Qualities Strong School Leaders Possess with Dwight Carter, ep. 191

Qualities Strong School Leaders Possess with Dwight Carter, ep. 191, Instructional Coaching with Ms. B Podcast

Chrissy Beltran  00:00

Coach, I know you’re trying to figure this all out on your own. You’re investing in your own learning on your own time because you want to show up for your teachers in the best way possible. Building your coaching program is a huge challenge. And it’s even more difficult when you’re asked to know about literacy practices and how to support them. That’s why I created the confident literacy coach. This self paced course gives you the knowledge strategies, processes, and downloadable tools that you need to be competent in your coaching work every single day. The new update to the reading and writing modules includes information about literacy that will help you grow your skills practices, and grow your students into skilled readers and writers. Check it out at confident literacy coach.com And stop reinventing the wheel.

Chrissy Beltran  00:40

Have you felt like you’ve provided all the PD, you facilitated all the PLCs and you’ve had all the conversations, but your teachers are still stuck. If your teachers are resistant to instructional change or having trouble implementing new things, it might look something like this. They’re still using outdated practices that we know don’t work. They fight every PLC to claim to their favorite lessons or strategies. You see evidence of for instructional methods everywhere despite having provided tons of PD and better practices. And kids aren’t learning and the same kids are at the bottom of the data chart every single time. Does this sound familiar? To literacy coaches who are committed to helping students grow as readers and writers This is especially frustrating. That’s why I created a free webinar for literacy coaches, but really any coach can value from it. It’s all about helping teachers embrace new practices and try out something new even when they’re not excited about it. We’ll learn why teachers resist change, how to help teachers feel secure and ready to try something new. And my favorite strategies and methods to encourage choice while expecting and holding them accountable for trying new things. I’m so excited to share this information with you that I created a free download that you’ll get when you grab the free pre recorded webinar at buzzing with Miss b.com slash shift. Grab it today. It’s totally free and it will make such a difference in your coaching.

Chrissy Beltran  02:03

Welcome to instructional coaching with Miss B where we believe that every teacher deserves a coach and every coach does too. I’m Chrissy Beltran, an elementary teacher who became a coach, and I had to create my own coaching program that worked. Now I teach coaches how to design their coaching programs, build a school wide action plan and use differentiated strategies to support teachers. Plus, I’ve got a special spot in my heart for literacy coaches. Now let’s dig into the episode two episode 191 of instructional coaching with myth b Today we are talking about qualities of strong leaders. With my guest, Dwight Carter, I want to remind you that you can grab my free startup mini course at buzzing with Miss b.com slash jumpstart that course is going to walk you in five phase through your three by three vision, getting yourself set up for an amazing year of coaching. I know you’re gonna love it because I had a ton of great feedback about it last year.

Chrissy Beltran  02:54

You can also join my waitlist for instructional coaching startup book course, which is that buzzing with Ms. b.com slash startup, that course will walk you through the first 20 days of coaching. It’s going to help you prepare for this incredible year with a really strong foundation. Definitely check that out and join the waitlist for a coupon. Okay, Coach, this is the first episode in our series about school leadership as an instructional coach, whether you’re a leader on paper or not, you are absolutely part of school leadership. But you’re also in a very special delicate spot. Have you ever had a really truly amazing administrator, one who inspires you to be better and to learn and to grow? And who empowers you to make decisions and seems so natural in their leadership position. Today, Dwight Carter is joining us to talk about what makes that kind of strong leader he’s going to share about leadership qualities that we all need to possess in order to really grow our schools. So let’s welcome Dwight Carter to the podcast. Welcome.

Dwight Carter  03:52

Thank you, Christy. Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Chrissy Beltran  03:55

All right. Well, I’m glad I’m really glad that you’re here because we’re going to talk about this very important topic today. And before we jump in, I would love to just hear about a few things to kind of have you introduce yourself. So who do you help? And how do you spend most of your time and energy at work?

Dwight Carter  04:09

All right, great question, Who do I help? I mainly help our school social workers, school counselors, our building principals and administrators. Our school nurses and I work very, very closely with our superintendent and assistant superintendent. So it’s a wide range, but primarily, really just through listening conversation, idea, ideation, problem solving and thinking through some of the processes and systems we have in place. That’s how I help people do most.

