As first day of school photos proliferate on social media, I can’t help but think back to the combination of excitement and anxiety that kept me awake the night before as a student and as a teacher. I wish I knew a word for the heart pounding, stomach flipping, brain spinning feeling that is that combination, particularly as I experience it again with the launch of Strategic Questions Consulting.
That feeling, that crazy combination, reminds me, too, of a question I often ask members of leadership teams: What is the last thing you did for the first time? The responses, which I process first in pairs or small groups, then as a full group, are often powerful. Many leaders struggle to answer the question at all, which gives us an opportunity to talk about risk and possible stagnation. Others have long lists of new adventures, new skills, new ideas, so we have a chance to talk about varied responses to change and how much change people can handle at once.
Focus on Empathy
Perhaps the most powerful direction to take this conversation, though, is really to focus on empathy. Typically, members of leadership groups are veterans of their setting, their profession, their context. So how do they respond to the needs of newcomers? What conditions do they put in place for students/clients/staff members attempting or experiencing something for the first time? Do they create an encouraging, supportive environment or one that stifles creativity and builds anxiety? And, most importantly, how do they know?
Connecting their own “first time” experiences and exploring the emotions and thinking they experienced, opens the door for a conversation about empathy toward others. That conversation then sets the stage for real planning about policies, strategies, and actions which begin to improve the culture of a classroom, school, organization, or community. While the exercise of answering the question is powerful, it is both necessary and insufficient for creating change. It only works when it is followed by real planning.
What is the last thing you did for the first time? How did it go? What did you learn? What did you do as a result? I’d love to hear your story, so please leave your comment below or share it on our Facebook page.