The Waterfall Effect: Help your school overcome adversity
If you haven’t read our post about defining The Waterfall Effect, start there for context. These ideas were inspired by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant who wrote Option B.
Adversity comes in all shapes and sizes. The death of a loved one, divorce, unemployment, homelessness, disease – not only is the magnitude radically unique, but the impact on the person experiencing the adversity is significantly different.
No matter where you are in the world, it’s inevitable that you and your students will experience adversity, and have already. How did you respond? How did your students navigate the challenges they faced? And, knowing the inevitability, what will you do to prepare them for the future?
This is where the power of coaching comes in.
One incredible educator, Delyth Lynch at Wellington College, once told us that she sees coaching like this: If students and staff are like volcanos with the potential to erupt at any moment, then coaching conversations are like little steam vents. Every time someone has one it lets out steam, little by little, decreasing the chances that they will ever lose control and erupt.
Picture this: a school where every member of the community, inclusive of all teaching and non-teaching staff, students and their parents, are able to have empowering, connecting and supportive conversations with ease.
When students and staff face adversity, your conversations will draw out what’s really going on and help them navigate their challenges. And, when adversity is absent, the conversations will provide space for deep reflection and the opportunity to learn how to self-coach.
We’ve always said coaching makes it possible for people to be the best they can be in the classroom and beyond, but it’s truly much more than that. Coaching can enable growth even in the toughest of times. A supportive conversation with a person that deeply cares can be everything that person needs.
Coaching Day 2022 will remind you of power of the coaching and help create the ripples in your school you’ve always wanted. We can’t wait to see you there!