One of the books on my reading list this summer was the very refreshing Art of Possibility; Transforming Professional & Personal Life, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. Among many inspiring stories, they tell of a lovely parable demonstrating our limited understanding of the nature of the gifts the universe holds for us.

“Four young men sit by their dying father. The old man, with his last breath, tells them there is a treasure buried in the family fields. The sons crowd around him crying, “Where, where?”, but it is too late. The day after the funeral and for many days to come, the young men go out with their picks and shovels and turn the soil, digging deeply into the ground from one end of each field to the other. They find nothing and, bitterly disappointed, abandon the search. The next season the farm has it best harvest ever.”

Leaders can derive so many lessons from this parable, but that which stands out for me is that we have a tendency to see what we’re looking for and nothing more. This is an important reflection as we begin the school year. Our pre-conceptions often cloud our ability to understand beyond what we think to be true. In our classrooms and staffrooms, what do we really know and think about our children, students, staff and teams? What are we not seeing that can be useful and helpful to us as leaders? What new understandings can motivate great learning and teaching in our students and staff? What personal gifts do all of these individuals bring to the classroom and school? Most importantly, how do we determine who they are, and are we maximizing how we can best support them?

Zander and Zander ask the question, “How much greatness are we willing to grant in others?” In other words, who do we decide we are leading and what are we choosing to notice in them? From the first day of school, our intention to see the best in others can entirely change our relationships, the trajectory for the year, and everyone’s ability to succeed as we embrace a solution-focused mindset and illuminate strengths and personal resources in each person.

Eve Lipchik in Beyond Technique in Solution-Focused Therapy reflects- “Clients usually perceive their situation as all bad, and they are not aware of exceptions and their own resources. They say such things as ‘I must get rid of my anxiety’, not realizing that some anxiety is an asset in many situations”. The same is true as we navigate leadership. Rather than thinking about how to eliminate problems, perhaps we can look at them differently, and find strengths within them that can lead to meaningful solutions. As we think about our relationships with staff and students, what is possible and how do we know? Leadership, whether in the form of teaching or management, is a gift we’re given to uncover possibilities in others and in our relationships with them. When we choose to engage in relationships with a solution-focused mindset, we experience greatness, even if it isn’t apparent in the moment. When I refer to ‘greatness’, I’m focusing on small contributions that people make to themselves and others each and every day. When we look for them, they surface in the form of personal characteristics, values, coping strategies, small and incremental learning opportunities, abilities, skills, ideas.

When we notice these attributes in others and find opportunities to highlight these qualities to them, they begin to see themselves differently – as more than ordinary – as more than their personal challenges. As we appreciate them and point to their personal value, our staff and students rise to the occasion and often shift their own way of thinking, to see beyond assumptions they may have of themselves.

So as we begin the school year, let us think about how we can capitalize on a mindset of possibility and find as many opportunities as possible, to show our appreciation to our students and staff by positively noticing all of their greatness, even if just small successes, and even in small ways.

Have a wonderful start to the school year!

Thank you for reading this newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. As well, let me know if you have any particular topics of interest, regarding relationships in general, at home, at school and at work. You can also subscribe to this newsletter on LinkedIn.

Vicky

Lipchik, E. 2011. Beyond Technique in Solution-Focused Therapy. The Guilford Press. New York, NY.
Zander, R.S. & Zander, B. 2002. Transforming Professional and Personal Life. Penguin Books. London, England.

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