“Strengthening organizations one connection at a time,” is the recommendation from The Connection Coach, Tara Brown. Connecting to emotions and being valued is critical among leaders and staff if we want to have it present in classrooms for students. Visit Tara’s website here. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or […]

Consider this research finding: 83% of executives say they encourage curiosity and only 52% of employees agree. Why is that a concern? The same studies found that… …curiosity helps employees engage more deeply in their work, generate new ideas, and share those ideas with others. When feeling curious at work, 73% of individual contributors report […]

I listened to a Ted Talk by Atul Gawande titled, Want to get great at something? Get a coach. There were some powerful statements that I decided to highlight here with my reflections. I encourage you to listen to Gawande’s presentation and reflect. He begins with the questions, “How do professionals get better at what […]

Adam Grant’s book Think Again (The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know) provided me with lots of elements to ponder. A starting point was identifying when I am thinking like a preacher, prosecutor, politician, or scientist. Preacher: In preacher mode, we’re convinced we’re right. In this style, we’re trying to persuade others to our […]

I have frequently struggled when reviewing the job descriptions for instructional coaches. Many are written at the district level while the real work of the instructional coach should be focused and driven by the needs of teachers and administrators in a school, who are working to create the maximum learning opportunities for students. To maximize […]

A lot was shared and written about well-being as schools were in the midst of the quarantine. As I interact with teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators today, I’m convinced we need a continuous conscious focus on the topic. Consider these findings prior to the pandemic. A 2018 report by the International School Counsel shared: Teacher […]