Episode 298: The Resistance Solution with Becca Silver

Darrin Peppard (00:00)

Alright, my friends, welcome into episode 298 of the Leaning Into Leadership podcast. Yes, we are inching closer and closer to episode 300, and what a celebration that one is going to be. I cannot wait to share that episode with you. But hey, 298, absolutely a stellar episode as well. And let me open with a question. What if the person

You've labeled as resistant isn't actually resistant. What if they're experiencing resistance? Ever think about that? It may seem like a small shift in the language that I'm using, but as you're going to hear in today's conversation.

It really represents a completely different way of thinking about how we lead people through change. My guest today is Becca Silver, founder and CEO of The Whole Educator and author of the brand new book, The Resistance Solution. Becca has spent years studying why people resist change, and she makes a compelling argument. Resistance isn't simply about attitude, relationships, or whether somebody is willing to get on board.

Resistance is often telling us that something underneath the surface needs our attention. And leaders, this conversation gets really practical. We're going to talk about five different mindsets that can help us better understand resistance. But I especially want you to listen for our conversation about ownership. Because if we say we want people to take ownership while we continue creating cultures built around compliance,

We shouldn't be surprised when ownership never shows up.

Becca gives us something incredibly practical in this episode. Something you can take back to your school, your district, or your organization tomorrow. Get crystal clear about what is truly non-negotiable and where your people have the freedom to exercise their professional judgment. There is a lot here for us to think about, but

Before we jump into my conversation with Becca, I want to take a moment and thank our friends at Hey Tutor for their continued support of the Leaning Into Leadership podcast.

School leaders, you know that closing learning gaps takes more than simply identifying where students are struggling. Students need the right support delivered consistently by people who can help them move forward. That's where Hey Tutor comes in. HeyTutor partners with schools and districts to provide high-impact tutoring support in literacy and mathematics, helping leaders extend learning opportunities for students without simply adding one more thing to an already overloaded staff.

If you're looking for ways to strengthen student support and accelerate learning in your school or district, take a look at what our friends at Heytutor can provide. Go to heytututor.com or hit the link down in the show notes. That will let them know you heard about them here on the Leaning Into Leadership podcast. All right, my friends, let's lean into this conversation with Becca Silver. I will see you on the other side.

Darrin Peppard (00:00)

All right, friends, welcome back into the show. Sitting with me today, Becca Silver. Becca, thanks so much for joining me here on Leaning Into Leadership.

Becca Silver (00:10)

Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to have this conversation.

Darrin Peppard (00:13)

Yeah, for sure. And this is going to be a really cool conversation because we are talking about resistance and not just resistance itself, but some of the solutions to resistance and and not just the simple, you know, well, hey, just work on building better relationships or, you know, just just write them up until they to they do what you tell them to. There's so much more to that. so I'm really excited to talk about that. really, really stoked to talk about your

book that relates to that topic. But before we do that, just really quick, orient my audience a little to who Becca Silver is.

Becca Silver (00:48)

Well, I'm the CEO and founder of The Whole Educator. And what we do in The Whole Educator is work with instructional coaches and leaders of all levels in education. So that's teacher leaders, principals, district leaders, statewide leaders to better support teachers. And the space that I've really specialized in is helping folks navigate resistance to change.

My my experience is in I I was a teacher for 10 years and then an instructional coach and then a leadership coach. And I've started to realize there's something in the space around supporting educators that I could really help bring a human-centered approach to. And I like to say we get things done through people's humanity and not around it. And that's in comparison to a more of a task-centered approach. And so I discovered throughout the years.

as I was developing this approach, it's when we are trying to what I call overcome resistance, right? And it's it's actually I don't call it that, right? We we commonly use language that's task-centered, right? So we overcome resistance and that's going around people's humanity. And what I discovered is when we understand the human in front of us, we get things done a whole lot quicker and everyone's really empowered around it.

