Making collegial conversations count
Letting professional learning conversations flow
Don’t we all enjoy collegial conversations that flow naturally and centre on our personal and professional learning. While surely behind these meandering conversations are purposeful and systematic structures, the conversations we delight in do not feel mechanical.
Effective professional mentoring and supervision provides personal and professional support, professional learning and opportunities to review and optimise the quality of our work (Annan & Ryba, 2013). Across each of these dimensions, the key role of mentors, supervisors, leaders and coaches is to help colleagues discover or create solutions. Although as practitioners we bring massive amounts of professional and interpersonal knowledge to collegial conversations, there is little place for our advice. Each practitioner interprets professional events through their own social and cultural filters and seeks solutions that align with their values and ways of understanding. The ‘E-LAC‘ set of prompts can be used to support colleagues’ diverse professional pathways as we avoid imposing our own ways of understand the world.
The domain of mentoring and supervision is vast and informed by knowledge from a range of professions. Given the multitude of influences on mentoring and supervision, how can we:
Search through the sea of information we hold and, at the same time, stay in-the-moment and focus on a colleague’s story?
Acknowledge and validate the diverse views of our colleagues?
Help colleagues to find solutions using their own sense-making processes?
Hear colleagues’ views without making judgements?
A log-jam of thoughts can occur when we apply new practice frameworks that we have yet to ‘chunk’. Our various practice frameworks may run parallel to mentoring conversations, helping to organise ill-structured information from complex stories and directing us toward solutions. However, as in the building of any new neural pathways, we must become familiar with our practice frameworks if they are to operate automatically (see Hebb, 1949; Grawe, 2007). Once these patterns of processing become routine, they can be used in flexible, responsive and natural ways alongside collegial conversations.
It may be hard for us to put aside prescriptive, linear processes. They offer safety and often fit with our expectations of mentoring practice. However, if we want our conversations to explore dominant and helpful outlying elements of colleagues’ stories, we must become comfortable with discussion that travels back and forth and takes twists and turns (Taffel, 2014). Our various practice frameworks play a part in systematic processing of information and maintaining an overall sense of direction but they quietly operate in the background and do not dominate or stifle the authenticity of the conversation.
E-LAC: Natural and supportive collegial conversations
I orea te tuatara ka patu ki waho
A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions
Colleagues benefit from mentoring and supervision conversations when we apportion our full attention to their stories. However, our working memory is limited to approximately seven spaces, fewer of these being available when we are we are under stress or preoccupied. Designating too many fixed items to our active memory clutters our mind and can impede the flow of professional conversation.
The value of being present for our peers during mentoring, supervision, leadership and coaching conversations was considered at a recent professional learning programme facilitated by Leadership Coach, Adam Piandes, (https://adampiandes.com/). In the programme, participants were treated to in-depth discussions about a myriad of influences on effective communication. At the end of the programme, they were asked to reflect on and share what they considered were the most salient aspects of their new learning. This request posed quite a challenge as all principles and practices discussed appeared to be essential components of effective communication. Furthermore, being based on positive, ecological psychology, neuroscience and narrative, solution-focused processes, the principles fell within the parameters of contemporary approaches to psychology and education practice.
A sample of concepts related to effective communication
These four categories constitute the E-LAC guide shared in this blog. Together, they serve as a set of prompts to bring to mind, when required, the concepts they represent. The categories are not viewed as static and restricted to solely the principles and practices recognised at the time of its design but are considered to be open to a wide and diverse range of knowledge. Each category can be extended to accommodate differing knowledge and new learning.
E-LAC, comprising just four elements, is intended to free the way for relevant knowledge to make its way to professional conversations. The elements are not intended to be applied sequentially, although this may happen as stories are explored. Obviously the mentoring and supervision journeys of participants are diverse as are the social and cultural perspectives colleagues bring to practice. I am sharing this guide, or set of prompts, because of the support it offers me when working in various settings involving multiple relationships. It is a convenient guide that allows the story-teller to interpret their situations and take the lead, while providing assurance that the fundamental elements of effective mentoring and supervision are operating. Some readers may wish to use the guide as it is, while others may choose to adapt it in ways that suit their own practice. Below is a brief description of each of the four elements of E-LAC.