Chrissy Beltran  04:42

All right, I love that. Yeah, that’s gonna help a lot of people today. And my other question is kind of a fun bonus question. What is your favorite movie or TV show of all time?

Dwight Carter  04:52

That was tough. That’s a tough question. Our favorite movie I will say it favorite actors more so as Denzel Washington is So anything that he is that he’s featured in, is my favorite. So the three that come to mind are Malcolm X, Mo better blues and insight, man, like, those are the three movies that that I really enjoy. And I’ll watch, I watch those repeatedly.

Chrissy Beltran  05:16

So good, so good to have your favorite. He’s Excellent. And it’s so good to have your favorite movies accessible now, you don’t have to even rewind them anymore. Okay, so I would love to talk about school leadership. And the first thing that I want to do is paint a picture of what we should not be doing, and what you’re seeing. So what do what are school leaders doing when they’re going wrong when they’re trying to impact their schools positively? What are some of the mistakes that we’re making,

Dwight Carter  05:40

when it comes to school leadership, especially now in 2020, for us is very complex. And, you know, being a former school leader, even though it was it was recent progress, I guess, I would say the last five years, it’s still very different than it was, it’s very different now than it was when I was a school leader. So I want to speak through speak from that lens, other than saying I understand the complexity of this job are much different than it was when I was a building principal, and assistant principal. So I’ll put that Asterix there. The mistakes that I they either I’ve made or that I’ve seen others make is going things going at things too fast, and trying to solve a problem too quickly, without getting all the sides getting input from other people. And I know there’s a need to do things very quickly. But sometimes we have to go slow to go fast. So I’ll say school leaders who make like very quick decisions without getting all the information typically end up making more of an issue of issue much bigger. Another is not listening to teachers. Teachers are boots on the ground, they’re in the classroom, they’re working with the kids on a day to day basis. So creating, not creating space, or opportunities to hear from teachers get their voice. And their expertise, I think is a huge mistake that that we make as school leaders at times and then the final thing would be not not collaborating with your team. You know, speaking from a middle school, high school level, even some elementaries there’s a team of administrators that work together. But trying to go solo, and not asking for help or tapping into your other leaders expertise is a recipe for disaster.

Chrissy Beltran  07:28

Yeah, that’s so true. And, and as an instructional coach, you know, we were considered part of leadership team, even in elementary school. And, and you do hear from I had, like, I had a really great boss, who was really good about listening to her people. And I think that so many times the stories that I heard were, well, they’re just doing this, and you know, the boss is just doing whatever idea that they had, and nobody really knows why or where it came from, or they went to a training and brought it back. And now this is what we do, you know, yeah.

Dwight Carter  07:59

Again, not explaining why things are changing, or even if they should change. And some and sometimes as as school leaders, and I look at school leaders as middle management, because you have direction from district office, but then you have direction and pressure from, you know, staff and parents and things like that. And sometimes decisions are made that you just have to implement as a school leader. Sometimes it comes from the state, sometimes it comes from the district, and it’s just there’s compliance things that you’d have to do. I think understanding that, but also understanding the need to explain the why behind that decision. People may not like it, but they they’re, they’re more willing to accept it when they understand why this is being done, and why the decision is being made. Again, just from personal experience, I made that mistake way too many times of not explaining the why but focusing on so much and a handle in the summer really stuck going not moving forward, because they didn’t understand why it had to be done. That’s

Chrissy Beltran  08:58

true. That’s very true. And that’s why we get stuck, you know, not not all personality types are super excited about change. At least if we can understand, okay, this is just this is not something that you know that we just unilaterally decided this is something you’ve been handed down, but we’re going to try to make it work for our school. Yeah,

Dwight Carter  09:15

make the best out of it. Because again, it’s something that is required. That’s true.

Chrissy Beltran  09:20

So then you have actually identified five qualities that positively impact school culture. And so could you talk a little bit about what went into identifying those qualities, how you gathered your information, or you know what your process was? Yeah.