Darrin Peppard (02:06)

Yeah, I I really like that and I I really appreciate that that specific like human-centered approach because we tend to almost separate that resistance from the person and and and yes, certainly there there are elements of relationship and that type of thing that that will connect to that, but

I think a lot of times as leaders, we we don't stop and think about the human when we run into some of those some of those paths of of you know barricades, if you will, to to improvement. So share with us a little bit ab like I don't know kind of the story behind why focus on

resistance. I you know again we're gonna talk about your book in a few minutes and I'm always curious when

Becca Silver (02:50)

Yeah. Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (02:52)

I have the opportunity to to speak with other authors, what was it that drove you to focus on that specific topic or to try to solve that specific problem? So give us some background there.

Becca Silver (03:01)

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I will. I will. So before I start from the very beginning, because this starts at the very beginning of my teaching career, I want to say this. I want to name some language I'm going to be using. I don't say resistant teachers. I say teachers experiencing resistance or people experiencing resistance because resistance isn't who someone is. It's a an experience people move through. Just like being sad or happy, same thing. It's an experience we move through. So I wanted to say this around my language I'm going to be using.

So, my my journey with resistance started the moment I started teaching and I was resisting change. I got in trouble a lot my first year teaching. I was in the principal's office and they'd have this list of things that I did wrong because I wasn't following. And it was at the time it I started teaching at the time where scripted like lessons and curriculum were really big. They're like, you have to read exactly what's on the page. And I was like, no, I'm not. And so

What what so I was an educator experiencing resistance, right? And I found my way through and kind of discovered maybe there's other ways to create change in the school besides just not doing it. And then fast forward through my teaching career, I become a coach and I did the classic coach thing where I would go to teachers' classrooms and I would say, you're dealing with this problem. This is what I did in my classroom.

Which was a huge mistake, right? And I would see people's eyes glaze over. Or, or some of them were like excited, like, I have something to try. Most of them totally unsuccessful. Or they would try and abandon. I called attack and abandon. They would just abandon it. And so I was wildly ineffective because I was telling them to do what I would have done, right? So they were resisting me. So suddenly I was like, ooh, I I I noticed this thing.

I I did this thing, right? I'm not gonna do what my coach is asking me to do or suggesting that I do. And so when I became a consultant, I was traveling around the US and I was coaching teachers at first. Now I only coach leaders and coaches. But when I was coaching teachers, something interesting happened. I was extraordinarily effective with teachers experiencing resistance. And I didn't know why. So I'd fly in.

And they discover they're like, Becca's really good with those folks. So those so they would say, please work with these specific teachers. And it really said you're giving me all the ones experiencing resistance. And what I needed to what I realized I needed to figure out was how can I teach people how to impact folks experiencing resistance without me being there? How do I transfer my knowledge, right, and skills? And that's when I dug into the research.

And I needed it to be, I I had a gap. I had I was you know the the ladder ladder of ladder of competence. Yeah. So I was unconsciously competent. I was good, I didn't know why I was good. And so when I dug into the research, I discovered, there's

Darrin Peppard (05:55)

Yeah.

Becca Silver (05:57)

actually human motivations, five very specifically, that we can use to diagnose why someone's resisting. Something I figured out intuitively, but I couldn't name, and now I can name it. So the book is really.

That framework that I created from the research that I did.

Darrin Peppard (06:13)

I love that so much. I think that that that's a really good way to frame why focus on

teachers experiencing resistance. And, you know, you you mentioned it a little bit. You know, you said you were the one who was in trouble and going to the principal's office. And and there's a story in the book that I really enjoyed and I I related to it, but I also found myself, you know, back with my principal hat on, thinking about

Becca Silver (06:36)

Mm-hmm.

Darrin Peppard (06:37)

someone who would have just gotten a new smart board and and would tell me, you know, nope, I'm never using that thing. You're wasting your money putting it in here. Talk a little bit about that story. really specifically, it's a great story about you being in in that place where you were experiencing some resistance. Maybe, maybe, maybe run with that just a little bit.

