Coaching Through Overwhelm Using the Enneagram
If you didn't catch the last podcast episode, I'm encouraging you RIGHT NOW to pause here and go check it out! We know that the world of education is positively overwhelming right now. As instructional leaders, we have a deep urge to support our colleagues and help them get past this sense of being overwhelmed. Therefore, you'll notice the last podcast episode is prudently titled: "How to Coach People Through Overwhelm with Empathy and Practically". We want to give you practical ways to do this and that's what we're focused on in this post again today. 

In this podcast, I'm joined by Allison Petersen, Michelle Bulin, and Lindsey Babczak to dig deeper into the work of coaching educators through overwhelm. Allison Petersen is an Instructional Coach and Consultant and the founder of the #NewtoCoaching Facebook Group and The Breakthrough Circle, an exclusive coaching group. Michelle Bulin is Social Emotional Learning Coach and founder of SEL in the Middle. Our last guest in this podcast is the curator of the great tools and resources that are included below. Lindsey Babczak is a K-4 Instructional Coaching in Reading. She is a first year instructional coach and changing the world one conversation at a time!

These amazing coaches each bring something unique to the world of coaching, but they all center their work around understanding and using the Enneagram. This blogpost was written and podcast recorded so that YOU have strategies to equip yourself as you're working through your own overwhelm which will equip you to coach others through overwhelm.
The problem is that, whether you are a teacher leader or you are an instructional leader or administrator, obstacles get in the way of making change happen. Sometimes the obstacles come in the form of individuals remaining stagnant in a state of overwhelm that causes resistance, resentment, or restlessness.

What causes overwhelm??
One of the things that really could sum it up is this meme that we recently found of Louisa from Encanto.  

This character is trying to keep her perfect face up front, but under the surface, she is literally feeling all the pressures. It's funny... but it really is a great visual to define what we have found is going on with teachers right now: they're feeling extremely overwhelmed, they're feeling like they have to keep it all together, and they feel like they've got all these things they are managing.

Maybe it would even help to put a meme next to it with Ross from Friends screaming "pivot!!" What we need to be able to do, instead of sitting in the overwhelm and allowing it to crush us is pivot. I think we can agree that we want our fellow educators to be able to be their best and we don't want them to feel stuck and overwhelmed. So how do we help them with that?

It boils down to self-awareness...
Part of self awareness is really understanding who you are, where you come from, knowing your strengths and your weaknesses, and being able to make adjustments (pivoting if you will) and addressing those those things that make you who you are. It takes a bit of quite time, of really choosing, to be self reflective. Something that we have found extremely paramount in becoming self-aware and self-reflective in order to overcome overwhelm is the Enneagram.
​
The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system that has come back and become a modern piece. Ian Morgan Cron's book, The Road Back to You gives a great deal of information about this personality typing system and is highly recommended. Basically, there are nine numbers on a circle that each represent a different personality type. What's important to note is that each type has an underlying motivator.

• Type one is known as the perfectionist or reformer. They're usually ethical, dedicated, reliable and are motivated by the desire to live right and and improve the world.
• Type two's are the helpers. They're warm, caring, and giving and they're motivated by the need to be loved and needed. They are also very self sacrificing.
• Type threes are known as the performers or achievers. They are success oriented, image conscious, and wired for productivity. They're motivated by a need to appear to be successful and avoid failure.
• Type fours, which I hear are the rarest types are the romantics or individualists. They're creative, sensitive, and usually motivated by a need to feel understood.
• Type fives are investigators. They're very analytical, detached, sometimes private, and they really get a lot of energy from knowledge, so they love to learn in deep places.
• Type sixes are known as the loyalists. They're committed, practical, and witty but can be worst case scenario thinkers.
• Type sevens are the enthusiasts. They're fun, spontaneous and adventurous. They're motivated by this need to be free and happy and avoid avoid pain at all costs.
• Type eights are the challengers. They're commanding, intense, and comfortable with confrontation. They're motivated by a need to be strong and avoid feeling weak and vulnerable.
• Type Nines are peacemakers. They're pleasant, laid back and accommodating and they're motivated by a need to keep the peace at most times.

These numbers will start to give clarity to your personality, your why, and why you're why you're overwhelmed with things. Because the REAL FACT IS THIS: you have to be able to be self aware and self reflective before you can coach anyone else through their overwhelm. If you have not dealt with or do not know how to address your own overwhelm there's no way for you to effectively coach another.

When you do the Enneagram, it starts with the nine core numbers. These different numbers each have that core motivation and when you start coaching people at the level of core motivation, you get to real change. Simply getting to understanding your own Enneagram type can give you a sense of relief from overwhelm.

The whole idea of the Enneagram is that you would be able to change your behaviors so that you can really transform internally and become more whole. It's all about self awareness.

"I know my Enneagram... now what?"
Let's say that you have done this work: you know your Enneagram type, you reflect regularly, especially in seasons of overwhelm. How then do you know when you're ready to coach someone else through overwhelm?