Dwight Carter  09:34

So the five principles that I highlight, in my book, be great five principles to prove school culture from the inside out. Those principles came from just personal experience and things that I tried to live my life by, by no means am I perfect at these five principles. These are these are things that I aspire to do. But I’ve also seen them in practice in a number of schools and these were things that I tried to in Pullman and law schools as well. So those principles, it’s an acronym that says great, that’s what the title comes from be great. And it stands for the G is for grateful. The R is for relational, the E is for enthusiastic. The A is for authentic and the T means teachable. So be grateful, relational, enthusiastic, authentic and teachable. Where those came from, or was a it was more of a an epiphany, if you can say. So when I became a my first principalship actually know when I became an assistant principal, I was trying to come up with a more clever way of sending off like on emails and newsletters and things like that other than yours truly, or sincerely, or just something very basic. So I thought about that for a couple years while I was an assistant. And then when I got my first principalship in 2005, I really started to think about, okay, I don’t want to sign off on all my my correspondence. Because again, yours truly and sincerely, those are just just basic, and it’s not really sending off a message. And so driving to work one day be great just popped in my head. So I was like, Oh, let me try that out. So I started sending out newsletters, staff, emails, things like that. Did it for about three weeks. And then I was like, This is just This is corny. This is just This is stupid. Literally, I just say this is stupid. So I stopped doing it. And within a week, I had a couple of teachers stopped by one in particular where she was a strong leader in the building. And she knocked on a door, you know, said, Hey, you got a minute. Come on. And she said, we’ve been talking. So she was representative a group. I don’t know if she truly was but she said we, you know, talking wondering, Why did you stop using the great, did you get in trouble or something? And I just chuckled like troubled by who like what, why would I get in trouble for doing that? I said no, I didn’t get in trouble. I just thought it was corny. And you know, it just didn’t mean anything she said. And she said No, it’s because I liked it. Because it was it was more aspirational. And it reminded me to keep doing my best every single day. I was shocked. I mean, shocked. Like oh, okay, well, within a few days than a parent email me, emailed me and said, Hey, I noticed you stopped using a B grade on your newsletters. What happened? Did you get in trouble? So I says, What is this? What is this? What is this trouble thing? I mean, what am I not aware of? And that’s like not to get in trouble. I just again, same message. I just thought it was corniness it now we I love it. Like I’ve shared it with my boss. He now uses it. She’s nice. Like we really, he said I really enjoyed it. Because again, it was just it was it was a reminder, it was something positive, it was more aspirational. And it was just it made everything more positive as you presented it. So I hail. So I just started using it again. And since 2005, it’s stuck. And then when I became the high school principal, and my two previous districts, Canon Lincoln High School, I really start to think about okay, what does this really mean to me? Yes, I know, it’s a it’s a word. It’s supposed to be aspirational. But what does it really mean? So I really started to think about it, pray about it, think about how I’m living my life, things that I wanted to live out in my life. And those words just came through, I’ve always been focused on creating and maintaining establishing positive relationships. So that was a part of it was doing a lot of work on like, why and purpose. And that’s where enthusiasm came into play. Authenticity is something that that’s, that’s constantly a work in progress for me. So, just doing a lot of research on that, you know, a lot of support, talking to people and things like that. And then thinking about being teachable, that’s just, that’s us as educators, we’re lifelong learners. And, you know, and being teachable is a way especially during rapid change, as we live in today, we have to be able to adapt and be flexible and learn what we don’t know. And then underlying all that is just a practice of gratitude or being grateful. So that’s what those things they came from. So through personal, you know, obstacles and challenges that I’ve gone through, like with, you know, with counseling and things like that, some of these principals were instrumental in some of the therapy strategies that was that I was giving and, and staff found them very beneficial. And then during that process, I really started to research like, okay, what are the benefits of gratitude? And how do we truly maintain, establish and maintain positive relationships, especially at work? You know, so that that’s where they came from.