E Energy
As participants in mentoring conversations, we take responsibility for sparking energy to initiate conversations and maintain momentum. Once energy is set in motion, it tends to flow back and forth among participants, the energy inputted by one participant being repaid by the energy received from others (see Church, 2018). Energy flows when we are cognitively and emotionally connected and bypasses resistance when conversations feel safe and meaningful.
Generating energy in collegial conversations requires that both, or all, participants genuinely care about the situation being reviewed and are interested in finding a contextually applicable new solution. Collegial conversations can never be separated from personal and professional relationships, just as the process of mentoring necessarily impacts relationships between or among participants. Energy is sparked when mentors and supervisors are mentally present for their colleagues.
L Listening
Listening is a powerful tool in any learning conversation. When we, in our mentoring roles, listen and hear what our colleagues are saying, thinking and feeling, they open their minds to creative solutions. Effective listening can reward all participants with mutual understandings, feelings of being understood, experience of positive affect, satisfaction with the communication process and relationship-building (Bodie et al., 2014).
Story-telling calls for all participants to be cognitively and emotionally present in the moment. Being present is supported when collegial conversations are contextually driven, purposeful and active while remaining open and flexible (Byrne & Taylor-Byrne, 2018). We connect with our colleagues’ stories when we welcome and are comfortable with the silences, tangents and backtracking that may arise as stories unfold (Geldard, Geldard & Yin Foo, 2017; Taffel, 2012).
Not all listening is the same. Sometimes listening occurs at a surface level, as it may when we chat with friends. At other times, we make space to think more deeply about the recounted experience of our colleagues. The various types of listening can be illustrated in a tiered model that has long been used in counselling practice and has been popularized in workplace environments in recent times. In effect, the model distinguishes between surface (Level 1) and active listening (Levels 2 and 3). The particular version shown below was articulated by Piandes (2020).
Level 1. What about me?
Focusing on what to say next or self-sharing. For example:
That happened to me too.
Barb had the same issue.
I really connect with that because I …..
Level 2. I hear you.
You hear your colleague’s story and can reflect back what they are saying. Hence, Level 2 listening may be referred to as ‘Reflective Listening’. For example:
So, at the meeting Billy’s mother said that he needed more support.
You have tried many times in vain to work with Charlotte’s teacher.
Level 3. I feel you.
You understand the significance of what your colleague is saying; you recognise what the story means beyond the words. This type of listening is often called ‘empathic listening’. For example:
I’m sensing that this has knocked your confidence.
How rewarding for you!
That must have been confusing.
As we listen at Level 1, we may be thinking about what we are going to say next and we may even over-self-share. When we self-share, even if we are intending to connect or show empathy, these comments are generally interpreted by the story-teller as an indication that the conversation is becoming ‘about the mentor’ (or leader, coach or supervisor). This type of conversation is often used in casual conversation among friends, family and acquaintances. However, our most effective professional work occurs when we listen at Levels 2 and 3. At Level 2, we hear and can reflect back our colleagues’ stories. At Level 3, we show empathy and demonstrate our understanding of the significance of events for colleagues. Effective listening moves naturally between Levels 2 and 3. It underpins and contributes to sound professional relationships.
A Appreciation
As we listen, we come to appreciate, and can consequently acknowledge, a colleague’s personal and professional expertise. Once we have taken time to learn about the events that have precipitated the conversation, and we have heard what our colleague does not want, we can begin to reframe the direction of conversation and focus on what our colleague does want. This process helps colleagues work together in positive, solution-focused ways and does not trivialise or deny the colleague’s initial experience.
In the following examples, sound practice has been identified through an appreciative perspective and is expressed as acknowledgement.
It seems that you have established good relationships with Tai’s whānau and teachers.
It has taken great courage to discuss this matter.
You’ve listened carefully to Daniela’s story about her experience in school.
