumptions too many times to count. As I developed as a leader, I became much more confident in asking “why” so that I could understand the situation, be more empathetic, and support if needed. I can think of dozens of times that empathy leads to closer bonds and support. One situation involved a family that had horrible attendance. I would call, send letters, provide incentives, etc. but nothing seemed to work. I finally found an interpreter (for a very obscure language) and went to their home and listened to the WHY behind the absenteeism. It turned out that they were scared to walk to the bus stop because they lived in a very unsafe neighborhood with high rates of violence. I called the bus garage that afternoon and got their bus stop moved closer to their home and their attendance immediately improved. Knowledge is power and it leads to empathy.

[Kate Barker]

Thirteen years ago I became the principal of a school that had fabulous educators but most were “island practitioners” and not working cohesively. While there was certainly individual successes, the staff didn’t optimally talk with one another, greet each other in the hallway, collaborate, or work toward the same goals. One of the most pivotal activities that I led with my entire staff was an intentional two full days to learn each others’ stories. It started with everyone taking the Strength Finder assessment and the Myers-Briggs assessment. We discussed how our strengths showed up in our communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, planning, teaching, etc. We dove deeper into understanding each other and how our past personal and professional experiences influenced how we were as navigating our current situations. As people vulnerably shared their stories, the bonds and cohesiveness grew stronger. After that initial two days of “story” work, we intentionally planned activities that would boost our success in continuing to learn the stories of staff, students and families. I am a true advocate for the power behind the story and think it is a critical part of coaching and in life.

[Kate Barker]

I have been told many times by my family to stop treating them like my students/staff. Clearly, I have a tendency to bring my coaching and supervising role into my personal life. HA! Although I do need to be mindful of my role in certain situations, something that I naturally do in most conversations is to try to connect with the person that I am interacting with in that particular moment. Connection begins with asking questions and being genuinely interested in learning about the other person’s story. Relationships are at the core of my being and I gain energy from building and maintaining relationships. Once connected, deeper growth can occur because a foundation of care and safety has been established.

I agree, Alexa, that the Horse Whisperer really resonated with me. You can make so much more growth with love and kindness and showing your own vulnerabilities.

[Kate Barker]

One of the best learning experiences was taking part in the Lesson Study format with all teachers in the elementary building where I was principal. Lesson Study is a professional development model where a group of teachers micro-plan every aspect of a lesson. One of the adults teaches the lesson twice while the other adults watch and take notes on the engagement and responses of the students. Then the team gets back together and reviews the lesson, makes adjustments, goes over the collected data, and other insights. The same teacher teaches the revised lesson again to another class while the same adults take notes. We then come back together and talk about how our adjustments made a difference in student learning. I participated in this particular type of professional learning with each grade level (and our academic coaches) multiple times a year. Most of those times, I was chosen by the group to be the teacher. It gave me significant insights into the purposeful planning that needs to happen for optimal results. We had recently adopted a new math curriculum and it was so impactful for me to experience, firsthand, the rigor, the new vocabulary, the scope and sequence, etc. I think the best learning came, however, from being vulnerable with staff and them seeing me as a teacher instead of just a principal/boss.