Having a coaching mindset can make a significant difference when working with teams and leading groups of people. A coaching mindset is the ability to support and empower others in reaching their full potential, sometimes stepping aside and allowing others to take the lead. Through adopting a coaching mindset, leaders can support colleagues in achieving goals, developing skills, and becoming more self-aware and confident.

Although my current school does not necessarily have a coaching culture, I have used my recent professional development coaching courses with students, colleagues, and my family.

• As a school leader, I meet often with students especially in times of conflict or anxiety. I have used my coaching skills to ask better questions in order to help students reflect upon and make their own conclusions on actions and feelings. Here are some of the questions that I have found most valuable:
  • How are you feeling? What is on your mind today?
  • What would be a positive outcome for your at the end of this conversation?
  • Tell me more about ___ ?
  • How can I support you moving forward?

Here are a few strategies/suggestions I keep in mind if I find myself engaged in a coaching conversation, or more simply, a conversation where I feel as though someone needs to share and is hoping for some support moving forward:

• Listen actively: Paying attention to what people are saying, asking clarifying questions, and seeking to understand their perspective. Active listening builds trust and rapport and helps you tailor your coaching to the individual’s needs. I try to say very little, offer few suggestions if any, and ask open ended questions to activate good listening skills.
• Encourage reflection: Coaching is not about telling people what to do; it’s about helping them develop their own insights and solutions. Encourage reflection by asking open-ended questions, encouraging self-assessment, and creating opportunities for feedback and self-reflection.
• Set clear goals: Coaching involves helping people set clear, achievable goals that align with their values and aspirations. By setting goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), you can help people stay focused and motivated.
• Provide support and accountability: Coaching involves providing ongoing support and accountability. This might include providing resources, feedback, and encouragement, as well as holding people accountable for their commitments and progress.

This month I was given the opportunity to chair a WASC self-study visit for an international school in Taiwan. I have been serving with WASC for a number of years as a committee member and during the pandemic was able to co-chair a virtual visit. However, this was my first in-person opportunity to lead a group of colleagues from other international schools in this rewarding process.

Attending WASC visits has always been some of the best and most rewarding professional development. To have the opportunity to take a deep dive into a school and provide valuable feedback as critical friends and colleagues is such a rewarding experience for everyone involved. I appreciate the philosophy of WASC through the accreditation process.

The accreditation process for schools takes a number of years and involves many school stakeholders, including; faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members. The school compiles an extended report (close to 100 pages), researching and answering a number of prompts and indicator questions. As a visiting committee, we look into governance, teaching and learning, curriculum, child protection, etc.

The visiting committee, at the end of the five day visit, prepares an extensive report and communicates the findings with both the school and the WASC commission for final accreditation status.

I would strongly recommend becoming a visiting committee member to any educator that is interested in growing more as a teacher and/or leader. There are a variety of accrediting agencies and it all depends on which one your school uses. If you are interested in learning more about the process, speak with one of your school leaders, and see how you can get more involved.

A team that works well together can accomplish great things. Whether itsi a project at work, a community organization, or a sports team, the right combination of individuals can make all the difference. I have learned during my 20+ years in education, as a teacher and leader, that it is impossible to be everything to everybody. I have often been disappointed with myself if other people have come up with an idea before me or if they knew more than me about a specific topic. It has taken years of experience and humility to come to this very important truth: Teams are built around a variety of people with a variety of strengths. The key to success is to find everyone’s strengths and work together to build a stronger organization. No one person should be expected to carry the entire load and solve all of the issues.

Here are five key elements that can contribute to team success.

1. Clear roles and responsibilities: When team members know exactly what they are responsible for, it reduces confusion and helps ensure that tasks are completed efficiently. Make sure that each team member understands their role and their responsibilities. It is okay to stick to your role and your strengths, but it is also necessary at times to step out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges. This can be achieved through regular meetings, clear communication, and the use of tools such as project management software.
2. Solid communication and collaboration skills: Effective communication is the foundation of any successful team. Team members should be encouraged to speak up, share their ideas, and listen to one another. This can be facilitated by creating a positive and supportive work environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. Group and meeting norms (i.e. allow everyone the opportunity to speak in a safe environment) can greatly contribute to greater productivity and buy-in.
3. Trust and respect: Trust and respect are key components of any successful team. When team members trust each other, they are more likely to work well together and collaborate effectively. This can be built over time through positive interactions, transparency, and a shared commitment to the team’s goals. Consider hiring an outside consultant to help your organization begin the process of setting goals and building trust.
4. Shared vision and goals: A team that has a clear and shared vision and goals is more likely to be successful. Make sure that everyone understands what the team is trying to achieve and what their role is in achieving it. This can be achieved through regular goal setting and progress tracking sessions. It is important to be transparent and clear about both short and long term goals. These goals will adapt and change over time, but a shared vision is an anchor for any group.
5. Positive and productive work environment: A positive and productive work environment is essential for the success of any team. Create a space where team members feel supported and valued, and where they can collaborate and work effectively. It is important to provide opportunities for everyone in the organization to work hard and play hard. Look at the schedule of the day and consider how wellness might be implemented into the structure (break times, quiet thinking and meditation areas, exercise equipment, etc.).