Becca Silver (06:56)

Yeah,

yeah, yeah, for sure. So I just a a kind of a a timeline of my career. I taught for four years in the US and then I moved abroad. I actually kind of burnt out a little bit after four years. I was working 12, 13 hour days and I had no kind of work life balance. And then I I was like, I like I gotta go. So I moved abroad and I started teaching English to adults in Peru, and then I taught

Children in East Africa and Tanzania for two years. So I was gone for three years. I was gone during the time that everyone got a smartphone and a smart board. And that's when you were here, I I wasn't here, right? So I I I don't know what exactly happened, but ever it was very normalized when I came back. And so it was shocking to me. And it's for everyone else, I think it it

it it happened maybe slower, but for me I was it felt like I walked in and everyone it looked like everyone was talking on calculators. I was like, what is happening? And I came with my metallic blue flip phone and I was like, don't take my flip phone. I talked to the ATT people. They're like, don't you want to upgrade to a smart board smartphone? And I was like, no, I like my I like my flip phone. So

I go into this school. I got hired at a wonderful school, and the principal's showing me around, and she's like, and here's our smart board. And I said to her, Whatever you do, do not give me a classroom with a smartboard. Well, I didn't know I didn't have a choice. Every every room had a smart board. And

Darrin Peppard (08:20)

Yep.

Becca Silver (08:21)

I refused to use a smart board for an entire year. And what was happening that year, and I imagine this is probably happening nationwide.

Was they were so excited about this new technology where I was very like, leave me alone, I can teach without electricity. Like I taught a school, at a school where the electricity went out at least once a day and we were like, doot doo doo, open the windows, right? And now it's like, what? You want me to use this this techno I could I could teach outside with nothing. And so I ever it felt like every staff meeting, they'd pull us together and they would excitedly tell us about a new app.

I remember them teaching about NearPod. They're like, here, Near Pod. Right? They're they're like standing there, like, here, look at your whatever iPad or whatever. Look, when you type on it and it shows up here. Isn't that cool? And I would check out. I was a smiler and nodder. I was like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yep. I'd go back and do none of it for an entire year. And it wasn't until and I thought I was like fighting, I thought I was fighting the good fight. Right. I'm like, all right, good teachers don't need technology.

And it was at the end of the year at a great relationship with my assistant principal, and she was just chatting with me, and I really got in that conversation, the world had changed. The US had changed for sure with technology and the future of the children I was teaching. It wasn't about me as a teacher. I made it about me. I'm a good teacher without technology. I don't need and I realized my children's, my students' future had changed. It had nothing to do with my ability to teach, but their future had changed.

And so I needed to teach for their future, right? And it was that in that conversation I saw, and so in the book, I would call I call that value mindset, but I I saw the value in in teaching it where before I didn't. And it didn't it didn't matter how many training on building that skill. It wasn't a skill issue. It was a will issue.

Darrin Peppard (10:12)

Yeah, yeah, and that's I mean I I want to get into the mindsets here in in in just a minute, but I I I really appreciate and actually that's the perfect segue to to talk a little bit more about the book. really so you have the book really broken down into into two different parts, right? the the first part is just simply why does resistance keep showing up, right? And I mean definitely a lot of research in there and and you know as as a school leader.

I always saw that, right? You know, I I was in my building where where I was the building principal for eleven years and I had this group of five. They were my, you know, this too shall pass. And, you know, listening to you talk about the smart board thing. I had a one of my

Becca Silver (10:49)

Yeah. Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (10:53)

five got his master's degree in it in instructional technology and told me all the time, well, you know, the the most important technology I have is this pencil and and just, you know, things like that, right? And

Becca Silver (11:02)

The pencil. great.

Darrin Peppard (11:05)

Anyway, I can rift on this for just like hours and hours and hours, but why does resistance just keep showing up? Like let's let's

Becca Silver (11:12)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (11:12)

talk about that.

Becca Silver (11:14)

Yeah. Yeah. And I I I want us to zoom out and look at the way we do school. So I'm gonna tell a little bit of a parable. So two fish are swimming. I actually don't know if this is a parable. That's so funny. I use that term like this is it's a little story. So

Darrin Peppard (11:27)

We'll say it is.