We believe that you can coach anyone, anywhere, and through anything- even if you're not an expert on them! You can come in to a coaching partnership as an equal player and pour into them. When you have just a slight advantage on them because you have done some of the work first- you have started by understanding your number, you have read a little bit more about it, you've come to a little bit of self awareness- you're just three steps ahead of them and to us that's what coaching is! It's turning around and recognizing that what you've come through can be used to help another come through it, too!

Making use of the Enneagram to become self-aware and to self-reflect is just one little key that might unlock a huge door for you in your ability to coach teachers through overwhelm!

You've made it to my site, now why not gain a deeper understanding of why I do what I do and how I can help YOU do what YOU do!  This episode shares exactly that- my why, my what, and my how (full disclosure- I have a hiccup in the very beginning of the episode... let's see if you can catch it!).  

As an instructional impact consultant, I focus on partnering with schools to collaborate around high impact strategies that solve the problems that programs and products aren't solving.  Yes, that's right, I said it- programs and products are NOT solving the problems that come up again and again in our schools- lack of student engagement, motivation, and ownership; low morale due to overwhelm; an overabundance of resources; minimal gains in student achievement or increasing gaps; and lack of knowledge transfer and application. 

But as an attempt at a quick fix, we bandaid the problems we encounter with curriculum programs and technology products.  Imagine the time, effort, and money spent on these things that have only minimal lasting and positive impact, or worse, NO positive impact!  The solution to these problems does NOT lie in the THINGS we purchase.  The solutions lie within the walls of our buildings- in our leaders, our educators, and our students.  

But what we know is that taking a step back to analyze the effectiveness of our people can be daunting work.  Each individual in an organization comes with their own perspective of problems and solutions, alike.  This can make it challenging as a collaborative group to get to the heart of the real challenges at hand, much less the real solution to the challenges.  And THIS is where I come in!

I'm able to take a seat in the balcony of your school to analyze the challenges your school faces from all perspectives.  I ask the instructional leaders the right questions to get to the real challenge.  I have the right conversations with teachers to gauge the school culture and mindset.  And I observe students and classrooms with just the right lenses to analyze the current reality.  Finally, I strategically and intentionally partner with teams to facilitate collaborative learning around the strategies that will have the highest impact on student achievement and teacher empowerment.

A great deal of what I do revolves around not only facilitating collaboration, but more specifically modeling and explicitly teaching about collaboration.  Why?  Because I believe that the greatest instructional impact lies in our ability to and our success in collaborating with colleagues and students.  I believe that collaboration can be hard, complex, and challenging work- but this kind of work is often the most inspiring and empowering.  And I believe that products and programs DO NOT empower and inspire.... PEOPLE empower and inspire. 

It is through successful collaboration that our continual problems can be solved.  And I would love nothing more than to partner with you and your school to solve the problems that products and programs aren't solving!

I don't often dwell in regret.  It's not a great feeling to hold onto and can easily transform and grow into something else entirely.  This is not to say I don't make mistakes every single day- things that I would have done differently in hindsight.  And these mistakes are usually easily addressed and simply make for a better future ahead.  In those instances, the regret is short lived.  I leave the situation feeling grateful to have learned from it.  But there is one thing this year that has stayed with me... something that I think about often... something I wish I could go back and have a "do-over".  Let me paint a picture for you.

It's the end of the third nine weeks.  Students have recently finished their nine-week benchmarks.  As an instructional leader, I have decided to meet with teachers to take a brief look at the data and see what their thoughts are instructionally for the nine weeks ahead as I work to support them.  I walk into the classroom to visit with the next teacher on my schedule and notice there are a few students in the classroom.  These students are working to finish some assignments before heading off to the next part of their schedule.  I offer to come back another time, but the teacher (that I adore), so graciously invites me to stay and visit with her at the back of the room while the students work.

We move to the back of the room to a table in the corner.  As per usual, I ask, "So what's on your mind in regard to the nine-weeks assessment?"  We visit about what went well for students, what skills may need to be retaught, and what commonalities we notice in the data based on standards.  (Seems harmless, right?  No foreseeable regrets, right?)  Looking at the data is not a problem.  But we all know that behind each set of data is the face of a child- a child that the teacher so adamantly wants to support as a learner.  And so naturally, the teacher begins sharing about specific individuals.

The teacher shares about some students that surprised her, both positively and negatively.  The few students completing assignments in the classroom continue on, seemingly uninterrupted by us... seemingly unaware of our conversation that's becoming more personal... seemingly uncaring of the data we're discussing.  And then one of those students and his data, specifically, becomes the topic of conversation.  

The student seems oblivious to our talk of him.  The teacher continues, we wrap up our conversation and consider next steps for her instruction in the weeks to come.  I move on to another classroom.  

