Framework for Collaborative Leadership

To celebrate the first decade of my leadership coaching, in 2018 I created a Framework for Collaborative Leadership, inspired by Charlotte Danielson’s “Framework for Teaching”.  The quadrants capture and elaborate on four fundamental aspects of each leadership coaching conversation:

• I.  Preparation and mindset

• II. Compassionate curiosity

• III. Tools, techniques and protocols

• IV.Debriefing what’s happened during the conversation

Navigating leadership takes curiosity, willingness, intentionality and practice. Take a look at the Framework. Click on the links. See what appeals/speaks to you. It’s a handy resource toolbox. Consider printing it and put in an easily accessible place as many of my clients do.  

Every leadership conversation is different. So are you. You are constantly gauging what’s needed for a particular situation and code switching depending on what you hear, notice or need.  This Framework allows you to stretch and strengthen your leadership prowess, learning from every encounter.

All leaders find the Breakthrough Conversations protocol particularly helpful. Susan Scott calls them “fierce” conversations. Jennifer Abrams calls them “difficult” conversations. I prefer ”breakthrough” because their intent is to transform a situation, a mindset, or a relationship.

Note: The Framework is intentionally a document, not a PDF. Because coaching Leadership is constantly evolving, a working document allows me to add new resources and fiddle with language as I notice and learn. I live by “everyone you meet is your teacher and your student”. I am gratefully beholden to my clients for their wisdom, experience and ideas.

Next Steps

Feel free to contact me by text or email so that we can have an Exploratory Conversation. This enables you to see if what you are seeking fits what I offer and how comfortable you feel with my style of conversation.  I do not charge for this conversation.

Ask to receive my Coaching Agreement. It enables you to understand the parameters of a leadership coaching partnership, including the fee structure. View coaching sessions as “tickets” to be used as you see fit. Generally, clients choose to talk once a month from July to June. Occasionally a situation arises that demands more frequent conversations. Summer months are particularly potent times to reflect and plan. Depending on the circumstances and geography, coaching sessions are by phone, Zoom, at your school or my home office.

Types of Services

Workshops and Presentations. Group gatherings enable a robust exploration of ideas. They can be as basic as “The Anatomy and Choreography Leadership Conversations” or pertain to an aspect of leadership that schools are grappling with. “Navigating Challenging Conversations” presentations include dealing with difficult interpersonal situations, parent partnership, and furthering racial/cultural understanding.  It has been my good fortune to have been asked to present at the annual conferences of AIMS, NBOA, NAIS, AISGW, AISNE and work with dozens of schools across the US. Feel free to ask about or suggest other topic possibilities.

Group work. A signature of my practice is leading Mastermind Groups. Mastermind is a concept developed by Napoleon Hill who defines it as “the coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people who work toward a definite purpose in the spirit of harmony. No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind, the master mind.”For many years I have run three Mastermind groups for Middle Managers, Instructional Coaches and Heads of schools. We meet monthly during the school year to explore aspects of leadership that pertain to their roles. Using situations that participants are dealing with, the hour long discussions share a safe space to create understanding and practice tools and techniques that result in actionable outcomes.

References. I would be happy to provide a list of client schools upon request as well as names of individuals who could speak to the experience of working with me. The relationship of coach and client is vital.