Ongoing Leadership Lab Engagement
Dear Leadership Lab, Season 14 Participants,
This is the space where our asynchronous discussions will be taking place. We will post ideas, provocations and resources here, and expect that you respond with your thoughts and contributions to push our individual and collective thinking forward. This is an opportunity to build upon the important work and learning from our face-to-face time, and to generally engage as a cohort.
Leadership is a special responsibility. It is especially special, and particularly layered, within the context of education. As educators, we are continually building backwards from student experiences and outcomes. Therefore, as leaders within schools, we maintain deep awareness for the impact of our approaches, decision making, communications, implementations and general ways of being on students – in the immediate or as a cultural trickle down.
Let’s take a moment to ground ourselves in the famous Rita Pierson Ted Talk, “Every Kid Needs a Champion.” In this talk, educator Rita Pierson reminds us that “kids don’t learn from people they don’t like,” and that every child deserves a champion — an adult who will never give up on them. As you reply to this post, consider the following:
- Devote eight undistracted minutes to watching the Ted Talk.
- Consider Rita Pierson’s wisdom within the context of your current role within your organization.
- What does being a champion for others mean to you as a leader?
- If leadership creates ripples, what are the ripples you aspire to as a current or aspiring leader?
Rita Pierson’s main idea that you need to believe in the potential of all students is one that I see as even more applicable to working with colleagues.
One thought that has often occurred to me when I struggle with the demands of teaching or hear from colleague is that everyone wants to be good at their job. Everyone wants to be a good teacher. This starting point helps me view all colleagues as equals and avoiding judgement.
Recently I’ve been reading Haesun Moon’s book on coaching conversation and she highlights the power of reframing deficiency with a focus on what someone has done so far to cope in a challenging situation. This stance highlights competency and progress, while still leaving room for improvements. It also is a technique to show care and appreciation for effort, which can help people feel seen and build those necessary relationships.
Stephanie, I love what you said about focusing on what someone has done so far to cope in a challenging situation. It’s such a great reminder to notice progress and strengths, not just the final outcome. We can so easily forget how important the journey is and how much effort it takes to get there. Thank you for sharing this thoughtful reminder!
What an inspiring video! Being a champion for others means actively supporting and encouraging every member of the team. To me, this involves taking the time to understand each individual’s unique strengths and contributions. Championing others requires a genuine commitment to building relationships first. Only when we truly know our team can we recognize and uplift their strengths effectively. In my current role as a classroom teacher, this means getting to know everyone in my classroom. This looks like identifying student strengths and encouraging them to share their strengths with others. I am also involved in a few committees this year. Championing for others in this environment might look like advocating for the needs of others within the school. There are diverse stakeholders within a school (parents, students, administrators, teachers, etc), and understanding that each of these groups may have differing perspectives and lived experiences can help us become better champions for others.
The ripples that I aspire to create are ripples of kindness. As evidenced in my SDI results, I am motivated by people. I get a great deal of joy out of helping others and appreciate when I can help in any way. I want my colleagues to experience positive interactions with me and to feel that they are respected and heard. Even when navigating differences in thought or difficult situations, I want there to be an undercurrent of kindness and respect that ripples throughout the school. Just as ripples extend outward, I believe that acts of kindness can spread widely, cultivating a sense of belonging among students, staff, parents, and colleagues alike.
Liz, I couldn’t agree more with your point about taking the time to understand each individual’s unique strengths and contributions. It really resonated with me—life moves so quickly, and we often find ourselves rushing from one thing to the next. We must remember that giving our time will teach us the most valuable lessons. When we slow down and truly connect, we not only learn from one another but also gain a deeper appreciation for each person’s unique strengths. Thank you for bringing such an important reminder to light.
The Ripples of Leadership: Being a Champion for Others in Education
When I first began my journey as an educator, I quickly realized that leadership is not defined by a title or position — it’s defined by the impact we have on others. Over the years, I’ve seen how a simple act of encouragement, a moment of listening, or a willingness to take a risk can create ripples that extend far beyond the classroom.
As an aspiring leader, I see leadership as a calling — one that inspires, guides, and uplifts others toward a shared vision. To me, being a champion for others means embodying passion, integrity, and perseverance while standing as an advocate for students, educators, and the broader community.
A true champion leads with heart and purpose. They believe deeply in the power of learning and the potential of every individual — whether a student discovering something new or a colleague striving to grow. Being a champion means:
Advocating for others — standing up for what’s right for children, educators, and families, even when it’s difficult.
Inspiring through action — modeling curiosity, compassion, and resilience in everyday practice.
Empowering growth — creating opportunities for others to lead, take risks, and reflect.
Nurturing belonging — fostering environments where everyone can learn, feel valued, and succeed.
Leadership is rarely about the grand gestures — it’s about the small, consistent moments that make others feel seen, capable, and supported. Every decision, every conversation, and every word of encouragement sends out ripples that can shape lives in ways we may never fully see.
