Coaching and Paella World Kindness Week - November 13-19, 2023

What do this paella and coaching approaches to leadership have in common?

The answer, is kindness. Bear with me.

Well, it's possibly a tenuous connection, but I really wanted to share this amazing dish!

This paella was made by my neighbour who kindly puts up with our slow progress in speaking French and cooked this amazing dinner for us.

I used to think that by being willing to spend lots of time giving out advice, I was being kind and helpful.

But after carrying out my first coaching training several years ago, I began to realise that a lot of the time this advice-giving was actually satisfying my own need to feel useful. In many cases, it was disempowering and did not show a belief in the resourcefulness of those I was working with. In fact, through my later studies, I came to realise that I was receiving validation from placing myself as the rescuer in Karpman’s drama triangle (Lac & Donaldson, 2020).

Ultimately, it was not always that kind.

I had a stark reminder of this when colleagues told me about a project they wanted to engage in. After, a few minutes of me becoming over-excited and telling them all the places they could take their project, I saw their eyes glaze over and their enthusiasm dissipate.

It would have been kinder, to realise that they had got this.

In hindsight I could have asked them to tell me more about their ideas or just have simply asked - how can I support you with this?

This is not to say that giving advice is unkind, but perhaps as a school leader, we should reflect on whether it would be more kind and helpful to listen get curious and ask questions first.

For World Kindness Week, I can't gift you paella but later this week, I will be giving away two of my new coaching taster packs.

As this week is World Kindness Week, and I can’t gift you all paella, I have decided to give away two of my new coaching taster packs. If you would like to be put into the draw for the coaching package outlined below then all you need to do is reply to this email or click the link at the bottom of the page.

This coaching package would be great for anyone who wants to work on their well-being moving through this long term ahead, gain some clarity on a school initiative they are stuck on, or perhaps you are preparing for an interview or want to consider your next career move.

Feel free to pass this on to anyone else you think may be interested.

If you are successful, then all I ask in return is that you pass a kindness on to someone else.