C Curiosity
As noted above, helping colleagues discover and create solutions that align with their own sense-making processes means avoiding excessive questioning and giving advice (Byrne & Taylor-Byrne, 2018). Every person brings to mentoring and supervision interactions their unique perspectives on the circumstances they wish to review and their own accounts of these experiences. Only the colleague who is experiencing the event and interpreting it through their particular social and cultural filter fully understands the implicit or more subtle aspects of the situation.
Our minds hold explicit memories of events, and these can be openly discussed if our colleagues choose to share them. However, many of the most relevant memories we hold are implicit and not readily accessible to us (see Arden, 2019). These are the memories that lead us to blind spots where solutions are not visible. The impact of implicit memories on reasoning and the uniqueness of experience mean that conversations must flow. At times we may gently return to matters already discussed that may have been initially too difficult to articulate. If we hold back on our questioning, the story-teller has greater opportunity to elaborate their story and consider their options.
Genuine curiosity on the part of the mentor helps to draw out important aspects of the story, recognise its significance and help light the way forward. When we remain curious, we all learn together. Although exchange of professional knowledge is an essential element of collegial interactions, it can occur without advising.
When we are stuck in our work, it is difficult to form a clear question to initiate discussion as stuckness is usually more about feeling and emotion than it is cognitive. Once we can articulate a question, we have almost found or created a solution. We can support colleagues to bring key issues to the foreground when exploring or talking around topics. This conversation may start with descriptions of precipitating events followed by judicial use of more searching, open questions to encourage expression of experiences and interpretations. When we are curious, we might ask:
What do you see as the background to this situation?
Which aspects of this work will help us build solutions?
What are your options here?
What have you considered so far?
While remaining curious, we may also be mindful of the times we do need to provide advice. On occasions, practitioners may feel so stuck that acting on their colleague’s advice may be the only option they see before them. The need to stay attuned to colleagues’ requests for advice or shared decision-making underscores the importance of developing trusting professional, relationships and emotionally safe environments. Advice may be needed when:
Information about organisation protocols is sought, particularly for newcomers
Contextual information about a new environment is requested
There is a risk of unprofessional or unethical practice, either on the part of the colleague or when a colleague reports events observed
A quick win is needed to maintain motivation and momentum
E-LAC: A portable conversation guide
E-LAC is a portable set of prompts for collegial conversations. It serves to free our minds from the clutter outside of the task at hand, allowing us to access and exchange our professional knowledge ‘in the moment’. The acronym reminds us of vital aspects of mentoring, supervision, leadership or coaching conversations. It prompts us to inject Energy to keep meandering conversations flowing and to Listen to the story that is central to the conversation. As our brains are primarily concerned with safety and survival, they will readily steer our gaze toward negative story components. E-LAC provides a gentle reminder to interpret stories through appreciative eyes and ears, bringing into view those aspects that are positive and constitute pivotal points for building new solutions. The set of prompts is designed to help us stay curious as together we explore and construct new solutions.
References
Annan, J., & Ryba, K. (2013). Networks of professional supervision. School Psychology Quarterly. 28(2), 170-182. doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spq0000015
Arden, J. B. (2019). Mind-brain-gene. Toward psychotherapy integration. New York, NY: Norton & Co.
Byrne, J., & Taylor-Byrne, R. (2018). Lifestyle counselling and coaching for the whole person. Hebdon Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK: The Institute for Emotive-Cognitive Embodied-Narrative Therapy.
Church, D. (2018). Mind to matter. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.
Geldard, D., Geldard, K., & Yin Foo, R. (2017). Basic personal counselling. A training manual for counsellors. Sydney, Australia: Cengage.
Piandes, A. (2020). The Art Of Masterful Communication Course (AOMC). https://adampiandes.com/art-of-masterful-communication/
Taffel, R. (2014). How conversations sparks therapeutic change. The search for the unspoken self. Psychotherapy Networker, September/October. https://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/article/226/how-conversation-sparks-therapeutic-
Weger, H., Castle Bell, G., Minei E. M., & Robinson, M.C. (2014) The Relative Effectiveness of Active Listening in Initial Interactions, International Journal of Listening, 28(1), 13-31, doi: 10.1080/10904018.2013.813234