By focusing on these elements, teams can hopefully be one step closer to effectively working together and achieving their goals.

At the age of 45, I have spent more time reflecting on the idea of adding value to my community and how this concept has changed over the course of my life. Making this connection to my professional life, where I have spent the last 20+ years as a teacher and leader, this idea has changed considerably from my twenties.

Playing soccer at a high level throughout high school and university, this differentiating factor continued into adulthood through coaching and playing in local leagues across the world. Soccer, in many ways, was my identity and contributed to my value added in a community.

I believe many of us want to feel as though we are adding value to our community and that there is something special that we bring; maybe even something unique that nobody else possesses. With the years adding up I still coach soccer and manage an adult team through our school, however, I seek for something more and different as I find ways to add value to our community.

One way I would like to add value to the community is by providing opportunities for people to come together and share a passion whilst focusing on physical and mental health and well-being. As I stated previously, I manage (and also play) an adult soccer team through our school and we play in a local adult league. We’ve brought back Creative Cafe, which is a two hour event on Saturdays where people get together in the Art Room and bring out their inner artist. With hot coffee, soft music, and good conversation, community members get to focus on wellness in a relaxed atmosphere. I would also like to start organizing a hour of fun on the weekends for our younger community. My kids are in lower elementary and I think it would be great to have other kids and parents get together and have a little bit of fun and fitness. Some of the things I have in mind are tee-ball, soccer, and field hockey. We just need to wait for the weather to warm up a bit!

On a personal level, I would like to get back into pottery and exploring the wheel. I hope to get into the art room more often (either during Creative Cafe or in my own time) and feel the clay on the wheel and the satisfaction of exploring and creating.

How are you adding value in your community?

How, if anything, has this changed from your teens into your twenties, and beyond?

I am walking into 2023 with a different focus, both professionally and personally. I am looking to establish and create goals that will support me, and those around me, in moving forward and being on a path of growth and purpose.

My first goal it to continue to support Seoul Foreign School as the Safeguarding Lead. There are a number of team goals that we are working towards, including: training, handbooks, sharing of confidential information, communication, etc. As the Designated Lead, I ensure that we are meeting consistently and have a plan to meet our short and long term goals.

My second goal is to place myself in the best possible position to become Middle School Principal at SFS when the position becomes available and/or to be fully prepared to take on a Principalship at another international school, if this is my chosen path at that time. What will this require…here’s a list to get me started:

• Finding a professional mentor
  • Meeting consistently
  • Working towards established goals
  • Discussing questions, concerns, and wonderings
• Weekly scheduled professional learning
  • SENIA 2022 virtual conference
  • Leadership Coaching Workshop with “Making Stuff Better”
  • SmartBrief on Leadership Articles
  • Possible M.Ed. in Special Education?
• Continue TBO (Trust Based Observation)
• Anticipating, initiating, supporting, and responding to the needs of the Middle School

In order to balance these professional goals, I have a few personal/wellness challenges to keep me motivated and on-track during difficult, wavering and/or trying moments.

• Quality time with my family
  • Prioritizing evenings, when getting home from work, and weekends to be present with my family
• My wife and I are going to bring Creative Cafe to our community for anyone interested
  • A couple hours, every Saturday, we will open the doors to the Art room with some relaxing music, coffee, and a creative environment for people to work on their own artistic goals
  • I personally will be working with my love of pottery and the wheel!
• Continue to manage our school’s football (soccer) team as we participate in the Seoul league

“When [educators] are unable to receive validation that what they’re doing is having an impact, it can lead to disillusion and dissatisfaction with the job” (Sweeney and Harris, p. 47).

Reading through Sweeney and Harris’ work, The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching, this quote encourages and challenges me to reflect on the role of leaders in giving positive praise and feedback. I wonder how we as leaders are validating the excellent work of faculty and staff within schools, especially those educators who are often going above and beyond and excelling with teaching and learning? Human nature would tell us that all individuals need validation and to know that their work is making a difference. Rather than trying to figure out who might need more or less positive praise and validation, how can we as leaders find ways to validate all individuals within organizations?

