170. The Paradox of School Leadership: Support

A director I was coaching a few weeks ago told me about a repeat problem that kept coming up in her center. She was constantly being interrupted by teachers coming to her office asking for help with little things. She was glad to support them, but it was getting to a point where she couldn’t focus on her own tasks.

Her own behavior—going out of her office to give them what they asked for, every single time—was enabling their behavior and dependency, instead of empowering them to be resourceful.

We want to be encouraging leaders with all the answers, but there’s a paradox here. We have to balance this urge to provide on-demand support with the necessity of giving our teams the environment to develop autonomy, independence, and individual growth.

This week, join me for a conversation about:

• Why support is related to people pleasing and anxiety
• How the paradox of support shows up in education, such as the push-and-pull between dependency and empowerment
• Three practical ways you can balance support with autonomy
• Journaling questions to investigate how you can navigate the paradox of support​

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 When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.