As the school year starts, I am experiencing an uptick in requests to give sessions on effective communication and especially in having hard conversations. The requests are to help attendees learn how to hold colleagues accountable to expectations and standards or around the implementation of initiatives and strategic plan goals. How might I assist leaders in developing their skillset around how to speak up when performance isn’t at an acceptable level?

I applaud leaders who make the connection that performance issues often are communication issues and then reach out for help. Being able to have a hard conversation is an important skill to develop for everyone working in schools. I truly believe it is a collective responsibility to speak up when something is educationally or professionally unsound, physically unsafe, or emotionally damaging. We need everyone to build up the skillset to have humane and growth-producing conversations.