1. Building positive and professional relationships with colleagues opens up opportunities to get to know one another and can naturally lead to validation. Most people will tell their “boss”, when an opportunity presents itself, about something exciting or positive happening in the workplace. During these conversations, leaders can show appreciation for the work and encourage continued efforts.
2. Public recognition is an excellent way to show appreciation. At the beginning of meetings, make a commitment to having five minutes of “shout-outs” and/or recognizing the work of various people in the organization. Only doing this one time, or rarely, may show favoritism to certain employees. Having a consistent approach will spread around the appreciation and allow for a variety of people to be recognized.
3. Allowing all people to have a voice and opening up discussion and dialogue can show the appreciation and respect that leaders have for all employees. I have found that people show an incredible amount of passion and dedication to their work when they feel part of the conversations, feel as though their voice is being heard, and are included in difficult dialogue and decisions. Be sure to open up these conversations to everyone.

Leaders, what strategies do you have for validating colleagues?

Each year I set goals to help me grow and flourish as well as to keep me accountable to both my professional and personal life. I have check points throughout the year where I reflect upon the journey and see if there is a need to adapt or change some aspects of the goals. Some are easier to measure than others and I find in general that I am able to make progress toward my goals. Here are my goals for the 2021-2022 school year.

• Have a strong focus on the Middle School and be cognizant about taking on other responsibilities. I enjoy extending my job and responsibilities to whole school initiatives and I want to be more aware of placing my efforts and being 100% present for the middle school.
• Be student focused and put in the extra time and effort to support student needs in the middle school. This is a goal of mine every year…I always want to improve and make sure this is a priority. This includes coaching, building relationships, student groups and activities, and my approaches to discipline.
• Live in the moment and not focus so much on looking ahead to the future. I need to be fully attentive to my current role and be the best I can be at this moment.
• Spread kindness and compassion and ensure that I am intentionally including and praising others in the workplace. It is not solely about me and the more I am able to support others and be a servant leader, the better the environment will be for everybody.
• Provide opportunities for aspiring leaders and open up my space to those aspiring leaders that are willing to come along for the journey. This has been a goal of mine for the last few years and continues to adapt and develop. 
• Support DEIJ initiatives at SFS and work together with colleagues to bring more awareness, understanding, and action around DEIJ at school.

Personal goals

• My family comes first. No matter what, my family will always be my priority.
• I need to prioritize health and my body. This will require consistent workouts and paying attention to what I use to fuel my body.
• Surround myself with the people I care about and love. I need to stop worrying about what other people think of me and expect of me.

I read an article recently through Smart Brief on Leadership titled Leadership Fatigue is a Thing – Make Time to Recharge, by Art Petty. The article presents seven strategies to help fight leadership fatigue. This article is of particular interest for me at the moment as I have been spending time reflecting on my current role and position, setting goals moving forward, and trying to brainstorm how I can best serve and support our learning community here at Seoul Foreign School. 

Here are some quotes from the article and my personal reflections.

“There are many thankless tasks and days, yet leaders play a role in shaping careers and lives through their coaching and guidance.” Intentional coaching and providing constructive feedback is a great way to build relationships and partnerships with those which we work. I wonder in my current role, how I can do a better job of working with others in helping all of us to provide a better academic, social, and emotional environment for all students? How can I have a bigger impact on shaping professional careers? I am currently reading The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching, by Diane Sweeney and Leanna Harris, and it is providing insights on being a better and more effective leader throughout the coaching process. I hope to be able to use the new knowledge to help lead coaching and feedback initiatives at my school.

“Treat the workplace as a living laboratory and start experimenting.” I do believe that schools should be a place of experimenting and taking chances. Educators should be able to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes … exactly what we encourage from our students every day. Unfortunately, I believe many educators, including myself, fear making mistakes as we are in a profession where “perfection” and “knowing everything” can take over and be infused in our planning, organizing, teaching, and learning. This is why it is often difficult to have a colleague or a supervisor observe our classes and provide feedback. So, how can we provide an environment where failure is okay and growth is the goal?

“As you approach a meeting, hallway or video conversation, remind yourself your goal is to leave the situation better than you found it.” I remember hearing from a friend once, when I asked for some advice, to be 1% better today than yesterday. This seems much more manageable than trying to accomplish all of my goals tomorrow at a moments notice. For example, when I get into that goal setting mode I try to do everything starting Monday morning (exercise every morning, practice that new language for 30 minutes daily, floss morning and night, take 15 minutes a day for mindfulness, etc.). Rather, focus on one thing and take small steps. Be 1% better today than yesterday!

“Succeeding at each encounter doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. Rather, your goal is to do those things you can control, including listening fiercely, empathizing, displaying curiosity, prompting ideas or connecting others with potentially helpful resources.” This to me is one of, if not, the most important aspect for any leader in any industry. How can we listen more than we talk? How can we make sure that we allow others to speak first and then use the words and ideas from others to formulate plans and initiatives? Is not our role as leaders to hear ideas from the organization, facilitate meaningful and inclusive discussions, and then support with putting all of the ideas together for meaningful change and growth?

