Holding spaces to facilitate change
Our associate, Florence Garabedian, shares her experience of supporting a school to discover a new way of being.
These were important questions, for which I did not have an answer. What I did know, however, was how to lead and facilitate a process in which a committed group of individuals, keen to address the issues threatening the future of the school, could become the creators of a new way of leading and managing it. It would be based on their full participation and buy-in. I was commissioned to work, for 60 hours over a year with a mandated group of committed staff and board members to deliver a proposal which ‘will enable the school to have a sustainable leadership and governance structure for the future.’
When I got involved the school had no headteacher, and were using a collegial decision-making process for educational matters and a board for governance issues. Members were professional and overworked. My role was to lead/enable the group to deliver on the mandate given to them by the rest of the staff, using leadership coaching techniques, presentations/guided consideration of relevant material (either by myself or participants), and guided exercises.
1st step - Create a space for staff and Board members to share their experience of the school
The structured approach of the first full staff half-day, was crucial in enabling all present to participate actively and identify issues, sharing openly and anonymously if preferred, their views on the state of the school. It led to the identification of 4 key areas presenting issues to be addressed.
2nd step – Hold the space of ‘not knowing’, ask the questions not thought of and support the group trusting its ability to follow the process
There followed a period of exploration, using group coaching and guided activities, with no clear outputs for the first 3 months. It took some time for the participants to fully articulate how the four identified issues played out in the school, their impact and to envisage what would happen if they were addressed. Initially, the group was hesitant to trust that they had the self-knowledge, commitment and integrity to understand objectively what was going on, be open about it and able to develop a new vision for how to organise the school. This was the time when looking at issues separately, ignoring root causes and taking a ‘fix it approach’ were tempting. This was the time when it was my role to remind the group about its mandate, support them to focus on the nature of leadership, management, power, accountability and decision-making process in a sustainable school model. This somewhat ‘messy’ period was a necessary and crucial step for the group to really own the outcome of its own creative process.
3rd step – Hold the space to sharpen the vision, develop and consider options, and finalise a realistic and receivable proposal
During that period, in order to hold a space where realistic and practical implications of the emerging model could be identified, agreed and planned, it was important to challenge (or facilitate challenges from others) beliefs, assumptions or limiting statements. During ten more structured group sessions (including one whole day session) participants had the opportunity to identify and share resources, gradually build a body of knowledge, put forward ideas and, like working collectively on a puzzle, add pieces to complete the picture. Offering different perspectives, rather than opinions, everyone was able to contribute to a genuine creative and collective process.
Outcome
Ten months into the work, the school agreed to the proposal for a new structure presented by the mandated group. An interim Transition Manager was recruited internally and appointed to oversee the transition.
At our last meeting it was clear that the school no longer needed me. As it was meant to be. Puzzled by their achievement, and reminiscing on how they had started the journey neither knowing ‘what’ nor ‘how’ to do next, group participants kindly expressed their gratitude to me for enabling them to deliver on their mandate but also for trusting them at all times to deliver what they had been asked to do, even when they did not trust themselves.
Contacting the school recently to check about sharing this blog, one of the participants said ‘it was such a positive experience and with amazing outcomes.’ Indeed. By being willing to explore consciously the dynamics playing out in their school, understand the kind of environment needed to ensure a sustainable future for the school, and accept the profound changes that would go with it, the group not only gave itself, and the school, a chance to achieve a valuable outcome but also embraced the opportunity to learn about themselves and the relationships with their colleagues and the school. This may well be the most valuable outcome. I am very grateful for such a precious and profound experience.