Becca Silver (11:28)

g well we'll see, we'll see. I'm like, I'm using a literary term, I'm not sure if I know it. But so so here's the story. Two fish are swimming and the third and a third fish swims by and he says, The water's nice, boys.

And he keeps on swimming. And then one fish turns to the other and he says, What's water?

That is our default culture of how we do school. We don't know that we are surrounded by a culture, and we don't know that we're even swimming. We're we're just we don't know, and I and so there's multiple default cultures in our schools that create resistance, and each is kind of the larger context I'm gonna give. And then there's each chapter has what I call silent progress block.

And each one of those actually actively works against building each of the mindsets. So the big context is this. I want us to think how we who we hire, right? We hire in our schools teachers that are critical thinkers. And then, and we want them to critically think about lots of different things, right? We want them to differentiate for their students. In the moment, we want them to adapt different pieces of their lesson for what kids need.

Right. In in including pivoting if it's not going well. Right. And then we ask them to comply with changes they didn't choose. And so sometimes that grappling looks like resistance. And that's what happened with me as a teacher multiple years. My grappling. I was, I'm a smart pa I was always a smart, passionate teacher. Smart, smart, smart. Right. And yet I refused to use a a smart board for a year.

Not because I didn't care, right? Not because I'm unskilled. I didn't actually believe in it. I'm a critical thinker, wondering, is this do is this is this worth my time? Is it not? Do I think this is good for my students? Do I not? I'm I'm critically thinking. So that's the the big context here. Who do we hire? And then the what's how do we actually implement change, right? And then there's multiple silent progress blockers that get in the way as well. The main one I would say is our compliance culture.

which is related to what I'm talking about. The way we do school, inherently, school districts, right? Teachers aren't, it's not a democracy. Teachers aren't like voting for

Darrin Peppard (13:47)

No.

Becca Silver (13:48)

which reading curriculum. There's a s maybe, if we're lucky, a small group of teachers that got brought to the table, handpicked, brought to the table to make. And then this big decision's made, like we're gonna teach reading with this curriculum this year, and everyone's gonna do it.

And then everyone's gonna be held accountable for this, but the teachers, most teachers didn't choose that change, right? And so I'd say the big context is we're we're this this whole thing of we hire critical thinkers and we ask them to comply with changes they didn't choose.

Darrin Peppard (14:19)

Makes so much sense. And I find myself again going back into my time really primarily as a principal, not necessarily as much as a superintendent, and seeing myself in some of those those processes and

Becca Silver (14:29)

Yeah. Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (14:31)

bringing forward certain change and and what I'm finding myself really thinking about as I'm listening to you talk are those times when

And and I hear this all the time with the leaders and districts that I work with now of any particular change or or initiative that they want to move forward with, they see certain things in classrooms and they make the decision, this is what we we need to do. And inevitably they're going to face

resistance we're going to run into teachers experiencing this resistance, this grappling as you put it with with you know is this really something that is going to help me be more effective? Is this something that's going to help my students have greater success? And this is this is again one of the things I love about this book. Folks, you've got to pick up a copy of this book. We'll put a link in the show notes. But you talk about these

Different mindsets, the catalyst mindsets as you describe them. And you've already talked about the value one. Like, you know, why should this be important to me? How how does this help me be more effective in my role? But there are several other catalyst mindsets that you talk about. And maybe you you can very quickly maybe just name those, but then let's dive into just one or two.

just to to

Becca Silver (15:52)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (15:52)

give folks a little bit more to think about specifically

Becca Silver (15:55)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (15:56)

with how do we help people move through that experience of resistance.

Becca Silver (16:01)

Yeah,

for sure. Yeah. So the just to back up a little bit, resistance is caused. When I was diving into the research, I was like, what what actually causes resistance? Resistance is caused by one thing. One thing. And that's unmet needs. Resistance is caused by unmet needs. And then the next question came when I was re I was like, okay, this is it. The next question I had was, well, how do I figure out what the unmet needs are? Right? It seems very broad. And so what I discovered was there's five

Human needs, five, that we have, that if any of them are unsupported, could cause us to experience resistance. So we can use these to diagnose why we internally are experiencing resistance or other people are. And I wanna, before I share the five mindsets, I want to share this. This is exactly like what we do with students when we have a new student that comes to our school and we need to help them with reading.

