Foundations in Facilitative Leadership — Blog

Opening Up the Conversation through What? So What? Now What?

Here is one thing I learned over many years of practice: telling someone how to solve a problem or dilemma means there is a 95% chance that the problem will not be solved and in some cases will get worse. There’s always the 5% of the time that the solution works as envisioned, however that’s not a great return.

In my experience, the conversations that produce the most change in a problem or dilemma are those that follow a conversational sequence designed to open up thinking, not provide a solution or answer. This sequence of questions, developed originally for use in the What? So What? Now What? Protocol, sets up a conversational model that opens up possibilities, supports individual agency, and keeps us working in our realm of influence.

Sharing Problems of Practice Takes Courage

ELAP’s Peer-to-Peer Sessions provide a network for leaders to connect and support each other while examining equitable practices. Our latest session was an opportunity for leaders to share current problems of practice, or dilemmas. Sharing dilemmas can feel unsafe unless structures are in place to allow leaders to be vulnerable together. Using protocols creates an environment for reflection and openness. When peers engage with each other using collaborative protocols, such as Peeling The Onion and The Consultancy, they create an environment that encourages diverse perspectives, deep reflection, and insights into challenging problems of practice. These dilemmas are often common challenges, so participants can take away as much learning as the presenter.

Improve Online Experiences Using Adult Learning Theory

How can we make learning experiences more enriching and time-effective? Like schools, CLEE looks toward ever-advancing technology to support our efforts. Recently, CLEE launched a new learning management system (LMS) to support the educators we serve. One of our biggest areas of learning is how important it is to design learning experiences in the LMS that utilize adult learning theory.

Make Your Team Meetings More Effective with CLEE Practices

Do your team meetings feel engaging and leave you charged up with purpose and new learning, as well as suggesting tools and strategies to enact next steps? Do you get a lot done together in a short amount of time? Or do you find yourself thinking that could have been accomplished in email? CLEE can help make your team time more effective and help you advance your improvement goals.

Equity Leaders Benefit from Peer to Peer Learning

CLEE’s ELAP program has been intentionally designed with equitable student outcomes at its core through the use of MA DESE’s Anti Racist Leadership Practices and honing in on the Instructional Core as drivers for the work. In addition to one-on-one coaching, part of the magic of ELAP is bringing together leaders from across the network for peer to peer sessions where educators have an opportunity to celebrate successes as well as receive feedback on some of the challenges being faced in schools today.

School Improvement Is a School-Wide Practice

School Improvement Plans and District Strategic Plans can be an important roadmap for school improvement, but how do you enact them? How do you keep momentum if leaders and/or educators leave or are added year-to-year?

Staying Low on the Ladder of Inference

Our new Equity Leader Accelerator Program (ELAP) launched in Massachusetts in August to support new principal mentorship from experienced leaders in their districts. In the first months of this two-year program, we are already seeing an impact.

Just Being Nice Won’t Get You to Your Equity Goals

We start the school year fresh and excited to make progress on the many initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for each and every student. Then, as we begin implementing them, especially the work driving toward increased equity, we may notice in ourselves and others feelings of overwhelm and resistance.

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