Partnering for school leadership/children’s services
Heather’s Map as a framework
Heather has developed a unique and innovative map to scaffold her approach onto. The map acts as
- a visual anchor and a scaffold for the journey
- a reflective tool for continually assessing progress and next steps
- a tool that can be personalised to your context
- a perspective re-set (especially if the infinite complexity threatens to overwhelm that ‘pragmatic and optimistic’ progress).
The tenets of the approach are that it is Attuned not Prescriptive because the work is Nuanced not Simplistic. It aims to always be both Pragmatic and Optimistic and the focus is on Direction over Perfection -managed through continual reflection (assess, plan, do, review and non-structured reflective processes).
This is a developmentally healthy and relational approach inspired by an integration of evidence bases. The premise is that the changing contexts of human to human interactions are indeed infinitely complex but that’s both OK and completely doable.
Heather explains how acknowledging this complexity helps us to view our relational approach, by positioning what we do not yet know with humility. Humility contributes towards cultural felt-safety. This then creates the necessary space for compassionate curiosity and flexibility (specifically, not conflating consistency and predictability with rigidity).
Every journey needs a destination and Heather will invite you to define and reflect upon your value based version of getting it right.
She then positions the direction of travel in the simplified terms of human psychobiology and offers the simplicity of returning to and reflecting upon our aims, represented by pathways. At the crossroads we have broadly three directions and each leads to different potential consequences, which need our awareness.
The relational direction of travel is nuanced so she offers numerous introductory scaffolds, models and perspectives to continually return to as needed.
The 4 Stages
Partnering is Heather’s preferred way of supporting you because this work is about moving cultures through all 4 stages of Knowing, Doing, Being and Resilience
Knowing
Learning the principles, information and tools to help embed the power of healthy development and relationships into your culture. See the ‘Pick and Mix’ section for ideas, however Heather shapes training collaboratively according to your current needs. Please start a conversation.
Doing
This is the trying it out stage. What lands well? How natural and easy does it feel? Where are the barriers to continuing to do it well? This is the stage where the effort is not always balanced by the benefits as the culture sits between new and old and other priorities can crowd back in and derail your journey before the most important stage of …
Being
This is the final stage for embedding. It is when everything combines into a way of being. This is where it lands as a feeling not just an intention. We know that helpful intentions do not necessarily lead to helpful interventions. This phase will show up in isolated moments and then disappear but eventually the ‘rupture and repair’ cycle will gain automacity. It becomes less effortful and exponentially more rewarding. This then leads into …
Resilience
This is the final stage where a culture becomes resilient to continued barriers and changing contexts and the process of overcoming them becomes a normalised and celebrated part.
A discovery discussion with Heather will lead to her attuning to your context and agreeing with you where the alignment is. This is a bespoke approach but would usually involve Heather suggesting an agreed level of initial training/information sharing, so that there is a shared language and vision. Heather has introductory scaffolds, frameworks and perspectives that she will introduce, the specific focus and depth will be agreed collaboratively.
Partnering then involves a continued relationship where Heather can support in bespoke ways as the journey through the 4 Stages (see above) develops and she will offer her unique ‘Map’ as a tool for anchoring and scaffolding the journey (see ‘Heather’s Map as a framework’ section).
Heather will encourage a regular commitment to reflective processes which combine both structure (Assess.Plan.Do.Review) and also flexible spaces for holding and responding to the shape of what arises within the community.
As leaders you will know best the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats as they present in your context and Heather will be your reflective guide, creating both support and challenge to inspire your journey.
Heather will fade out the support when you feel your community has the momentum and tools that it needs to continue independently.