I'm heading to the cafeteria to visit with a colleague on lunch duty.  Students from this teacher's class are lining up as they have finished lunch.  The aforementioned student, the one whose data became part of the conversation while he was in the classroom working, is at the front of the line.  I nonchalantly ask him how things are going and we engage in easy small talk.  I ask if he was able to finish the assignments he was working on in said teacher's classroom a few days back.  He simply says "Yes", and then he pauses for a moment, clearly contemplating what he wants to say next... and this is the replay of that conversation that has stuck with me so closely that I couldn't even begin to pry it off with the jaws of life:

 I share this story and paint this scene not to simply confess my regrets to the world.  Rather, I hope that my attempt at being so completely vulnerable leads to better practices ahead for myself and for anyone that has happened upon this post. 

It's a moment that should not be forgotten and dismissed.  This moment tells us as instructional leaders that students are always listening.  And yet somehow, we believe that they are incognizant of our conversations, or that they are unable to discern meaning from our coded teacher language, or that they even care about what we are saying.  Perhaps the opposite of that is also true.  Perhaps some educators believe that our students should be hearing what we are saying, even those negative comments, in an attempt to spur motivation in them to work toward "success" (which we know is not an effective approach).  

Regardless, it is our duty as instructional leaders to provide adequate professional learning that addresses these kinds of situations- professional learning that not only focuses on instructional practices, but that which focuses on supporting the whole child.  Because the pure fact is the teacher in this situation is completely unaware of the effect she had in that moment on this child.  This teacher didn't know any better...  and that's completely my fault.  What could have been a learning moment for the both of us simply turned into regret and an unchanged situation.  I end by saying this:  don't let this regret become your reality!!  Support teacher understanding of how our nonchalant and perhaps unconscious habits and behaviors must be monitored so that we are instead creatures of intentional and positive habits that support ultimate student growth.

Learn more about how our language affects children's learning with this fantastic book by Peter Johnston (linked in the picture).

AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
Guest Post Author:  Michelle Ruhe

We educators go through some definite phases.  The first year, we think we know far more than we do, and we just know we’re going to change the world.  Years 2 and 3 we realize how much there is to learn, and we grow.  A LOT.  Years 4-7, we feel like we have a pretty good handle on things.  We refine our practices, get better at things, and really start to feel comfortable. This is when many of us try our hand at different grade levels or entirely new practices.  After year 10, we feel confident and ready to get creative, and because we’ve learned so much, we can begin to really think outside the box.  We start to hone in on specifics, and begin to “own” some things.  Getting to this stage takes years of deep reflection, untold amounts of time spent learning, and a tremendous amount of trial and error.  Getting to this level is hard-won.  Getting to this place took a fair amount of sweat and many tears.  It’s at this later stage that we begin to take on more, to share our expertise, and often when find ourselves acting as support and mentor to many.  ​

Unbeknownst to us, someone is watching all of this.  Usually, that someone is in a position very close to yours.  You notice that this person shuts you out.  They keep you at arm’s length--sometimes through their actions, sometimes their words.  Sometimes, you’re even outright snubbed. 

I know how this feels, because there are three distinct times in my 20+ years in the field that I have found myself here, and it’s awful.  It weighs you down and sucks the joy out of your day.  It’s heavy on your mind and heart and leaves you feeling alone.  And deflated.  All. The. Time. 

It hurts.  

You feel lost, because you have absolutely no idea what you did to deserve it.

But I’m here to tell you:  It’s not you.  It’s them!
​

There’s even a term for it.

I first heard it this year, 21 years in,  from Gerry Brooks, that hilarious YouTube principal with the overly-exaggerated southern drawl.  He was a keynote speaker at this year’s National Reading Recovery conference.  When he explained it, it hit me hard.  I realized, in that moment, that it wasn’t ever me.   Then, because the world works in very mysterious ways, I heard it again, a couple months later, when Steve Barkley alluded to it on his podcast (posted at the end of this blog post!).  And I read about it some more, serendipitously at about the same time period,  in  Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead.  

So as it turns out, it wasn’t me.  Because, as I’ve learned from Angela Kelly Robeck, principal-turned-life coach, our feelings are created by our own thoughts.  Our thoughts are completely controlled by ourselves.  But the reverse, then, is also true--we cannot control those thoughts, and therefore those feelings, in others.  It’s completely, 100% out of our control.  The way other people feel, which is driven by their own thoughts, is completely on them.  
​

So stand tall, friend.  Know that your hard work, your growth, and your devotion to students is worthy.  It’s BIG.  So big, in fact, that at some point, someone who feels insecure will be jealous.  Let them. It’s on them.  And then shift your thoughts.  Remind yourself that because of all that you’ve accomplished and learned and experienced, because you are in that hard-earned place, others will look to you.  How they handle their own feelings is not your concern.  They have some growing to do, and hopefully in time, they will.  Forgive them for not being there yet, and gracefully move past it.  Because you definitely will.  

And that phase is the best phase of all. 
​

MEET THE AUTHOR:
Michelle spent 15 years as an elementary teacher in multiple grade levels across several states before becoming a reading specialist for an additional five years.  She now happily serves as literacy coach in a K-5 building in South Carolina.  As a literacy coach, she connected with Casey via the New to Coaching Facebook Group and The Breakthrough Circle, and enjoys frequently thinking and learning about all things literacy with her.