Making expectations clear before assessing performance
August 22, 2025
Read Jennifer's article in Learning Forward (the professional learning association) where she writes about articulating your expectations before assessing performance.
Excerpt:
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.
About Jennifer Abrams
Jennifer has been recognized as one of "21 Women All K-12 Educators Need to Know" by Education Week's 'Finding Common Ground' blog. She considers herself a "voice coach," helping others learn how to best use their voices – be it collaborating on a team, facilitating a group, coaching a colleague, supervising an employee and being an all around better human being in all types of interactions.
Work with Jennifer
Praise for Jennifer
“Jennifer has so squarely hit the mark with our teacher-leaders that she is one of the few presenters that they are always requesting when professional development is the question. Here at the University of Chicago, this acclaim and recognition does not come easily! Jennifer has a way of presenting information that gets quickly to the heart of the matter. Her ability to read the true needs of the group, regardless of the original focus, has made her a favorite among the faculty here at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.”
