Category: Thought Leaders

Lots of competing forces seek to define us. IF we succumb to that legion of definitions imposed on us by others, we are tossed around as a cork on a stormy sea.

It is well worth the effort to define ourselves. And to revisit that self definition often. The late Dr. Clayton Christensen wrote a book and did an excellent TED Talk titled “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

IF/WHEN we carefully explore that question, then make very conscious decisions about apportioning our finite time, effort, and attention along those “metrics,” we have taken the most meaningful steps in defining ourselves.

It makes for a much steadier and self-actualizing journey….

As always, today is an excellent day to start.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning. 

Our best team members — regardless of skills, intelligence, or motivations — often end up in the weeds (or headed that way). The best leaders I know are masters at Weed Mitigation.

What do those wise leaders do to help us all stay out of the weeds? Here are some examples of their work in that regard…

• They keep us hyper-focused on the BIG PICTURE stuff. They constantly explain and communicate that BIG PICTURE and help us channel our time, attention, and effort in that direction.
• They put systems in place that are aligned to that BIG PICTURE. Stuff that ain’t….goes. They seek out and happily remove distractions, trivialities, and redundancies in the workflow.
• They paint that BIG PICTURE and monitor the progress, but stay out of the way of those who are diligently pursuing it.
• They coach people…UP (for those who embrace the BIG PICTURE) or OUT (for those who don’t/won’t).
• They connect the team, across divisions and functions, internally, and with valuable resources externally.

I recently read The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church (2020).

This book is a follow-up to one printed about 10 years prior by Ritchhart, et al. The authors assert that Making Thinking Visible (MTV)… “has the power to: Foster deep learning; Cultivate engaged students; Change the role of students and teachers; Enhance our formative assessment practice; Improve learning (even when measured by standardized tests); and Develop thinking dispositions.” (p. 6)

My top takeaways:

• Thinkingis more process than product.
• Deep learning is the result of both understanding andthinking.
• Engagement occurs on three levels: with others, with ideas, and in action.
• Understanding requires both “digging” and sense making.
• MAKING THINKING VISIBLE is a set of practices: Questioning, Listening, Documentation, and Thinking routines.
• Robust thinking only happens when the content is also robust.
• The quality of the questions drives the quality of the learning.
• Professional development events too often focus on training teachers in a set of tools or practices, but ignoring the deeper learning of the skill set and cultivation of mindsets needed to deploy those tools most effectively. (p. 226)
• Three teaching inhibitors: The rush toward quick judgment and evaluation, the tendency to predict what students will say before they say it, and the desire for closure.
• A powerful facilitative question: “What makes you say that?”
• Teaching is a complex undertaking, precisely because learning is a complex outcome.

My favorite quotes:

“These opportunities [for deep learning] are infused with critical thinking, grappling with complexity, challenging assumptions, questioning authority, and embracing curiosity – all core elements of what it means to learn deeply.” (p. 6)

“Formative assessment lives in our listening, observing, examining, analyzing, and reflecting on the process of learning. Even then, our assessment becomes formative only when we use that data to inform our teaching and students’ learning. Formative assessment then is driven by our curiosity about our students’ learning and the desire to make sure our teaching is responsive to their needs as learners.” (p. 12)

“As the feminist poet Alice Duer Miller observed, ‘Listening is not merely not talking,’ it is ‘taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us.’” (p. 26)

“Poet Judy Brown writes that it is the space between the logs where the fire grows (Brown 2016)”. (p. 218)

RR and MC embed in this work several teacher moves (technical applications/strategies) to foster deep learning and make the thinking of the learners public.

This is one of the best books on the teaching-learning process I’ve read in recent years. An excellent option for team studies by those who want to push their instructional A-game higher.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning. 

I don’t run as fast as I used to. I have to drive a little slower at night these days. I allow a bit of extra time for almost any kind of activity. Both my hearing and eyesight are waning. Too many of my friends/family are dying off. And some of my former students and athletes are, as well. On the surface, it seems a lot has changed. But……………

Preacher Andy Stanley tells the story of an inspirational parishioner who continued to faithfully serve others during his last years, despite dealing with an insidious terminal illness. When Stanley inquired of the gentleman about his continued servant leadership, even under extreme duress, the response was, “Nothing has changed; God is still in charge.”

I am blessed beyond measure, and WAY beyond merit. But if it all ended today, nothing will have changed. The God of my understanding (as feeble as that understanding is) remains in charge.

For that………………..I am thankful.

Peace and blessings to you as we pause ever so briefly to give thanks.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning. 

The labels: Cowboys, City Slickers, Rednecks, Yankees, Hillbillies, Cajuns, Straight, Gay, Bi, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Conservatives, Liberals, Moderates, ………..

On and on it goes. The promulgation of labels seems bent on division, with no interest in harmony.

The very moment we hang a label on someone, we quit viewing them as individuals. We immediately saddle them with a plethora of assumptions and adjectives that may or may not apply.

Worst of all, we quit seeing and we quit listening to them as individuals.

The cost is so very high.

Think of me, and engage with me, as Nelson. I’ll do my dead level best to return the favor.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning. 

Leaders burn out, a LOT. We cannot do great good for others if we do not take care of ourselves. If we deplete ourselves, we and many that depend on us pay a price.

Just as we are responsible for the health and wellbeing of our stakeholders — internal and external — we are also responsible for our own. 

That means attending to our own health and wellbeing on three fronts: 1) Intellectual/Cognitive, 2) Physical, and 3) Emotional/Spiritual.

Knowing who we want to be has everything to do with how we take care of ourselves. If we do not embed habits of self-care into our daily lives as leaders, we will most certainly burn out (or in some cases, burn “through”). With that, our opportunity to leave the world a better place is lost.

TODAY is a good day to abandon bad habits related to self-care. TODAY is also a good day to adopt some healthy ones.

*If you’d like read more of nc’s blathering, go to nc’s Resursive Learning. 

Two of the hallmarks of exemplary leadership are Vulnerability and Transparency.

Being Vulnerable as leaders does not make us “wobbly” (to channel Margaret Thatcher). On the contrary, it positions us to more authentically engage with both our internal and external stakeholders.

Vulnerable Leaders look/feel/sound like this:

They openly share what they DON’T know, expressing a deep desire to learn more (from whomever and wherever that learning can emerge).
They know they can’t do it all, and thus, freely ask for help from others.
They LEARN constantly, which signals to others that continual learning is both OK and an expectation.
They model that leadership compels one to be a servant, not a master.
They emanate the understanding that we are all intertwined and interdependent on one another.
When I was pretending to be an athletic coach (decades ago), I noticed that the preponderance of the individual accolades that flowed once a season was over went to those athletes on successful TEAMS.

We, as individuals, are most successful when we are contributing team members. Leaders are only one component of the TEAM. Being a Vulnerable Leader accelerates TEAM performance.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, to to nc’s Recursive Learning.

Author: Nelson Coulter

Who we choose to BE is far more important than what we choose to do, and orders of magnitude more important than what we say.

How do we go about choosing who we want to BE?

An impactful guiding question: How will my existence on the planet make it a better place for ALL people?

Once that question has been carefully examined, we can begin scheduling our days/weeks/months/lives. Focusing our time, effort, and resources on the truly important things is the ONLY thing that moves us closer to who we want to BE.

And tomorrow……we ask that question of ourselves again.

Get better. Everyday. On purpose.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning.