I'm Lindsay , and it's time to gather at the well . We're on a mission to microdose wellness , create human-centered systems and retain our greatest asset our people . We believe it's time for podcasts that teach , moving beyond thought leadership and towards change leadership . Join us and our friends at we Are For good as we model the way with concrete examples from the field and gain tangible tools , because it's possible to build adult work cultures . We don't need to heal from . Let's get into it . Welcome back , welcome back . You arrived to gather at the well , the podcast that teaches . I'm glad you've joined . We're about halfway through our series at this point , centering human-centered policies and leadership , and we're so grateful that you were able to join .
Speaker 1So get comfy , because we've been on this journey of trying to almost audit both internally with ourselves , but also literally within our companies , our organizations , our schools or districts . So where are you now ? Are you close to operating a human centered business or do you have a ways to go ? It's all good , we're on our way , but maybe just start by getting comfortable in your seat or , if you're standing , moving , a couple of stretches just to open your mind , open your heart . I'm reaching my arms up and out , opening my rib cage . I want to transition from my last task and be as present as possible , and I invite you to do the same . So if you've been following the Teaching Well podcast through we Are For Good , you've heard me run my mouth a whole lot about some of our favorite policies and the opportunities for play and innovation . We've talked about bereavement , reproductive loss ,
first year of life supports , as well as our wellness and pd stipends . But today I want to talk about a policy that isn't fancy or cute , but it's one that really is significant . It means a lot to me as a restorative practitioner and one that I believe creates a trauma-informed or healing centered container for my staff , and that's the corrective progression . I'm going to put a little bit of tea . I'm going to try and keep it loose leaf , organic here .
Speaker 1I find , as someone who only recently in the last four years , transitioned to the wellness field , right , because the teaching well sits at the intersection of education and wellbeing in the workplace . But many wellness orgs are real freestyle Shout out to the healers of the world . I know healing is fluid , but orgs with no structure can perpetuate just as much harm as the traditional stereotype of a business harm as the traditional stereotype of a business . Micromanagement , punitive behaviors , carry your box out via a walk of shame . That's what the movies tell us about , especially corporate work . But what about when you have no job descriptions , no systems for evaluation or feedback , coaching or support ? What about when there's no handbook , conflict arises between teammates or compensation and rest ? Policies and practices are unclear . This is a recipe for burnout or for burning up relationships that are significant and have the potential to lead towards really rigorous collaboration and impact .
Speaker 1As an educator , I believe kids crave structure . Systems . Policies and practices , when done well , can keep us safe and supported . There's a path to liberatory , human-centered policies that still pass legal muster , and if you tuned into our last episode , you know that Marisol and I were really talking about the tension and walking the line between liberatory and legally safe or sound policies . So at homework , from episode five , we encourage you to identify a policy that you'd like to create or that currently exists and isn't working for your team .
Speaker 1I'd like to give you another example , as I mentioned the corrective progression policy at the teaching well and run it through our framework , just to help you have an additional at-bat with this concept . So before I jump into that , I want to just give a tiny bit of context around what the corrective progression even means . I want to just give a tiny bit of context around what the corrective progression even means At its rawest
form . When I was talking to my kids the other night about this , they're like , oh , it's how people get in trouble and I was like , huh sad that already the schooling system has taught my young children elementary school and younger that there are practices for punishment . I think about it really differently . I think about corrective progression as the opportunity to create , sustain and care for relationships . And when we are misaligned or off track , when we are not meeting expectations within ourselves , within our team , for our organization , how do we recalibrate ? This is how we start with the corrective progression . Literally , this is the policy language . So when I tell you we play , we play . It's our belief at the Teaching Well that we are all lifelong learners with the capacity to grow . We also know that to be a restorative and trauma sensitive organization , it's best practice to hold consistent and predictable practices anchored in caring relationships . All teammates are assigned to a supervisor who , in part , is responsible for facilitating the support and accountability of supervisees . By articulating a standard corrective progression , it enables us to mutually resolve employee performance challenges in order to retain employees as productive team members whenever possible .