Chrissy Beltran  14:35

I liked that, and I liked that it covers a wide range of, of characteristics. And you know, you can apply it in different settings because, yeah, I mean, we can be grateful obviously, we can internally be grateful, but we can also use that to remind us to be grateful to teachers, you know, and prompt you know, thank you for your work. I appreciate I see this and I appreciate it, you know, and, and so I like that we think that we can value Like our core beliefs, which is something that I believe, you know, we all have to decide what those are. But then we can use them to, you know, to remind us of what our actions need to be, you know, all the time or interactions with people need to look like this. So I think those are great. So what does it look like for somebody who’s maybe not administration like you actually, well, counselors aren’t, I guess, considered administration, but not in the traditional sense in terms of you know, the boss? Like somebody who’s in the instructional coaching, or someone who’s in that kind of a position? What does it look like whenever they demonstrate these leadership qualities, leadership qualities? Yeah,

Dwight Carter  15:34

so speaking directly to the instructional coaches, one of the best things coaches can do is like this, doubly show recognition, and appreciation for what you’re seeing in the classroom. And that’s the best way of building trust, opening the door, and then helping the other person be open to to critique, criticism, feedback, and just being teachable. So one of the most tangible things coaches can do is just write and write sincerely write handwritten notes about, Hey, I saw that you were implementing this strategy, the students responded this way, great job, it can be a note, it can be posted, it can be on a note card. But taking that time to intentionally, specifically, thank someone for what they’re doing, will, I think, be a huge benefit to not only the coach, but also the person that received it, because I guarantee you this. When we receive positive notes, we typically post those on our desk, on the board. On the calendar, it’s visible somewhere, as a reminder to say, you know, that person saw what I was doing and appreciated it. So it becomes our like our large refrigerator door. And just from personal experience, one of the things I used to do, when I was in the buildings, I bought a very large bag of gold stars that you would put on your lanyard or something like that. And especially when I was having a rough day, I would just pull up the bag of stars, pull out a logo, thank you card, and just go around start writing, thank you notes of things that I saw throughout the week, or what I experienced in the month, and just took about, you know, 1520 minutes, maybe an hour walking around the building, and would hand out the notes with the lapel, lapel or stars. And like I said, I will see those notes posted somewhere on the desk. Inevitably I saw people with the stars on their on their on their lanyards or on their name badge. And it was again, we’re talking about grown folks who are excited about receiving the star. Yeah, it wasn’t more it was less about the star, it was more about being recognized and shown that they’re valued for what they’re doing on a day to day basis. And the feedback has to be very specific. I think one of the mistakes that leaders often make is blanket appreciation, or blanket. Thank you. It’s like I appreciate all that you do. Like that doesn’t really resonate with people because it’s it doesn’t feel genuine. And written notice specific to what is what is observed is much more, much more genuine, and much more appreciated. Yeah, yeah, you’re

Chrissy Beltran  18:16

making such a, you’re reminding me I remember, I would go into classrooms. And I would write little notes about what I saw. And it was just kind of, like, it wasn’t the it was just like, This is what I saw. And then I would say something that I liked. And then I’d ask a question, you know, just to make people think, and I can remember going into classrooms and seeing all the little notes sit like up on the wall next to the teachers little area. And I don’t know why that surprised me. Because if somebody had done that, for me, I might have done the same or I would have put on my notebook. But I just remember seeing it thinking, oh my god, that’s so sweet. There are these things that are putting them up, you know, they’re like, these are my little notes. And it was just, I just love that. Yeah, yeah,

Dwight Carter  18:52

because being being teachable, you crave feedback. And that’s the way you learn. That’s the way we learn. We crave feedback. And we also want to feel valued and validated in the work that we’re doing. That’s where that sense of belonging comes into play. So leaders exposure, whether you’re instructional coach, building principal, Assistant, Principal, any any position that you are overseeing people, counselor or whatnot. Validating people is so crucially important to establishing that psychological safety and ingratitude is a means of making it happen. And I often say we should have a practice of gratitude, not just an attitude of gratitude, because the practice is actionable. There’s things that you’re physically doing, and attitude is more of a disposition. But if you’re putting that into practice, that sort of practice of gratitude can really, really have a positive impact on school culture. Yeah, that

Chrissy Beltran  19:46

makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Well, how about relational Would you share a little bit about what that can look like in your?