What's the first what's the first thing that you would do? You when you were a principal, what's the first thing that you would you would do or you would have someone else do? New student came, you need to they need to be helped with reading. They're struggling with reading.

Darrin Peppard (17:10)

Well, we would probably double dose them with reading, or maybe we would even, you know, give them some type of an assessment to find out, you know, yeah, what what are their strengths, where where are they lacking, where where are the gaps, that kind of thing, right?

Becca Silver (17:16)

That's exactly it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Well, we need to do the same with resistance. We need to assess what's going on, diagnose where are the gaps using the five catalyst mindsets, and then support what's actually needed. And one thing that we've been doing in the resistance world in the past is using these kind of generic

Resistance strategies like build a relationship. Sometimes people don't need a relationship. But sometimes they have it and they're still resisting. I had great relationships with the people I worked with, still resisting, right? So I wanted to say that. So the five catalyst mindsets we can use to diagnose why someone's resisting are the value mindset. I believe this has value for me. So it's value, purpose, meaning, relevance.

Belonging mindset. I believe I belong here. That includes a sense of connection, safety, and trust. success mindset. I believe I can be successful here, which is the same as self-efficacy. Growth mindset, the one we know of the most. so I believe I can improve. And I've I've added to this, I am, I feel safe to embrace the messiness of growth.

One thing I just want to say about that is growth, just because we as leaders aren't dysregulated around certain ways of growing, doesn't mean someone else is. We need to start having compassion for folks, especially folks that deal with perfectionism, that it can be actually very dysregulating to be in the messiness of growth, even if we're not, right? And then the final one is ownership mindset. I believe that by taking responsibility

I can own the change. I can actually make change. And a big part of ownership mindset is having a sense of agency, both internally. I believe I can change things. And externally, my environment, my boss says, Yeah, you can do that. I'm not gonna get fired, right? For doing something. So those are the five mindsets.

Darrin Peppard (19:26)

Yeah, yeah, that I love that. And as I was listening to you talk, I'm thinking, okay, which one do I want to chase? Which one do I want to chase? And

Becca Silver (19:32)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (19:33)

each time you said something, I'm like, okay, now I want to chase that one. Okay, now I want to chase that one.

Becca Silver (19:36)

That's the one.

Darrin Peppard (19:37)

And and really I think where I want to go, because I think I think more on a global scale for for our listeners right now, probably they're thinking, Okay, if I can get to this ownership mindset.

for folks that that will help, you know, because they're gonna take a little ownership that might help them start to solve some of the other or move closer to those other other mindsets. So let's let's talk about that ownership mindset and maybe share a a little bit more about the mindset. But then what are some things that as school leaders, as instructional coaches, as district leaders,

we can do to help with that ownership mindset. Because before you run with this, you said a little bit earlier that, you know, we adopt a new curriculum and maybe a little, you know, hand selected group got to be part of selecting the curriculum. But most, most didn't get to be a part of that. So it might not be just so easy as to just say, well, hey, take some ownership of this. How do we do that?

Becca Silver (20:44)

Yes, really great question. Okay. There's so many things I want to say about it. Let me back up here. The what I this is what I discovered in the own teacher ownership research. I did a lot of research. And at first it was a little confusing. I because I felt like one piece of research said you need this for ownership. And another piece said you need this. And this is what I discovered. Every single piece of research that I read was very had a a through line. Every piece of research said to have ownership, you need to have a sense of agency.

Some sense of agency, right? That external and internal agency I talking about. A me, you know, voice, choice, and a meaningful impact. And then what I discovered as I put all of it together is there are four other elements that are required to have a sense of ownership. And they are value, success, growth, and belonging. We actually need the other four mindsets to

Embrace ownership. Now I'm gonna back up a little bit. So those are five elements agency and the other four mindsets. And I and I love your your intuition was awesome with that. Because you it's a bit of an I call it like an umbrella mindset, right? Because it kind of incorporates all of them. But I want to back up here with our language, because I want us to be really clear and crisp about this. In in the ownership, no, no, in the beginning of the book, so you saw the levels of engagement, the continuum, right?

