Creating the Conditions to Thrive: Lessons From the PGP Program By Josh Cobb, Head of School
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hen we began our professional growth partner (PGP) program at Graland, we intended to restore the fabric of our entire educator community after the strain of the pandemic. By including all faculty and staff (all educators), we came together and built relationships throughout the school, no matter what role you had in educating children. While those relationships were strengthened, we also looked to inspire individuals to strive toward a professional and personal vision, ideally to thrive. What we did not expect was that our work with the PGP program would begin to define our overall approach to professional growth. As we all experienced the program, either as coaches or coachees, three core elements of the program manifested to not only the PGP program, but to all professional development endeavors—belonging, empathy, and agency. Our strategic plan visual shows a culture of belonging encircling the three key components of our community: empower educators, inspire students, and engage families. It makes a clear statement that belonging is required to thrive. In the PGP program, it is also essential that each coach intentionally co-creates a container of belonging with their coachee. This container refers to everything from the place they meet to a defined, shared purpose. While establishing those agreements, the coach places the coachee at the center. Similar to how a teacher places students first and asks what is best for them, this partnership focuses on the needs of the coachee and looks to ensure that they feel cared for, 4
seen, and valued. Ali Waggener ’94 Boyd, a consultant from Evolve Leadership Partners who has trained our PGP coaches, who are also administrators at Graland, over the last two years, introduced us to a book, “Helping People Change: Coaching with Compassion for Lifelong Learning and Growth” by Richard Boyatzis, Melvin Smith, and Ellen Van Oosten. The book captures the tenets that have been guiding the PGP program, including the importance of centering the coachee: “Our point is this: to help other people, we have to focus on them, not on our vision of how we think things should be. We have to understand them. To understand them, we have to talk to them and discover their views of the world, their situation, and how they feel.” The focus on understanding creates that culture of belonging and resonates with our character attribute of empathy and its associated behavior, “seek to understand.” To seek to understand and develop empathy, the coach needs to rely on being present, asking open-ended questions, and active listening (another behavior from our character framework). A 2018 study by researchers Guy Itzchakov and Avi Kluger “advocate(s) that attentive, empathic listening encourages others to feel relaxed, be more self-aware, and expand their capability to openly reflect.” These strategies, based on curiosity and empathy, not only help create that container of belonging, but also help trigger the “positive emotional attractor” (PEA) network; a neural network that enables a generative learning mode. Ultimately, if the coach does give their full focus to the coachee, they will feel awash with kindness. Receiving this compassion also provokes the PEA. Once a coachee’s PEA is enlivened, they are more open to possibilities and the awe, gratitude, and discovery that comes from lifelong learning. As Boyatis, Smith, and Van Oosten assert, “The PEA