Dwight Carter  19:52

Yeah, relational. Being relational just simply means how two or more people are connected. And you know, as James Comer says, you know, No significant learning occurs without significant relationship. It’s foundational work, you think about Maslow’s work is all about understanding and meeting the needs of other people so that you can learn and grow on a deeper level. So how do you establish positive relationships at work is your embracing and accepting the diversity that exists within the building. And that could be cognitive or physical diversity. It’s also through being an active listener. We’re great at communicating at times. But part of the communication that we forget is that we have to actively listen, not listen to, to respond, to listen to understand. And so if you do those two things, and then like I said, be very specific, in what you’re asking for, and be open to suggestions and ideas. Those are ways in which you establish positive relationships, and then that psychological safety that occurs. And so some of the things that that that I’ve done, or that I’ve experienced, or that I’ve seen, especially from a leadership point of view, is taking a few minutes every single day to visit as many people as you possibly can. So walking the building in the morning, and you can read the room, you can you can you know, somebody’s open to the conversation. Or if you know, somebody who’s like really focused on, I’m getting ready for the day, thanks for stopping by. Keep on going. So just reading the room and having those informal, but intangible moments of asking about family asking about what’s going on in the day. Just being present and knowing knowing your staff. And so I’ll give you an example of the deeper the deep relationships that we established in one of my buildings. And it’s more it’s celebrating the staff that I had not celebrating me. So my wife and I adopted our daughter from birth, and nobody knew in the building until it was done. And we found out three weeks that, you know, she was coming home. So we had three weeks to prepare for nine months of preparation. So when I when I returned for my leave several, several people in the building, put on a a, a shower for us. And we it was a diaper shower, basically, we had enough culpers That lasted us for two years. Students got involved. So they they I mean, it was just mind blown, like, unbelievably powerful. And the excitement that I saw on people’s faces, just to be a part of it was man. Special. It was very, very special. And I don’t know if that’s normal. But that was normal for us. Yeah. Because they cared deeply about us as people just as we cared about. Like we cried together, we celebrated together. We grew together, and we just we had a very strong staff. And that experience I’ll never forget, I’ll never ever forget that. But it was it was all based on deposits that were made over the years, as opposed to a 111 moment

Chrissy Beltran  23:11

in time. That’s right. Yeah, it takes time. It takes you have to put the work in. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so how about enthusiastic? I think that’s pretty self explanatory. But I think it’s like, well, well,

Dwight Carter  23:24

it isn’t it isn’t. So I looked at the root of the word enthusiasm, because we think it’s about one definition is the outward expression of emotion. And not everybody is that way, right? So I wanted to ensure others that you to not be not trying to be something that you’re not. So if you’re an introvert, or you’re, you know, pretty reserved, and you’re not like outwardly expressive with your emotions, it doesn’t mean you lack enthusiasm, it just you choose not to do it in that fashion. So the root of the word enthusiasm is mtos. And that means it possessed or God inspired. So I started thinking like, that means that’s basically your purpose. So by when I say be enthusiastic, when I’m focusing on is focused on your why, and focus on you know, what, what are you what are you trying to accomplish? And why? Why you’re doing Why are you doing what you do? Why did you become a teacher? Why did you become an educator? And don’t forget that why. So enthusiasm is waning, or stress levels are high, or you’re feeling burned out? gotta ask yourself a couple questions. Am I doing what I was supposed to be doing? Am I overcoming the barriers that are facing me in Nm? Am I aligned with the purpose that I set out when I became an educator? So those are some some reflective questions. So like I said, it’s not about the outward expression, it’s more so are we aligned with the reason why we became educators in the first place. And within that realm of educator, there’s a number of positions as you know, we’ve highlighted there’s coach there’s counselor, Assistant, principal, Principal, Superintendent, whatever and typically When we’re starting to feel that itch or that boredom, that may be a sign that we may need to elevate or level up in our education to get a different position. Or it may be, I just needed something different altogether. But either so either way, if you’re no longer fired up by your why, you got to start asking yourself, when did I lose that enthusiasm? And then how can I get it back? And if I can’t get it back? Is it time to transition to something else? And that’s perfectly okay.

Chrissy Beltran  25:30

Yeah, I think that’s even even just changing grade levels? Absolutely. Our content areas can be enough to make you feel like okay, I have, I’m getting new information. I’m thinking differently. I’m using a different part of my brain, and I just need I needed to change.