As an aspiring leader, here are some of the ripples I hope to create:
Inspire Lifelong Learning – Encourage curiosity and innovation among students and teachers, cultivating a culture where learning never stops.
Foster Belonging and Inclusivity – Lead with empathy and equity, ensuring everyone feels heard, respected, and valued.
Model Reflective Practice – Embrace humility and show that true growth comes from listening, learning, and adapting.
Promote Collaboration – creating networks of trust and shared purpose while promoting shared work across classrooms and communities.
Ultimately, I believe leadership is about connection, not control. Every ripple matters — whether it’s a new idea, a supportive conversation, or a simple act of kindness. These ripples come together to create meaningful change, shaping not just the present, but the future.
Angela, thank you so much for sharing! I wholeheartedly agree with your reflections on leadership and share the same belief that true leadership is built through action, integrity, and genuine connection. Your words capture so well the idea that leaders inspire not through titles, but through the everyday ripples they create – in how they listen, empower, and nurture those around them. I deeply resonate with the passion and joy that comes through in your response and with your vision of leadership as both purposeful and human.
Being a champion for others has many meanings, and they all have to do with making a positive impact. It is less to do with leaving a legacy, and more to do with being part of the change within an organization or group that makes it a better place for current and future caretakers.
It can look, sound, and feel like advocating for another person who may not believe in their own voice or the power of their impact.
It can be redesigning an assessment to make it more equitable for all learners, even if that means more work for you behind the scenes.
It can sound like speaking positively about another colleague when they are not in the room. It can sound like speaking positively of a student whom you love, even if they were pushing your buttons in class that day.
It can look and sound like challenging a new policy that doesn’t feel equitable or fair for all people, and beginning a respectful discourse with your direct report or leadership team.
It sounds and feels like giving a colleague constructive criticism behind a closed door, and praising them with the door wide open.
It can feel like embracing the value of difficult conversations, even if they make you sweat through your shirt.
Being a champion means putting the people in front of you first, tall or small. Being a champion means embracing the people in front of you for who they are, seeing and voicing their value, and challenging them to reach beyond what they think is possible. Being a champion means leaning into difficult conversations and fostering relationships so each person in that conversation knows that the feedback is about the work and not each other. Being a champion for others means that your message and vision are clear and deeply rooted in empathy and understanding. Being a champion for others means acknowledging that we are all humans who care so much about this work, and are always doing our best with the tools that we have.
This is the leader I wish to be.
Lyndsay, as I read your post, I was reminded of how selfless leaders are often called to be—the patience and compassion they must show, even on days when they may not feel at their best. It made me reflect on how important it is to also check in on our leaders, to offer them the same care and understanding they so often extend to others. Thank you!
Reading through all the posts, I can tell we all have a shared vision of building connections with others and making small ripples of change. Lyndsay said it is less about leaving a legacy and more about making a change. I resonate so deeply with that and with Rita Pierson’s TED Talk. In my current role, I am a champion for my students. However, I am also a champion for my teaching team. As mentioned in the video, children don’t learn from people they don’t like, but I also think that, as adults, it is challenging for us to take direction from people we don’t have a relationship with. Building relationships with those around you helps cultivate your ability to gently lead them and make small changes, maybe not even through words, but through your actions. I think about my own experience with my VP/PYP co-ordinator and the strong relationship we have, and how that relationship has not only helped me feel championed but has also helped me grow. So to further reflect and set goals for myself, I’d like to emulate the same type of leadership style whereby I form strong relationships with those around me and help them feel seen while helping them grow.
Rita Pierson says that students don’t learn from teachers they don’t like and I don’t think this is much different for adults. We need to respect our leaders to be able to follow, learn, and walk alongside of them. They need to show us that they care about us by building relationships, showing integrity, and believing in us. I think that there are a lot of similarities between school leaders with their teachers and teachers with their students. The same principles that we are using in our classrooms, we should be using in our team meetings, professional development, and daily conversations with the adults that we care for.
I agree with many of the ideas presented in this video when it comes to being a champion for others:
– Prioritizing relationships
– Never giving up and continuously learning
– Having high expectations and insisting that we become the best we can be
– Focusing on the positive and celebrating successes
– Modeling humility and understanding
– Removing barriers
The ripples I aspire to are:
– Empowering risk-taking
– Focusing on the well-being of the people around us
– Fostering confidence in those around us
This video and these reflection questions made me think back to the three core values I decided were most important to me during our last face-to-face session: empathy, dependability, open-mindedness. I look forward to thinking more about how I can use these core values to be a champion for others and create ripples in my current and future roles.
When considering my current role, I feel a deep empathetic resonance with Pierson’s wisdom. As a learning support teacher, I have always been a compassionate and enthusiastic champion for all of my students. As the leader in a classroom setting, I value authentic relationship building as the essential foundation for everything else. I am a curious, lifelong learner who genuinely loves meeting and connecting with new people. I harness this intrinsic drive to ensure my students feel seen, heard, and understood as valued members of our classroom community.
