TIE has partnered with Jennifer Abrams to offer this timely and thoughtful series, supporting international educators with resources and reflections for leading and communicating effectively in today’s complex and polarized world.
Suffice it to say, the waters surrounding international schools are murky at this moment. Cultural, political, and philosophical differences are ever present and make communications around so many topics ever challenging. Add to that, the number of students that we may (or may not) have in our schools in the upcoming school year is dependent on corporate, political, or diplomatic changes or national approvals of programs and things change in an instant. In addition, the students who are in our schools might increase the need for additional learning support and increased focus on multilingual programs. Then there is geopolitical conflict and climate change, governmental scrutiny, increased oversight, and curricular restrictions. Given all the complexity and shifting global dynamics, the one thing that is clear is that the water is murky as we try to successfully navigate through polarizing times.
With the world confronting us with volatility and uncertainty at what seems like every juncture, the instability is causing many of us to lose our ability to think clearly. We are unable to focus, and due to feeling overwhelmed and irritable, we might not be our best self during communications with others. As leaders who are managing themselves along with the big feelings among all stakeholders, we need as many strategies and supports as we can get to try to keep ourselves balanced and steady.
There is so much that can be done to support our communities to stay more grounded and responsive to the ever-changing landscape. We can create crisis management plans and enforce clear policies around civil discourse. We can increase our support around mental health initiatives and upskill our faculty to successfully communicate with students around sensitive topics. Yet these initiatives take time, energy, and input from all segments of the school community and aren't done overnight. We need some just in time tools, skills, and support. How might we model in the “here and now” how to be our best selves - model what it means to be an emotionally self-regulated, mature, and respectful colleague?
Having hard conversations, collaborating effectively across generations, successfully rolling out school initiatives, and creating a healthy professional school culture all center around the belief that interactions in the workplace need to be humane and growth producing. Leaders are at the forefront of that work. And in these polarizing times we have an opportunity to stretch and develop our skills to do so even more effectively. We can become even more developed human beings who are able to think with more complexity and manage ourselves during uncertainty yet with compassion and greater awareness.
As Felipe Fernandez-Armesto said in Humankind: A Brief History, “If we want to go on believing we are human and justify the special status we accord ourselves—if, indeed, we want to stay human through the changes we face—we had better not discard the myth (of our special status) but start trying to live up to it.”
There is no doubt that we as leaders want to be those models, and we all need support to do so. Michael Fullan, in his book Nuance: Why Some Leaders Succeed and Others Fail, writes about those who have a “curiosity about what is possible, openness to other people, sensitivity to context, and loyalty to a better future.” He speaks of leaders who “are courageously and relentlessly committed to changing the system for the betterment of humanity.” No doubt you are that leader no matter what role you take within your current context, no matter the murky waters we are working in within our international school context.
The main questions posed in this article and the following articles in this series are:
This series of articles will look at how we can make sure our communications don't add to the “social friction” of polarizing situations. And, given the global scope of the international school leaders who read these words, polarizing situations will look different in Africa as they will in South America, Asia, Europe, or the Middle East. Your contextual awareness will inform how these skills are used successfully in your region.
"Our conversations invent us. Through our speech and our silence, we become smaller or larger selves. Through our speech and our silence, we diminish or enhance the other person, and we narrow or expand the possibilities between us. How we use our voice determines the quality of our relationships, who we are in the world, and what the world can be and might become. Clearly, a lot is at stake here." - Harriet Lerner, The Dance of Connection
Given that we are the “Chief Experience Office,” regardless of our role as leaders or the country we work in, what skill sets and mindsets do we need to bring to the forefront as we navigate the times we are in?
This series of articles will include:
Becoming less reactive and more able to sit in discomfort? Yes, please. Becoming someone who is growing in their ability to choose a response when a stimulus comes into view. Yes, again. Navigating in polarizing times requires so much of us. Join me on the journey.
Listen Now to hear more from Jennifer Abram's on the Voice of TIE Podcast.
Jennifer Abrams is an international educational and communications consultant for public and independent schools, universities, and non-profits. Jennifer trains and coaches teachers, administrators, and others on new teacher/employee support, having hard conversations, collaboration skills, and being your best adult self at work.