Dwight Carter  25:44

Yeah, like I said, that’s perfectly okay. And I think it’s more common nowadays than it has been, I’ll say, in the last decade, for that transition for people to be to be willing to make that transition, as opposed to sticking it out fighting, you know, crawling, you know, tooth and nail just to get through to 30 years or 35 years, right, like now, it’s more acceptable to shift, as you say, move a great level, move a building, get some more training become, you know, get another position that’s either higher or even move, or even leaving the building leadership and be returning to the classroom. Yes, like, that’s something is happening a lot these days. Yeah. So, you know, I think finding joy and meaning in the work makes it much more beneficial for everybody.

Chrissy Beltran  26:37

Yeah, it does. Okay, and then authentic. I love this word that you included. I think it’s so there’s so much. I mean, sometimes you do have to fake it till you make it in certain situations. But, but Yeah, can you talk a little bit about what that looks like?

Dwight Carter  26:55

Yeah, just being authentic is making sure you are knowledgeable of who you are? And what what is your work aligned to your core values. So first is like is involved? It involves identifying your core values, identifying your strengths, your weaknesses, or areas of improvement. What are your triggers? What are your glimmers? Like? What are the things that that make you you, and then ensuring that you do not compromise that in what in what you’re doing, and becoming authentic is a lifelong process. Because we’re constantly evolving, we’re growing, we’re changing based on experiences. And so what that looks like in the school building, or a district is embracing the differences that we have and celebrate, while aligning ourselves with the mission vision values and plan that strategic plan in the district. So there’s, there’s and giving space for people to show up as their authentic selves. Sometimes that creates conflict, but that also strengthens relationships. You know, so that very easily spending time with one another on on meaningful projects, it could be a curriculum development, it could be creating some type of celebratory event for students or staff. It could be designing new courses, but bring out allowing people to bring those bring their knowledge, their experience their interest to the table, it doesn’t mean it’s all gonna be accepted. But together, it can truly be a powerful experience for those that are involved. And understanding, like how we work and how we are how we resolve conflict, that’s all about being a part of being authentic. So that’s understanding your communication style. It’s understanding your biases, because we all have them, right. It’s understanding the type of mindset that we bring on a day to day basis. It talks about our character strengths. So one tool I want to I want to share is the values called values and action or BIA character survey is a very powerful, scientifically based tool that’s free, but it allows, it allows you to identify your signature strengths, your supporting strengths and your lesser strengths. Okay, so it’s through research, they share that everybody on the face of the earth has 24 characteristics that make up our character make up who we are, everybody has 24 If you Google it, you’ll see a list of 300. But they’re all branches off of the same 24. So those 24 are broken up into six virtues. In those so there’s four string or four characteristics per virtue. And so you ask you answer a series of questions. There’s about 120 questions, I believe. And then you get a report and based on your responses, it’ll show you your signature strengths. And your signature strengths are those things that just come naturally. They energize you, you don’t have to think about it, you are you light up and you’re more enthusiastic and you’re operating on your strengths. The middle strengths support the signature strengths in a lesser strengths or either you don’t value them as much, or it takes a little bit more energy to exhibit those strengths. So the more that we learned our strengths, the better we can show up in our regardless of our position, and then do things that align with like we’re working that’s aligned with our signature strengths.

Chrissy Beltran  30:32

Oh, interesting. I had to look it up, as you were explaining about it, I would start the fight. It’s really interesting with some of the some of the character strengths. I mean, including appreciation of beauty and excellence, bravery, creativity, fairness, forgiveness. Interesting. And

Dwight Carter  30:48

it’s important, though, that you read how they define each one. So I’ll give you an example. I was talking to an assistant superintendent in one of our local districts, and he ought to tell him about this survey, or this assessment. He’s a phenomenal leader in his building, but leadership showed up as like number 24. On a signature strength, and he was I mean, he took it twice. backwards off his wife is like, Man, am I am I what am I doing? Am I not right position, this shows that leadership is not a strength. And I said, make sure you read it. And then let me explain what that means. As he read it, he understood what he meant. But he also was the he’s a very humble person. So he didn’t value the leadership that he brought to the table. So to show that he didn’t value that strength, it doesn’t mean he lacked it, or that he didn’t have it, or it was exhausting to be a leader, he just didn’t value that as much, because it just, it just was who he was, by the other his signature strengths were spot on. You know, so we had to talk through that and had to talk him off the ledge, but he was, you know, he was pretty excited about it. He shared it with with his team. And he had some great discussions from that. But also, it also answered a lot of questions to like, no wonder, right?

