Month: April 2022

April 27, 2022

Leading with Equanimity

Leading with equanimity can lead to a spacious mind. A February morning in New Jersey.

Do you lead with equanimity? What does equanimity mean to you? When I first heard the phrase ‘lead with equanimity’, I would imagine someone who was standing still in the middle of chaos, someone who did not waver or show emotion, someone who did not react and was ultimately possibly ineffective. To me, this is no longer a true or complete version of leading with equanimity. 

My Early Thoughts

When I first started my journey into leadership, I found that I became easily tightly attached to an idea or plan. I had thought long and hard about how the plan was going to work and stuck to it. Sometimes, I was so attached to the plan or idea that I could not see some pitfalls, unintended consequences, alternative ways to proceed, or necessary course changes. Other times, I found myself so averse to an idea or plan that I could not possibly see a way for it to work.

April 25, 2022

Michelle Harrison

I have been working with Pri for the past year and a half to become the leader I strive to be. She supports me to process, reflect, and navigate a variety of new and sometimes challenging situations always grounding our work in what is best for students. Her wealth of knowledge, experience, patience, and compassion have been my steady companions throughout my journey as a new administrator. Pri helps me to be better at my job each and every day.

-Michelle Harrison, Lower Division Head, The Evergreen School
April 25, 2022

Gretchen Tapscott

We were fortunate enough to work with Pri in revamping our Apprentice Teacher Training Handbook. Her thoughtful suggestions, examples of “best practices” and conversations improved our handbook and most importantly our Apprentice and Mentor teacher experience in a myriad of ways. She is a skilled coach of teachers at all levels of expertise and helped create an observation and feedback system that is effective and cohesive. Her wealth of experience and listening skills are outstanding-highly recommended!

-Gretchen Tapscott, Co-Director of Apprentice Teacher Training Program, New Canaan Country School, New Canaan Country School
April 25, 2022

Dr. Sally Maxwell

Working with Pri helped me clarify my enduring priorities, basic beliefs, and ethical commitments.  I was able to work on myself in very reflective ways and get tactical about immediate decisions and next steps.  Leadership is always a growth opportunity, but since I worked with Pri, I think that I learned more and I had fewer missteps. Since leadership can be both lonely and impactful, taking care of my own development became a way for me to take care of the folks I led.

-Dr. Sally V. Maxwell, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning, MICDS
April 8, 2022

One Set of Values is all You Need

I had to code-switch as a kid living in a Sri Lankan immigrant household and then going to a suburban predominantly white school in New Jersey.

On a daily basis, I switched who I was depending on where I was.

Do you have one set of values for how you show up at work and another for at home? Ideally, you should be able to be the same person at work as you are at home, with some small changes (maybe no pajamas at work). For some, this is a privilege that we do not even notice and for others, it may feel like a luxury. In fact, we all should be able to show up with one set of values that is true for us in both settings. 

The Importance of Values

When I begin coaching a new client, we often work through a values exercise. We use a list of values and narrow our way through to the few values that are most meaningful for the client.