Speaker 1Let's unpack that last line right , correcting for the very human nature of middle managers , supervisors , folks in charge leadership positions , from bringing in their subjective feelings , reactions or course corrections with their staff . We know change is hard , but we say at the teaching well , it doesn't have to be traumatic . We want to sustain dignity and I hold the belief that you shouldn't kick folks when they're already down . Shame and guilt are already heavy enough . So be good on purpose , even if your frustration is justified . As a supervisor , I've watched as clients who hold positional authority feel self-righteous in their allocation of punitive actions . They project their feelings , almost even a vibe of parenting , onto their staff . Like this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you . Or do as I say , not as I do . It's icky .
Speaker 1Restorative practices are not just an item to add to your plate , they are the plate , they're the holder for all relationships . One of our principals that we work with told us that her mother , who's a clinician , said if you hold things in , you'll get sick . Then I wonder , what does micromanaging do ? I don't know . I'd speculate a reciprocal type of damage , both a picking away at the spirit , efficacy , self-worth of the supervisee , but also chipping away at the true leadership potential of the manager . And without calibration on these types of practices inside of your organization
, your staff can experience a type of whiplash , especially if they change supervisors and have a radically different experience .
Speaker 1So in that policy frame that we provide , in many of our human-centered policies where we've innovated , there's a little bit of a framing that articulates our values and our stance . But you heard it outright Our mission , our goal internally , is to retain our people and have them be productive team members . We state that outright . So when I think about the corrective progression and I measure it up against the framework that we articulated in the last several episodes , we visioned towards a policy , marisol and I said there is no process when we arrived at the teaching . Well , for equitable , ethical , responsive , but also clear boundary setting and support accountability in the face of performance concerns , our vision is that this does not have to be punitive . Our vision is that especially folks who are neurodivergent or who are trauma survivors don't experience a gotcha , but that they feel clear , contained and confident in getting back on track .
Speaker 1We drafted the policy and we shared it with certain culture keepers on the team who we knew , especially in our context , had had employment trauma and would have feedback on the desired experience . Because everybody makes mistakes , we have agency decide how we respond to them . Of course we had our legal counsel take a look at it and , yeah , we got some feedback and then we needed to broker a middle path . Of course we then followed it with some change management , socializing it with our team and retraining our supervisors . So what are a couple of other little nuggets from this policy , just so you can see the ways in which human-centered values can be illustrated Deeper into the policy .
Speaker 1It shares that for severe or pervasive performance issues not remedied by feedback and or coaching because , remember , we believe and practice at the teaching wall that every employee deserves both a coach and a supervisor the teaching wall may choose to utilize a corrective progression system and we actually name in our policy that the leader should make every effort to transparently communicate that an employee has entered the corrective progression . In other words , literally , the supervisor says verbally and or in writing to their supervisee that they have entered the corrective progression . Why ? Because it eliminates the guesswork . This is where we are and you can refer back to the handbook to see exactly what's coming . We then articulate examples of what that can look like , again to empower the employee to understand the process , where they are and how effectively they can rechart their course . Examples like one-on-one note taker comments , a corrective memo , a formal support plan . But we also talk about restoratives and that teammates could potentially be in a corrective progression on multiple topics concurrently . They could be in step one on one issue and step two on another . It's not three strikes out , and that feels really important in our organization . So this is just one example of a policy that we've mapped up against the framework and we're hoping you're doing that as well .
Speaker 1Let's take an opportunity for a somatic while you integrate what I've shared . This practice is called the breath of joy . Shout out to Aaliyah , our director of development , who brought this into the team At a very basic level . This practice invites us to inhale three times brief , short , and then exhale in one long breath . Let's try it on . You might get comfortable adjusting your posture to a relaxed but alert position . Invite you to drop your shoulders from your ears and , if it feels safe or nourishing , to close your eyes or lower your gaze . To begin , we'll take in those three short breaths through the nose and a long exhale through the mouth . Let's do three more just like that , on your pace . Perhaps , like me , you've noticed that your breath has slowed and that exhale has extended , creating more space in your nervous system to be with what's here and to access your brilliance . You might flutter your eyes open , look to a source of natural light if possible . If it's nighttime , you might look to a source of joy inside of your space , like a picture frame , a plantita or a gift or token of appreciation from a colleague or kiddo .
