How to Coach Staff when they are in a State of Helplessness

One of my clients is a school owner who hired a new director to lead a brand-new location.

In the beginning, the director was doing a great job.

But then she started to fall short… including on tasks that were not all that complicated.

The owner was concerned the director was acting helpless, especially when it came to her regular duties.

She said to me, “Chanie, I don’t know what to do. What do I tell her? How do I train her?”

If she wanted to invest in this director, I suggested she take her out to breakfast. Spend some time getting to know her, human to human.

So they went out to breakfast.

It wasn’t a one-on-one meeting. It wasn’t a performance review. It was not an interrogation.

It was a chance for them to build a relationship outside the context of work, over coffee and a relaxing meal.

It went so well, they decided to keep it up every month for the next six months.

As the owner got to know her director better, and the more she came to understand who she was as a person, the owner became more empathetic.

And that empathy caused something surprising to happen:

The more empathetic the owner became towards her director, the less afraid she was to hold her accountable.

Knowing what’s going on with someone can actually make it easier to hold them accountable because you’re better able to express both expectations and empathy. Candor and kindness.

Before they knew it, the director had extricated herself from her helplessness, and she was back to being a high-performing professional.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m discussing ways you, as an ECE leader, can guide your staff out of those sneaky feelings of helplessness, while boosting morale and creating a healthier school.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The six main reasons your teammates could fall into a state of helplessness
• Why certain factors lead to feelings of helplessness
• How you can take proactive steps to prevent your staff from feeling helpless
• Ways to coach your staff out of a state of helplessness while keeping morale high

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

If you are feeling overwhelmed and helpless as a school leader, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. Inside, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence.

Is there a helplessness epidemic at your school? It’s time to shift the culture. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center that values self-care. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

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.