Chrissy Beltran  32:04

Yeah. Right. Yeah, it’s helpful to have tools to to understand why, like, we all see the world so differently, you know, and so to understand why we are each the way that we are, what is it about you that you see it this way that I don’t? What is the difference? Like, why are we coming to it to it from different directions, and that’s just, it’s helpful to be for people to understand each other better to work together better to value those qualities about

Dwight Carter  32:28

each other. Yeah. And as a, as an instructional coach, that will be a great tool to share with the the teachers that you’re working with, because there has to be a very trusting relationship. Because the teachers, if they don’t feel like the instructional coach has their best interest, or is reporting or evaluating, they’ll shut down. And that’s not effective for anybody. Yeah. So you know, and then the instructional coach sharing, sharing your strengths or their strengths with the team, or with the people that you’re working with, just say, hey, here, I took this survey, here are my strengths, your you know, here are the things that, that I got out of it. You know, let’s let’s talk about let’s talk about these two things together. When you take it.

Chrissy Beltran  33:13

Yeah. Okay. And then your last quality is teachable.

Dwight Carter  33:17

Yeah, just again, we as educators, we also say constantly say, We’re lifelong learners, lifelong learners, and we exhibit that, but a part of that, too, is being reflective in our work. So it just, it’s just a willingness to learn and be teachable. And so in today’s age of just hyper change, there’s so much coming at us. Yeah, that is really, sometimes it’s hard to just try to do something new. And we may reach just revert back to what we know this because it was comfortable, and like, close our doors and just leave us alone and let us do our jobs. Well, the world is rapidly changing. And that’s not going to slow down. So we have to be open and willing to change. You know, we have a lot of emerging technology. That’s that’s in our in our in our schools now. So instead of resisting it, let’s be open to it to explore. What does this actually mean? How can I use it in the classroom? How can I use it in my leadership opportunities? How can I use it as a communication tool? How can it help me be more efficient in my work? And then and it reminds me of when social media became a bit or when email started, you know, email was like, shut it down. Nobody use email. That’s a primary way of we communicate now. And then it was a social media hit. It’s like shut everything down. Don’t allow people to use social media. And it’s like, Wait a minute. So every new emerging technology that hit schools, the initial reaction is to shut it down and stop. Well, we can’t stop it. We can’t we can embrace it. We can learn how to use it appropriately. We can create the boundaries but stopping it is just not possible. So that’s where we have to learn to just to be taught how to use it appropriately, how to use it, effectively, how to use it to engage families and students and things of that nature. So those are just some examples of how to be teachable, but also be willing to ask for help. It’s okay. And I guarantee you more people are willing to help others then that we may think. So let’s say you’re struggling with a particular group of students or a student. One of the best things that that leaders can encourage and then instructional coaches can encourage, especially coaches because they’re in so many different classrooms, if they recognize a student is doing well in another classroom, talk to talk to the person, the teacher that the student is struggling with and say, Hey, maybe you should have a conversation with Miss Chrissy because I noticed the student is doing extremely well find out from her, What is she doing that is helping the student be successful? And the ego will say, Nope, I don’t want her to know that I’m struggling. I’m not going to ask her. But being a tea, having a teachable spirit is you know what, that’s a great idea. Let me have a meeting with Miss Chrissy and just explain to her what I’m what I’m experiencing. And let me see what how she’s doing it. Or better yet, ask the coach, hey, can you cover this class period? So I can go and observe as Christy and see how she interacts with that student? Yeah. But it takes it takes a teachable spirit and the a person willing to, to learn, to seek out seek out help from other people within the building.