Speaker 1Let's get back into it At
a high level . We've been toying with this question of how do we build organizations that are resilient , that can stand the test of time , can make it through and weather these storms and the storms are storming but also take care of our greatest asset , which is our staff . And I boil it down to really this reflection that folks want to work for orgs that work for them . If you're in LinkedIn , you'll see that there are so many folks who have gone through this really grueling process of applying over and over and over again to roles and getting that rough news . That's real , it's real .
Speaker 1And there are also sectors like education , and I know it's an unpopular belief I hold , but I have been saying for years and I continue to believe , we do not have a staffing shortage in schools in many , many , many of our districts and communities . We have a staffing shortage in schools in many , many , many of our districts and communities . We have a staffing crisis and there's a difference . There are ample credentialed folks in many urban centers , especially those individuals with the quote magic money that came after the pandemic , this huge influx of state and federal COVID-19 support dollars . It ballooned our middle manager roles , it ballooned support roles . And I'm going to say right now we do need ample bodies on campuses to work with children , ample bodies on campuses to work with children , to feel sustained , to have adequate rest and breaks , to be able to collaborate and engage in professional development , coaching , observation and feedback . We need to have enough staff and some school staff got enormous relative to the size of enrollment of their student body . And I bring this in because it feels really important to name that in some sectors actually , there are a ton of roles open . Folks can get hired in any number of schools and they have a tremendous amount of choice .
Speaker 1That being said , it doesn't mean that the schools , the districts or these organizations are working for them , are creating desirable conditions that create sustainability , that create workplace well-being , that enable folks to feel holistically well that they can balance their life . One of the worst feelings as an educator is when you look up and you feel like you're missing your own kid's journey . You're so busy tending to caring for , loving on other people's children and bless that . It's an honor and a privilege , but you're not always present . I always talk about the shifts . Shift one is at work , shift two is when you come home and you're parenting , if you're a working parent . Shift three is maybe dating my partner and shift four is what's left in the tank . For me , that's the standard progression of of how folks think about their tank and , frankly , most of their tank is used during the workday , especially if you're working with tiny humans during the workday , especially if you're working with tiny humans .
Speaker 1But if you're giving your all to a company that can't even return basic care , we're out of balance and we've got a real challenge . There's an upfront cost and investment to recharting your policies , to bringing in experts , to gaining the feedback and using some of your staff meeting time to survey , but the long-term impact and reward is absolutely worth it . Have to restart , retrain , re-onboard every single year , losing the institutional knowledge , best practice , the cultural cornerstones of this is how we do it here and the impact directly to those you're trying to serve , because you have a stable team that feels resourced enough to give it their all , and by all I mean 80 to 90% . I will take a strong B plus and an A from my team . I don't want them giving a hundred percent , and I remind this in particular to principals who have often been trained to tell folks that they expect 110% . That's unmanageable , it's toxic . Let these people go home and still have something for their families . Let these folks go home and still have something for themselves . In fact , you'll get the best version of them when you're not asking for overexertion .
Speaker 1So as you think about auditing current policies , I want to invite you to think about what policies you already have , what you need . And then how do you build a sustainable plan to generate progress , monitor and then hold yourself accountable to revisions at a clip that you can sustain . Hold yourself accountable to revisions at a clip that you can sustain . I've already told on myself . I love alliteration , so bear with me here . But three categories that come to mind when I look for human centered policies are those that fall under the category of care , others that fall under conditions and then the final is corrections , and I gave you an example of the corrective progression which would fall under the ladder .
