True influence arises from collective wisdom, not individual authority. As a school leader, I've shifted my perspective from a model of top-down command to one of collaborative inquiry. My journey began with the realization that leadership isn't about having all the answers but rather creating a space where others can contribute their expertise. Rather than prescribing solutions, I empower teams to find their own answers through thoughtful dialogue and reflection. This approach fosters a sense of ownership and drives innovation from within. This approach recognizes that the collective intelligence of a group often surpasses the knowledge of any single individual.
Building a strong, collective voice within a team requires time, trust, and open communication. As outlined in the blog Deciding Where to Build Trust Back, establishing shared norms and fostering a culture of psychological safety are essential for creating a thriving team environment. By investing in these foundational elements, teams can harness the power of collective intelligence, leading to increased engagement, collaboration, innovation, and achieve remarkable results.
The collective is more powerful than the individual. It can be isolating, lonely, and stressful when the school leader thinks everything has to be on their shoulders. By sharing the load, you’re becoming a community and that's powerful. When you are seen and embraced with your place in a group, you become a part of something so much bigger. You become part of a collective effort, where it all connects to the greater good.
Which approach do I take to achieve a collective voice?
There is no right or wrong answer here, often, it’s switching up your approach to the needs of the situation. Between a constructivist approach to active listening, one truth is it’s important to create a culture of listening by giving space and time for those who do not speak up or rather those who do not have their voice heard, the loud and clear opportunity to speak and be heard. For example, in a recent Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) Meeting I noticed within a thirty minute period the same three white female voices were the ones speaking. As a new leader within this space, I am taking the time to observe and listen. However, I value diverse perspectives and equity of voice. So, I took this opportunity to gently bring to our attention what was occurring within this space. The exact words I used were, “I want to take a minute to do a time check, we have about thirty minutes left. I appreciate those that have shared thus far but would like to hear from those that haven’t shared their voice and thoughts for the remaining thirty minutes.” This gentle reminder brought to light how, intentionally or not, there was a dominant voice being used but we have the opportunity to change that in this moment. When a leader consistently listens to diverse perspectives, it builds trust and credibility within the broader community. This unified approach demonstrates the leader’s commitment to inclusivity and empowers them to shape the collective vision. School leaders can create the vision dreamed by intentionally putting in the effort and time to make it happen.
What questions do I ask?
There is a plethora of material out there from Jim Knight, Zaretta Hammond, and more on engaging with folx in meaningful conversations to reflect on their thinking. But my all time favorite go to “question” is: Tell me more about that. So, let me tell you more about that…
In a recent conversation, I listened to how a teacher-leader had initiated different methods of parent-involvement on campus. The teacher-leader had done a fantastic job of implementing family academic nights such as Literacy Night and Math Night, gone above and beyond in reaching out to families through a variety of means (emails, phone calls, and the district approved messaging app), and yet he felt the parent attendance did not match our student attendance. Here is where I used the phrase, “Tell me more about that.” The teacher-leader shared more and I actively listened, as in when they spoke, I didn’t relate the story to me or try to share my personal experiences. I just absorbed what they were saying. The teacher shared that the parent attendance to the majority of events was only half of the attendance of the students that attended the after school program; particularly, the “late pickups”. As the data showed the attendance had increased by nearly 40% since 2021, we were missing opportunities of building relationships with parents that picked up their child before 5:30 PM. Again, “Tell me more about that.” The teacher-leader shared why they thought this was occurring and then something magical happened…
The teacher-leader started to create their own solutions. My role? I was just a sounding board, “Oh, that sounds nice. Tell me more about that. What does that look like? Who could help with that?” And as the plan developed, I would ask more concrete questions, “I heard you say that we’ve not had much of our Chinese families attend. Do you think we can involve our librarian, she is first-generation, her parents are from China, in planning this? Tell me more about our Chinese students' interests.” Now, this dual faceted - I’m building a teacher-leader that is starting to become aware that the answer to the lack of involvement of a particular ethnic group can be found by engaging in dialogue and this creates more meaningful collaboration with voices that represent those in our community.
This simple phrase allows the speaker to reflect on their thoughts and add more to their thinking in a way they feel ownership of. Whereas, the listener is able to listen for commonalities in their thinking and strategically paraphrase their thoughts to see if there is alignment within the collective voices. Finally, giving voice back to the people means giving them the space to talk and not be overrepresented by the dominant voices in the conversation. As a school leader, I have the unique opportunity to uphold equity of voice by reminding my teams of this during meetings in a small but polite manner such as, “Just a reminder, we have about 30 minutes left and I would like for the voices that haven’t had a chance to speak to be able to use that time.”
Effective leadership hinges on the ability to create a space where all voices are heard. True power emerges when leaders provide opportunities for quieter members to contribute, voices that have not been historically heard to be lifted, and thus demonstrating a genuine commitment to inclusivity and collaboration, build trust, and drive meaningful change.