As part of the launch of our new community hub, the Mentor-Coaching Institute website, I’ll begin by offering up an e-newsletter series to help navigate ‘coming back’ and the return to school. I’ll be drawing on the skills, mindset and principles of mentor-coaching to support you in coming back to work purposefully and powerfully. I will provide practical ideas, tools and strategies for you to consider and try.
This series is designed to come up underneath our mentor-coach training and our book, as the Mentor-Coaching Institute looks to provide more resources and inspiration to help you sustain and extend your impact as a mentor or coach-like leader/teacher, particularly in these uncertain times.
Coming Back: fortifying and sustaining from the inside out
The school year has begun, and we are all coming back to work and together again after being apart for six months. Gradually reclaiming a rhythm and routine that feels familiar and yet not.
In ‘coming back’, and at risk of understating it all, we’ve all had to adapt and think in new ways. Schools and classrooms have had to be reimagined. And each of us has had to pivot towards an approach to schooling and leading that will be safer for us, the students, our families and our larger community.
And, as we try to get used to all this, further flexibility will be required. Our work as leaders and teachers will continue to be shaped by an ever-evolving global health event. So, in ‘coming back’ we’re not pivoting and settling-in. We’re pivoting and having to be ready to pivot again. We’re straddling all that’s required of us in our roles and the overriding need to stay safe.
Q: How can we fortify and sustain ourselves and others, as we straddle this need to stay safe with our desire to get back to our ‘work’?
A: By working from the inside out!
Diagram: Working from the Inside Out
‘Working from the inside out’ describes both what needs to happen and where we need to begin, as we support ourselves and others through learning, growth and the process of ongoing change. It’s a highly transferable approach, and in our case, a model that can be used to help access the strength and agility that we need to fortify and sustain ourselves and others.
Our model (left) ‘working from the inside out’, serves as the cornerstone of our approach to building capacity in ourselves and others (direct reports, teachers, mentees, students, parents, etc.). Those of you who have completed our MCI training and/or read our book are familiar with this framework. We invite all of you to consider the centrality of this concept.
In short, to work from the inside out and to be able to sustain the agility and stability that we’re going to need, will require that we stay connected to ourselves (red zone), each other (yellow zone) and our goal (green zone), as indicated in the model.
More practically, in working from the inside out we begin within ourselves, in the ‘red zone’. Grounding ourselves within and connecting to our desired results, resources and deeper intentions. The work in the ‘red zone’ is vital, as it serves to firmly plant our feet and provide the stability, and in turn, the agility that times like these require. When we are firmly grounded in the ‘red zone’, we can comfortably reach out to the ‘yellow zone’ or the collective that surrounds us. By accessing the power and support of the relationships, collective strengths and collaboration that is so necessary for sustaining and fortifying ourselves, we journey towards the ‘green zone’, realizing our goals and desired results.
The arrow in the model is both a reminder of the directionality of the process and a synopsis of what we need to be attending to, as we work from the inside out, both with ourselves and with others. The mentor-coaching skills, mindset and foundational principles all sit underneath the ‘being’ and ‘doing’ within the arrow, as an ongoing reminder of this vital distinction. For more on the model and working from the inside out see Chap 4 p. 75-96
Where and how do I begin?
I invite you to begin by reviewing the model and considering the progression of questions. Jot down your responses. They’ll be helpful down the road if things get swirly. Recruit and support your collective. Talk the questions through with your mentee, your teachers, your colleagues, etc. Capture the responses. Commit to supporting one another in staying clear and strong, especially when things feel hard.
Bottom line: stay connected to yourself (red zone), each other (yellow zone) and your goals (green zone).
And lastly, remember these are unprecedented times, so be patient with yourself.
Let me know how it goes… let’s stay connected!
Working from the Inside Out
THE INDIVIDUAL / RED ZONE
Access Awareness
- What results are you wanting?
Access Resources
- What will support you in the work?
Access Authenticity
- Who do you want to be in this?
THE COLLECTIVE / YELLOW ZONE
Culture
- What collective strengths do you want to leverage?
Possibilities
- How does collaboration support your learning and growth?
Shared Purpose
- What matters in this for you individually? collectively?
Relationships
- What do you need as you build relationships?
THE RESULTS / GREEN ZONE
Vision
- What are the shared results you are working toward?
Growth
- Where is the growth?
Fulfillment
- How do you honour your core values in your work?
Performance
- How can you maximize your potential?