Chrissy Beltran  36:25

Yeah, and you know, as an instructional coach, you know, you’re expected to have some content, knowledge and some knowledge, pedagogical knowledge. But then you’re also working with people who are also doing this job. So you know, there were times that I would walk into a classroom and think, Wow, if I were to go back into my room, I would want to take whatever quality, I just saw this amazing thing, I would want to go back into the classroom to do that in this way. Like if there’s, there were teachers that I know that were just so good at certain things that we that, that would be amazing to be able to add that to my skill set, you know, and go back into the classroom and do that. And it can feel like you have to do all the things and have all the answers when you’re the coach, but that actually gets in the way of you helping teachers and working with partners with teachers, you know, that’s

Dwight Carter  37:11

ego talk. That’s your ego driven, saying, I have to I’m a coach, I’m supposed to No, no, no, you’re you’re a coach you’re supposed to create can create the conditions for others to be successful, it doesn’t mean you have to know everything that’s already creating conditions is bringing in experts in particular fields internally to say, Hey, can you help us with this? And so you being a coach, you have the resources, you’re knowledgeable the resources that can support everybody else, but you have to know it’s impossible to know everything.

Chrissy Beltran  37:43

That’s right. So then you mentioned a couple of things already, that I think would be really helpful, like You’re like the character survey. But how can instructional coaches build these qualities in themselves and possibly contribute to building them in their leadership teams?

Dwight Carter  37:55

Yeah, it takes a willingness to do the work, because it’s all it’s all personal slash professional development. And so what coaches can do is recognize their strengths, and then offer to present during building PD days, but also encouraged other people’s to other people to present during PD days. Because again, we learn best from other from others that are doing the work with us. And then coach can also seek out and ask for help and others that are barriers or that are areas of improvement, you know, and it could be webinars, having conferences with people within the building, having conferences with other coaches talking very openly and honestly, with the building principals about, you know, an areas that they’re struggling with and need need some support. And that I think will be very beneficial to the culture and the climate. I’ll say the culture and ability, if we’re, if we’re, if coaches are modeling, being teachable, and embracing change and growth, then that will inevitably encourage other people to try new things, take those calculated risks, and be be courageous and try new, new things. They know they have that that safety net of support from the coach, but also the administrators. That’s so true. Well, thank

Chrissy Beltran  39:16

you so much for everything that you shared with us today. And how can people learn more from you?

Dwight Carter  39:22

You can reach me via email at Mr. Dwight carter@gmail.com. You can reach me on X, which is still weird to say. It is a Dwight underscore Carter or also you can reach me LinkedIn. Again, same named Dwight Carter. I have a blog that has been stagnant for probably about a year but you can also reach me my blog and Mr. Carter’s Office.

Chrissy Beltran  39:45

All right. Sounds good. And then I think you’re presenting at a conference this summer, right? Let’s

Dwight Carter  39:50

June Yes. So I’ll be presenting for seven mindsets. They have a piece called mindset University conference. It’s in Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida. I want to say It’s June 24 24th, and 25th. So I’ll be presenting my session be great five principles to improve school culture from the inside out during that, so you can search that on the web and register and I hope to see you in St. Petersburg. Alright,

Chrissy Beltran  40:14

awesome. Thank you so much. All right, thank you. I really enjoyed talking with Dwight about his very practical and thoughtful approach to leadership. I think that those characteristics are so important. And it kind of helps you think about, okay, well, what’s really important to me, and how can I build sort of the core beliefs in my work that will help me demonstrate what I think matters to teachers and your administration. So I want you to remind, I wanted to remind you don’t forget that you can grab that free coaching into your inbox, very short five day sequence, that is the mini startup course, at buzzing with mfi.com/jumpstart. And then you of course, can also join the waitlist for instructional coaching startup last year, it was so great, we had so many coaches and then so what happens is you get the course you get the 20 days of videos that tell you exactly what to do each day, you get the resources to do the work every single day of those videos. And then you also get to join the live Facebook group where we walk through the course one day at a time. And so every day I’m like okay, this is what you’re doing today check in share and people can share their their artifacts and it’s such a cool thing to do. So check that out at buzzing with mfi.com/startup remember if it’s not open when you check it out, that is okay because you can join the waitlist, I do get a coupon and coupons are my favorite thing because they make me feel so accomplished when I use them. So definitely head to buzzing with b.com slash startup to join that today. Next week, we are going to continue to look at school leadership with talking to Jon Saphier of the research for better teaching. And we are going to look at how school leaders can create a culture of learning and growth because that’s a huge focus for us. And until then, happy coaching!

Chrissy Beltran  42:05

Now that you’ve got so much to think about head over to buzzing with miss b.com to grab some free downloads, become a VIBee, and check out the podcast show notes. Happy coaching!