The coldest winter I ever spent was a conference-going summer in any air-conditioned room across the USA in July. Brrr. I have worn such fun summer outfits and they were all covered with a black wool shawl.
But, good news, in those rooms learning took place. Goose bumped and chattering was I, but learning happened. Don’t even get me started on how the minute I stepped into the humid heat my hair ‘winged.’ Oy.
Deb Christensen from Wildwood School was my facilitator for the week of Critical Friends Group Coach Training (more on CFG below) and she framed the work we did together as having the opportunity to see your work through ‘outside eyes.’ I took the metaphor for my learning for the whole of July – to attend all events and learn about myself through ‘outside eyes.’
From the CFG workshop in Los Angeles: I relearned again (and again) that not everyone feels safe with banter and extroverted voices and that protocols help bring a welcomed silence and more voices to the table.
From the Visible Learning conference in San Antonio: I learned quite viscerally that I ‘feel’ I am having an impact but I don’t always ‘know’ my impact. I am percolating and marinating on this question. Do I ‘know’ my impact? A lot of both heart and mind at play here.
From the Leveraging Teacher Leadership Institute in Iowa: I relearned there is no need to reinvent the wheel around finding resources to support teacher leaders. There are organizations that do teacher leadership development work with intentionality and expertise. www.teachers21.org and www.leadingeducators.org are two of them. And their staffs include fun folks who are down to earth and fun to hang with on the road.
From my colleagues from all over the world and my CFG ‘focus group’: I learned that the idea of a Women’s’ Leadership in Education Institute is a worthwhile idea to work on. I believe (and know) that there is a need for women to come together to grow our leadership expertise and to build a community. Be on the lookout for more in the coming months.
What did ‘outside eyes’ teach you about yourself this summer?
If you have any questions, comments or topic suggestions, please feel free to call me, 650-868-1916 and we can Face Time, Skype me at jenniferabrams, or email me at jennifer@jenniferabrams.com and we can set up a time to talk voice to voice. I look forward to hearing from you!
*Jennifer Abrams, “Learning through ‘Outside Eyes", August 1, 2015,https://jenniferabrams.com/learning-through-outside-eyes/
