‘No, that’s not really what I meant’. The fatal knell of a speaker’s response, once you’ve neglected your duties as a listener with a blundered question or comment. You can probably salvage the visage of the conversation itself, but it sounds like the speaker doubts your understanding. The trust you built may have been undermined.Continue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #7: Two Ears, One Mouth – the Art of Listening”
Tag Archives: Wednesday Wisdom
Wednesday’s Wisdom #6: Why We Write
The 2001 series Band of Brothers made a profound impression on me as a teenager, and continues to, twenty years later, as I periodically revisit the ten beautiful, harrowing, and poignant instalments. As the show reaches its finale, the penultimate episode sees Easy Company uncover a concentration camp in Germany; after a year of gruellingContinue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #6: Why We Write”
Wednesday’s Wisdom #5: Eye Contact
Having recently acquired a beautiful Huntaway puppy, I’ve thrown myself into the perplexing world of dog training. Unlike education, I can report that canine trainers are not, on the whole, experiencing a renaissance period of evidence-based pedagogy, and a quick search on YouTube will unearth multiple dog ‘behaviour experts’ who inevitably contradict each other’s attemptsContinue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #5: Eye Contact”
Wednesday’s Wisdom #4: Words create worlds, and the joy of coaching
‘Without autonomy, you leave your brain at home’, Dr Kulvarn Atwal told me at his school in 2019, when explaining how all staff have a coach and use the process to improve their sense of autonomy, and to be solution-focused in the way they approach challenges at work. That sounded powerful. But coaching… isn’t thatContinue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #4: Words create worlds, and the joy of coaching”
Wednesday’s Wisdom #3: Building Belonging
You never quite know where your values and traits originate, or how they evolve over time. Nature vs nurture. Life experiences. Social norms. It seems impossible to attribute our sense of self with clarity. I was adopted as a baby, and welcomed into a loving home, but I’ve always wondered about the possible effects: howContinue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #3: Building Belonging”
Wednesday’s Wisdom #2: Expertise
Wednesday’s Wisdom is a weekly blog post about learning and leading, using the half-way point to assess what has come before, and to reflect on what to pursue and improve. It whirs noisily all day, but never springs into life. My boiler, that is. It has malfunctioned again, an annual tradition that mocks the combinationContinue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #2: Expertise”
Wednesday’s Wisdom #1: Mentors
Wednesday’s Wisdom is a weekly blog post about learning and leading. Like our own development journey, Wednesdays are an opportunity to assess what has come before, and to reflect on what to pursue and improve. Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker was hit by a classic pincer movement of contrasting styles. While Obi Wan Kenobi effused aContinue reading “Wednesday’s Wisdom #1: Mentors”
Pocket Wisdom 