“When I make excuses and skip the physical work, I lose energy, creativity – and, I grow decidedly grumpy.” Exercise and sweat can make us more productive, happier, and involved leaders and individuals. I try to remind myself of this everyday…and often do…especially during those months that go by when I am not exercising and doing the physical work.

“Consider reinventing what you do in your current organization.” Job descriptions can be limiting and place people into very specific boxes. If this is something you struggle with, my challenge then for leaders is to find those things outside of your job description that give you energy and fuel your passions. Some of the things that I look at professionally, that are outside of my job description when reinventing what I do, involve supporting aspiring leaders, promoting DEIJ discussions, leading initiatives for child protection, and serving as a WASC visiting committee member.

“It’s incredible how pursuing something new — a new language, a craft or a hobby that takes you entirely out of your working life — helps you cope with those vexing daily circumstances.” What are the things, outside of your professional career, that you do to get away and find some balance or wellness? For me it’s sports (soccer, golf, hockey, and basketball) and art (mostly pottery). Doing these activities helps me to step away from the hustle and bustle professionally and to find perspective and balance.

I have been thinking a lot lately about honesty and vulnerability within leadership and how these notions bridge together to make our schools and communities better places to work and thrive. Brené Brown, in her book Dare to Lead, talks extensively about the power and importance of vulnerability. Always more difficult in practice, I have taken keen notice of honesty and vulnerability in both my personal and professional life and how I can use these to establish and encourage building positive relationships and supporting those around me.

I have also found as a male leader, that vulnerability may not always be valued as a top priority. This is a difficult area of leadership with which to reflect, as vulnerability to me means taking a step out front when something is not going well, even when you know that you are going against the majority. I have often heard and used the sayings myself, “is it worth fighting for?” and/or that we need to “pick our battles.” I long to work in an environment where honesty and vulnerability within our teams, of where we are in the moment, can and should be a powerful tool for moving teams and organizations forward. I want to be completely open and honest with those teams that I work closest with (leadership, faculty, parents, students, community) and find ways to ensure that always taking first, always having the right answer, always being busy, always being the most important … these do not always equate to successful leadership.

When I speak, listen, and share with others I want to be truthful with my words and actions and also vulnerable to show empathy and understanding in difficult situations. It’s not always about “being tough” and “letting things go.” Sometimes we need to continue to talk about and share the difficult and challenging moments and know that the team we work closest with is not going to throw judgement, but rather stick by our side and support us as we learn and grow through the different experiences.

Being honest and vulnerable are not weak traits, if anything, they should be valued for the “realness” that they bring. Leadership is not easy and all educational leaders are on different paths working towards the same goals … to make a positive difference in the world and support one another in the process.

“We need to trust to be vulnerable, and we need to be vulnerable in order to build trust” (Dare to Lead, Brene Brown, p. 30)

Reflecting back on my six years as an administrator, here are the three things that I wish someone would have told me about being an effective leader. I am not entirely sure I would have listened or truly understood the context, as much of leadership growth comes from time and experience, however it would have given me a starting point when working with others and supporting in moving a school forward.

1. The power of listening (and questioning)! As a young leader it is easy to get wrapped up in thinking that you always need to be talking and sharing your ideas. Sometimes it comes down to credibility and wanting to make sure that everyone knows that you are knowledgeable and can get the job done. There is no doubt that at times this is necessary and effective in moving an initiative forward. I do believe, however, that truly effective leaders spend more time listening than talking. While listening we are helping to mold ideas together, allowing all members to have a voice, and building an environment of collaboration and involvement. Furthermore, by asking questions we are showing a genuine interest in the ideas of others and telling them that their ideas matter!

2. The collective idea – where did it originate? I have been in countless meetings where an idea is sprung and after rounds of dialogue, there is some type of consensus on an outcome and we are off to planning next steps. As a young leader we often want credit for our ideas (who am I kidding, most everyone wants credit for their ideas), however, it is important to appreciate and respect the process of getting there and realizing that a collective decision was made where everyone feels a part of the process. So, even if the initial idea was yours and the outcome was fairly similar, allow for the victory to be from the group and celebrate together. Even if it remains unsaid, people will recognize that it was indeed your idea and have respect for you and your role in the process.

3. Take time to understand the cultural context! International schools around the world have a wide variety of values, beliefs, behaviors, and expectations. Faculty and staff come from different backgrounds and are placed together to move a school forward in a collective direction. Even if you visit schools within a kilometer of one another, in any given city, they will have a completely different culture, feel, and environment. Effective cultural leadership requires a high level of experience, empathy, and emotional intelligence toward your surroundings and all members of the organization. Be sure to take the necessary time to value the diverse cultural backgrounds of all staff members, to reflect within new contexts, and to build personal and professional relationships.