Speaker 1I think about those as policy groupings that speak to anything that's hard . So literally , when things get hard in your org with your team in performance , what do you do ? What are the steps you take ? What can folks expect ? But let's go back to conditions . A lot of the policy handbook that we have speak to conditions Expectations . With grace is something I think about .
Speaker 1I have no idea why so many handbooks have a full page on professional attire . I'm like , look , especially if you're working at home and you want to be in sweats , that's your business . It's kind of like a mullet . What do they say ? Business on top , party in the back . I think remote work is more like professional waist up , bottom is your business . But it's also policies like what I call moving about the cabin . So remote and flexible work .
Speaker 1We're a hybrid organization . During the peak of the pandemic we were fully remote and there was a change management process , working with our staff to return to hybrid work why ? Because the vast majority of our clients are schools , districts and nonprofits , who are all back on the front line , and one thing that is bad for your brand is if you're a consultant that never is out in the field , sitting in your cozy Sherpa with your AC running , and the people that you're trying to coach actually are running about in the streets on their campuses doing hard work . It's not that your work is invalid , it's just that there's a disconnect and over time , it can erode trust or credibility when they feel like you're too removed . So it felt really important for us to honor the experience of educators and non-profiteers by actually getting out into the work with them training at their sites , doing walkthroughs , doing coaching meetings in their office , so we can feel
what it is like to have a thousand disruptions . Or even , last week , shout out to my team who were , on multiple days , locked into campuses when community violence was surrounding and were able to provide real-time co-regulation with staff and then resume their coaching once things were safe again .
Speaker 1Speaking of safety , there are likely policies under this conditions bucket that speak to security and safety , like having a drug-free or alcohol-free workspace . That's something I really recommend is that , as you're building communities of culture . Wait , let me say that differently . Something I really want us to be cautious of is community building beyond happy hours . I'm not knocking it If that's your team's vibe , good for you . But when I was working at my former district , when I was a baby teacher , there was a real culture of drinking , not of course , when children were around , but there were town halls and professional development meetings where there would be celebrations and an alcohol cart would come in . We have to be mindful of the fact that some of your employees may be in recovery , may have former traumas , may be currently working a program , and if you're prepared to punish them for not participating in something that will literally cause them harm , then actually your culture isn't one of community , of belonging , of inclusion and of psychological safety . So how do we diversify our offerings and security and safety policies kind of set the tone and can guide leadership decisions around investing in play in safe ways .
Speaker 1A final kind of subsect of this might be some of your we call it literally take some time off with an exclamation point . In our handbook , this section speaks to things like PTO , sick days , and then also you may have state-specific guidelines . I was really pleased to see that California has expanded expectations and codified in law Shout out to our attorney who put us up on game a couple years ago about this but there are protections for folks in situations of DV , folks who are experiencing stalking , essay , crime and abuse victims . There are legal protections so that you can't lay them off if they go through a traumatic event without some real clarity , support and space for them to deal with the real scary life that's lifing and be able to return to work when they're able . That's the goal . And then the final bucket I spoke to was around care . So that might be things like financial freedom and compensation . It might be things like bereavement and loss . It might be like taking care of your team , wellness stipends and we have a retention retreat right which will be coming up in a future episode . Some of the ways that we are innovating around retention , bonuses that are connected to time , sabbaticals , micro-sabbaticals , etc . So hopefully , care conditions and corrections are a helpful guide for thinking about some of the primary human-centered buckets that you might look for or build towards in your organization .
Speaker 1Let's get in another somatic , another Aaliyah special . It was all about Aaliyah today in the somatics . We love that . Hey girl , this one's called Bumble Bee Breath and I've shared with y'all about vagal toning . It changed my life and I wish I had learned it in elementary school .
