We’re a People-Shaped Profession – so LISTEN!

One of the educational sound bites among teachers (about each other and our roles) that constantly irks me is ‘become what you believe’. It doesn’t bother me because of the sentiment, it bothers me because of the many varied constraints, real or perceived, that prevent this from happening.

Any school that is serious about transforming culture to bring about elevated outcomes for students, must, I would argue, start by listening sincerely to teachers stories, the narrative regarding their practice and how they feel about it. Ritchhart (2015) reminds us of the social/human side of education which can have a profound impact on young people:

‘The affective attributes researchers identify as facilitating learning, promoting academic achievement, supporting critical thinking, and creating a culture of thinking are remarkably similar and won’t be surprising to anyone: empathetic, warm, caring, genuine, authentic, positive, respectful, trusting, sense of humour, and so on.’

How many of the attributes that Ritchhart unpacks do you see in yourself? Honestly? What about your colleagues? Do our students see and feel this? How do you know? Is it rare or is it consistent? The answers to these questions reveals the very human side of an organisation.

From experience, there are three conversations some educators find challenging: (i) meeting and conferencing with parents, (ii) both formal and informal discussions with members of Senior Leadership (highly dependent on the existing relationships and level of trust) and (iii) discussions with peers about their practice. In each of these three situations, it is difficult to ignore the gut-wrenching sensation of concern about trust, judgement or vulnerability of giving up some small piece of how our personality shapes our practice.

I am not for a moment evoking the ‘teacher quality’ debate. The point I am raising is whether or not school leadership listen genuinely to the voices and emotions of teachers who are asked to juggle innovations, improvement priorities, trust and accountability. It is one thing to be furnished with ‘evidence’ about practice effectiveness, another for a teacher to take stock, attune practice and implement interventions with confidence.

Hearing

But hang on I hear you say, ‘I get, and can see why this intervention or innovation is important and could have impact. But does this change me and my practice significantly? How do I feel about that?’ Do those leadership teams who are convinced they have a handle on their staff’s instructional repertoire and effectiveness spend nearly enough time interpreting cultural signals and understanding the anatomy of change stress? If they do, what processes or mechanisms do they put in place to support this? What is recognised, measured and/or valued by the stakeholders in the learning community? How does this impact teachers? “Warm and engaging” may not be a top priority.

Kouzes and Posner (2011) explain that leaders who build and sustain credibility for supporting change, practice what they preach, walk the talk, ensure actions are consistent with words, follow through on commitments and keep their promises. They go on to explain that colleagues listen to words, but watch actions. Kouzes and Posner go on to explain that staff are unlikely to respond to a ‘do what you say you will do’ approach, but would rather a ‘do what WE say WE will do’ approach. Why? Because most perceptions, rightly or wrongly, are that leadership represent not only themselves, but also others.

Why is this attention to ‘WE’ so important? It is important because it reflects to what degree staff feel they are listened to, valued, understood and invested in. If we go back to the attributes Ritchhart outlined, how many would our teachers ‘walk or live out’ if they trusted their leadership to listen to the narrative, actively and sincerely? What impact would this have on learning, achievement and student relationships?

Tschannen-Moran (2010) provides many examples of questions which can evoke critical storytelling (teachers projecting how they feel) to temper where practice is and liberate colleagues to develop confidence. These can lead to coachable and scalable changes grounded in empathy (rather than sympathy or mandate) and trust. Some examples include;

  • Tell me a story that illustrates what has been working well for you;
  • Tell me a story about what you love most about your work;
  • Tell me a story that illustrates how your values come through in your teaching;
  • Tell me a story about a time when you tried something new;
  • Tell me a story that illustrates what helps you do your very best.

In my opinion, Ritchhart is correct about those attributes of teachers that make a difference. Harnessing them is the challenge. Listening to teacher stories is vital and supports coaching to achieve impact and outcomes with accountability but emotional security. So next time change or strategy are on the menu, instead of agonising over predicting impact on staff and students, remember that we are a human-shaped profession. Talk to people, listen, and listen hard – THEN act.

One thought on “We’re a People-Shaped Profession – so LISTEN!

  1. Hi Jon,
    For a “reluctant writer” I am really enjoying what you have to talk about, and I think you’re adding great material to the global discussion about important issues. So… would you mind adding some sharing features to your blog? maybe to Twitter for a start? and perhaps an “About” page so readers can find out a bit more about where your viewpoint comes from? I know I would find it helpful 🙂
    Kind regards, Deb Hogg (@debhoggoz Sydney)

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