Meaningful connections build trust. By Valerie Brown “….Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world. Rely on human goodness. Stay together.” ---Margaret Wheatley, from … [Read More...] about Pilgrimage: The Art of Building Community
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Pilgrimage: A Path of Practice for the New Activism
It was a long day on El Camino, The Way of Saint James, the famed thousand-year old pilgrimage route across the north of Spain. I set out at daybreak and now the sun was setting low on the dusty hills. As I rounded the final bend of the day, my back- pack and boots heavy, […]
Fly Fishing & Leadership Lessons
Fly-fishing looks effortless but that’s deceiving. It’s an intensely complex process. The angler needs to know exactly the right ‘fly’ to cast to lure fish. She needs to know how to cast, when to cast, and where to stand in the stream. She needs to understand the depth and speed of the water, and be mindfully aware of […]
Welcoming the Strong Black Woman among Us
Tamika, an assistant principal in a large urban school, is strong; she’s been told this for as long as she can remember. For Tamika, being strong is a heavy load, a burden that she has carried selflessly and silently nearly all her life, a burden she can’t put down. She is the consummate workaholic who […]
8 Ways School Leaders Can Practice Empathy in Listening
“…when we learn how to listen more deeply to others, we can listen more deeply to ourselves.” ~ Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness Research on listening indicates that the we spend about 80% of our waking hours communicating: Writing 9% Reading 16% Speaking 30% Listening, to people, music, TV, radio, etc. 40-50% About 75% of […]
Courageous Authenticity: Post-Election Reflections from the Academy for Leaders at Pendle Hill
By Valerie Brown and Gayle Williams “Is it possible to become more intentional about creating spaces – in relationship, community – where our fearful shadows can emerge into the light to be seen for what they are, when the truth and love within us can appear and make a claim on our lives?” – Parker […]
What Empathetic School Leaders Do
“…every trouble wants to draw the very best of you into the world.” —Mark Nepo, from Seven Thousand Ways to Listen When trouble happens sometimes we want to avoid conflict, look the other way, or pretend that there aren’t any problems until things go back to normal. This approach hurts more than it helps. The […]
Leaders: 8 Steps to Be a Mindful Listener
Listening is the oldest and perhaps the most powerful tool of healing. It is often through the quality of our listening and not the wisdom of our words that we are able to effect the most profound changes in the people around us. When we listen we offer sanctuary for the homeless parts within the other person. […]