Happy New Year! It’s still January, so it’s okay for me to say this, right? I hope 2018 is off to a fantastic start for you. Here are some snapshots of what’s been happening in Bright Morning recently.
Last week we had our first ever team retreat—we gathered for three days in Oakland and did lots of team building (at the end of this blog you can see Noelle leading an activity) and we learned about each other’s strengths, as described on Clifton StrengthsFinder. (Have you used this tool? What are your strengths? My top strength is Learner.) We also did lots of work. We’re revising our workshops and figuring out how to make them even more powerful learning experiences. I can’t wait to share these with you!
The retreat went well, I know it did, but I have to confess: I’ve been feeling super insecure about building a team—in part because given my experience thinking about team development and writing about it, and doing it, I feel like I should be good at it. But last week, as I facilitated our team retreat, I didn’t feel good at it. I felt clumsy. I tried to recall what I wrote about in some chapter or another in The Art of Coaching Teams. And then I tried some self-compassion and self-acceptance and then I reminded myself that everything is a learning experience.
And, in spite of this insecurity, it felt really good to have a team. To be working with a team. To have others to talk with and brainstorm with and also to laugh with. Here we are, modeling our swag.
I’ve got some blogs inside me that want to come out about this process of team building—new insights, new strategies—so be sure to follow my blog on EdWeek Teacher. (And while you’re there, check out my recent blog, “How to Tell if a Coaching Conversation is Going Wrong.”)
Today I delivered a keynote for a Women in Leadership Conference for independent school educators in the Bay Area. The topic was resilience—and how mentoring can cultivate resilience in others, as well as in ourselves. It’s so affirming to see all the nodding heads when I share this work (I don’t get to see that when people read my books) and I can’t wait until Onward comes out on May 1!
The first ever 2018 Art of Coaching Conference is less than 30 days away and we are four spots away from being sold out!! Pulling this thing together is a dream. I can’t wait to tell you about how it goes—and hopefully to see some of you there. If you can’t be there, be sure to follow us on social media for peeks at what’s going on—and save your money because I’m 95% sure we’ll do this again next year!
In preparation for the conference, we’re going to feature blogs written by some of our presenters. Whether you’ll be at the conference or not, you can learn from these fantastic leaders in education. Stay tuned…our first guest blog post will be by Lauren Short later this week!
I always love hearing from you–whether in the comments section or on social media or an email so feel free to reach out and say hi, share stories, and ask questions.
All my best,
Elena