Strong relationships are my anchor for everything else: the learning, the safety, the willingness to try, the fostering of confidence and resilience, and really – the fun! From a strong relationship, I can seek to understand, ground and support, collaboratively problem solve, challenge and encourage that yes – we can do hard things. When I step back and broaden my lens, I believe that authentic relationship building will continue to serve as the core foundation of who I am and how I exist as a leader beyond the classroom.
Yes, every child deserves a champion – but who decides the age at which we no longer need champions? That seems wholly unfair. We champion our students, our families, our friends – and as leaders in education, we must continue to champion each other. To me, this looks like seeking to understand my colleagues as real, multi-faceted people, essential parts of a whole, rather than simply those I share space and time with. It looks like building community through connection, celebration, collaboration, and joy. It looks like continuing to challenge and support my team members in their endeavours and goals, and being honest and reliable when asked for, or asking for, support. It looks like entering each day with integrity, levity, curiosity and an open mind and open heart – because really, we are all just children in adult costumes, deserving of champions while continuing to learn and grow as we always have.
The ripples I aspire to make are for more and more people – children and adults alike – to jump on the championing bandwagon. Let’s bring kindness into everything we do, ask questions before we make statements, get to know those we spend our days with, and strive to model what it means to lead with love and empathetic curiosity in our hearts.
“I taught the whole lesson wrong. I’m so sorry.”
Everybody makes mistakes. But not everybody can, or will, own their mistakes, especially in front of their students (or, perhaps, under different circumstances, in front of their colleagues). It is not a matter of (performative) public contrition, but a demonstration of a commitment to personal growth. To me, the way to be a leader, or a “champion”, is to always try my very best to model the expectations and standards which I wish to instill or inspire in others. There is a school of thought that there is greater opportunity for growth in reflecting upon setbacks as opposed to successes, and this can often run into accusations of overt negativity, or dwelling on the past. But I do believe that modeling such openness and vulnerability provides an opportunity for others (students and colleagues) to do likewise, creating an ever growing ripple of human and community connection.
I absolutely loved listening to this TedTalk, and it really resonated with me. Rita Pierson’s message about the power of relationships, and her statement that “no significant learning can take place without relationships”, reminds me that teaching is not just about delivering the curriculum. We are charged with inspiring the next generation and creating confident, resilient leaders. Her talk reinforces the idea that teaching really does begin with empathy and with believing that every student (and by extension, every collegue/teacher) can succeed.
I think that this idea has shifted for me since having my own children and knowing how important they are in my life makes me realize that the students in front of us are also someone’s whole world. Their families have trusted us to be that champion for their child. To me that means advocating for them, seeing their potential and creating an environment where they feel valued and supported.
Another quote that really stood out to me was if students can feel “the power of connection [then we as teachers must] insist that they become the best that they can be”. As teachers, we are here to champion and empower the kids sitting in front of us. As leaders, I hope to be present when challenges arise by listening actively, collaborating effectively and modelling the importance of community and shared successes. I aspire to create those ripples of confidence, curiosity and collaboration. When students feel confident, they take risks and engage deeply in the learning. I hope that these ripples extend to my colleagues, and hope that I can fostering a culture of support, innovation and shared purpose.
I love that Rita reminded me that “teaching and learning should bring joy”. Her talk is an excellent reminder that education is about relationships. By being a champion for others, we can transform both our students’ lives and the cuture of the school as a whole.
“I taught the whole lesson wrong. I’m so sorry.” Everybody makes mistakes. But not everybody can, or will, own their mistakes, especially in front of their students (or, perhaps, under different circumstances, in front of their colleagues). It is not a matter of (performative) public contrition, but a demonstration of a commitment to personal growth. To me, the way to be a leader, or a “champion”, is to always try my very best to model the expectations and standards which I wish to instill or inspire in others. There is a school of thought that there is greater opportunity for growth in reflecting upon setbacks as opposed to successes, and this can often run into accusations of overt negativity, or dwelling on the past. But I do believe that modeling such openness and vulnerability provides an opportunity for others (students and colleagues) to do likewise, creating an ever growing ripple of human and community connection.
I viewed this Ted Talk years ago and i remember a light bulb going off at the time. “Everyone Needs a Champion” really left an impression on me. I took 2 important messages from this inspiring video. First, I was reminded that kids come from all different home lives and coming to school might be the best part of their day. We don’t know what they are walking into when they leave us and we don’t know what they have just come from as they enter our classrooms. Second, and equally important, is that for me, the video reinforces the message that there can be no correction without the connection. It is something that I base my whole teaching philosophy around and this video articulates that message perfectly.
Thanks @kkennedy for this reply – so thoughtful! Remembering to see the whole child is critical to building relational trust!