How can school leaders empower the experts already in the room?
There is an idea that I write about in “Forward, Together” which I call the “Educator Paradox” when it comes to attending conferences.
“Tell me what to do, but don’t you dare tell me what to do.”
What do I mean by this?
As someone who speaks at education events, I often ask organizers what they hope from my keynote, and more often than not, they share the following: give practical strategies that our staff can use the next day in their classroom.
Although I always try to share ideas of strategies that can be tried, I am not the “expert” in the room. The people I am talking to are the experts. Not only are they the experts, but they are also sitting beside other experts in their school community.
Trust me, you do not want me telling anyone how to teach science at any grade level! There are people much better equipped to do that than, who probably would start fewer things on fire (unintentionally) than me.
When I speak to groups, I share with them that my work for years has been based on my philosophy of “The Innovator’s Mindset,” which is defined as the following:
Sharing that context with groups, I share my role on those days. I am just a person sharing ideas with you, but ultimately, YOU are the ones who find the solutions.
I truly believe this.
And this thinking was exemplified by a post I was tagged in on from a school community doing a book study of “Forward, Together: Moving Schools from Conflict to Community in Contentious Times.”
Kelley shared her and her team’s takeaways from the book on “the power of listening, using intentional language, & bringing others along in our work.”
If you had asked me 100 times what their takeaways would be from the book before they read it, I would have been wrong each time.
And that is the point of the book, and why I wrote the following:
“No one knows your situation, context, and community like you do.
You will find answers to your current issues, but not solely through reading. What’s most important is reflecting on what would work best in your context.”
So, of course, when writing a book, delivering a session, etc., we want to share ideas, but no idea ever shared at an event has worked exactly as discussed for every community.
With that being said, a few things I want to share that really matter:
- School staff need to know that they are the experts in their communities. This doesn’t mean they know everything, but they always know their context better than any outsider.
- No one I know likes being told what to do (including me). When sharing ideas, frame them as “ideas,” not “solutions.” Those ideas can be shaped into solutions only by those within the community.
- If you believe this and are a school administrator, make sure those you support have the autonomy and support to implement those solutions. Those closest to kids can (and should) have the biggest impact if given the opportunity.
On the last point.
Recently, I had a bad flight experience, and every person I talked to had no autonomy actually to do anything. They referred me to others, and those people referred me to others, ultimately leaving me only the option of emailing to resolve the situation. Each person knew what the right thing to do was, but didn’t have the opportunity to do so. They were as frustrated as I was, not only because they knew what they should do but didn’t have the authority to do it.
This doesn’t mean mentorship and guidance can’t be provided. But it is provided not to control, but to empower.
Here is what I can guarantee in this process. Things will go wrong, and they might not be done the way you would have. But no matter who is reading this, you will eventually leave your role, and if you create a community that depends solely on your answers in the long term, you are hurting more than helping.
I would rather give trust early and be wrong than not give it at all and hurt the community I am serving in the long term.
As I shared earlier, ideas can be shared by others, but solutions are created by those who best understand their context and community. Those “solutions” become meaningless unless the people closest to kids have the autonomy and opportunity to implement them.