Speaker 1There are dozens of ways to tone or strengthen your vagus nerve , which is your 10th cranial nerve that is responsible for in large part , some of your resilience , and you can enhance , improve and strengthen that vagus nerve . One of the keys is humming . That's one of the ways that we can vagal tone . So in this practice you'll inhale again through your nose , but in the exhale you'll close your lips and make a humming sound similar to a bumblebee , and you'll continue humming until you've exhaled all of the air from your lungs . I'm going to say the last part without stuttering . And you'll continue humming until you have exhaled all the air from your lungs . Shall we try Again , getting situated just how you like it , adjusting your body to a bit more comfort as you metabolize the content we've explored so far Eyes open or closed , inhaling through the nose , exhaling with a hum , inhaling through the nose , exhaling with feel even one percent more grounded after that invitation .
So as we begin our downward descent here , I just want to name that this cannot all fall on your executive leadership team . Some of y'all just rolled your eyes , cut your teeth and clutched your pearls Like how come , lindsay , what you talking about ? It can't , it just can't . First of all , it is their job to be responsive to the needs of their staff and leaders in that middle space supervisors , managers , team leaders and even I talked about in episode two your culture keepers , who may not have an official title but who have a tremendous amount of influence . When they speak , folks listen . When you're not in the room , they carry your culture .
Speaker 1Middle management gets a bad rap , but they're a key lever in generating , establishing and upholding human-centered policies . They're a bridge between compassionate but likely overextended leadership , ensuring the company's employees receive the intended care by design . And , if you just kind of cut your eye at me , like what if you don't have a compassionate , overextended leadership ? Alternatively , your middle managers may be the buffer or stopgap between a workplace abuser and the vital employees that serve the org . So , whether you're a bridge or a stopgap , or at least a shield for the people that you support and care about for your colleagues , a shield for the people that you support and care about for your colleagues , my invitation is just don't be that guy Advocate for policy shifts . You've got a seat at the table . You have the ear of the leader . Clear some space for others to join you . Create more opportunity . Reach back and pull up . Bring folks along with you .
Speaker 1Creating and sustaining policies and organizational cultures that don't harm is all of our responsibility . You'll hear me talk about that over and over and over again . We can't wait for a leader to save or liberate us . We have so much power inside of organizations and if you really don't hit me up on the side because there are organizations that want you to join their team , who believe in your holistic wellbeing , they exist . I promise I know some examples . So here's an idea for your homework Build a short Google survey organized in those three buckets I shared above care , conditions and corrections .
Speaker 1List out some of the policies and you know we'll put this inside our blog that teaches . Copy and paste it into your Google survey and push it to your team . Let them weigh
in on these human-centered policy categories . Let their needs drive your action . Don't stay in your office ruminating about what you could do better . Ask them Then make moves . This is going to take a lift and it's absolutely worth it .
Speaker 1Some affirmations that might support you during this pursuit , one step at a time is enough for me . I am worthy of healing centered policies . We deserve policies that help , not harm . I am brilliant . I can lead this effort . Our closing critical hope here .
Speaker 1The real is that our budgets communicate our priorities and our policies are an extension of that protection . There are so many graphics demonstrating managers and organizational leaders as umbrellas that sort of shield their teams from the rainstorm , but policies also create a necessary sustainability for leaders and supervisors , and that's often not talked about . Your team is entitled and deserving of workplace conditions that are healthy , and also the folks who are responsible for implementing teaching . Also the folks who are responsible for implementing teaching , holding accountable to these policies , deserve for them to be clear . Otherwise , you're creating inefficient , ineffective organizational practices . Investment , but I promise you that what seems like just a piece of paper , a handbook that collects dust on your shelf or somewhere in your Google ocean , it's so much more than that . It's living and fluid , and I think about each year's handbook as a time capsule of my own efficacy as a leader and of the state of being inside of this organization . Each time capsule is a bit better , a bit stronger and more evidence of our values in action . You can get there too .
Speaker 1I hope you have an incredible week . Looking forward to tuning in with you again soon . All right , y'all . Thanks for coming to play at Gather at the Well , the podcast that teaches . If you like this conversation , come visit us online at theteachingwellorg and hit us up on our socials . Remember to visit the podcast page to download a couple of useful tools to get your life and heal up your work .