At the at the very beginning. And so this was created by a a colleague of mine, a Dr. Chris Jones. And I thought this was brilliant. And I got his permission to use this. And I tell him, I said, Chris, I share about this all the time. this levels of engagement include three of them that I want to name. We taught we we have compliance, buy-in, and ownership. Okay. So here's the deal this is what ends up happening mostly in schools. Our behaviors.

End up promoting and building compliance. We say we want buy-in. Those are two different things, right? Compliance is just tell me what to do. Buy-in is I've gotten you to do what I want you to do. Right. And when we have that compliance culture, the best we could do is buy-in. And there's an invisible line between buy-in and ownership. Right. So in the in the part of the continuum.

Where there's buy-in, compliance, we have defiance and sabotage, they all have one thing in common. And that's teachers were not at the table when any decisions were made to to kind of have have this change or in how to implement it. And then the invisible line, when we cross over that invisible line into ownership, that's when we have a sense of agency. So agency is the thing that distinguishes buy-in from ownership, right?

So, knowing all of that, right? What our language is and what we kind of accidentally do in schools, how do we actually build ownership? I would say in my book, there's a bonus resource called an agency audit. We can actually audit the sense of agency our educators experience. And there's two things I want folks to really understand. There's the external agency, there's the environmental agency we actually give them.

And then there is their understanding of that agency. And often it's two different things, right? Often our our teachers are per permission seekers. And they often, if they're not explicitly told they can do something, often they think they can't do it. And we assume they know that they can. So I hear things all the time when I'm working with superintendents and school leaders. They'll say, Well, we made a pacing guide and the teachers are just stuck on it and they won't veer from it and they won't.

You know, and they won't kind of like do what's actually needed in their classroom. And so this is the takeaway. This is what I'm gonna give to folks listening. One step that you can do tomorrow in your school or district is this. Be very clear with educators where what is non-negotiable and where they can use their professional judgment. Be very clear where they actually have agency, right?

And start to see what unfolds from there so that they feel safe. Because often what happens is sometime in the past, there was some leader somewhere that was like, you have to do this with fidelity. Right. And then we shift out of that, right?

Darrin Peppard (25:06)

The dreaded F word.

Becca Silver (25:08)

I see a lot of districts shifting out of fidelity. They're using words like integrity. And right, so we're shifting out of the fidelity phase in a lot of districts, but teachers remember that.

So us as leaders, we know we want them to use their professional judgment. We have to let them use their professional judgment to have ownership. Otherwise, the best we could have is buy-in, right? And they need to explicitly be told that they can't.

Darrin Peppard (25:34)

I think that's super powerful right there. And I again you you just said it. This is something you can go do tomorrow in your school and in your district. And I a hundred percent agree with that. also love because it's it's one of my big focuses that you're talking about that level of clarity. I think when when leaders can be crystal clear about nope, these are the things that have to happen. Here's where I really want to let you use your professional skill, your judgment, your knowledge, I think that's super powerful. But

But what you said kind of right there at the end, I think really hammers it home. And that is you've got to be explicit about it. You've got to let them know they can do it. And what that means, leaders, is you've got to go out there and be with them and encourage them and support them and reinforce their professional abilities. Allow them to take that on.

That I think really drives towards that ownership. I just love how you talked about there. I'm so glad that's the one that we went to. not only because the other four are anchored in that, but because that is something, leaders that you can go and do that will make a difference immediately with your people. Go spend time with them, go embrace their their professional abilities. Don't promote that.

That culture of compliance. I worked in a culture of compliance. I've worked in a culture where I was encouraged to take risks and all that kind of thing. And the difference that you feel as that teacher or as a principal or whatever role you're in, between, hey, this is this is a space where I can I can really lean in and be me versus the nope, it's all about compliance.

Man, it's just, it's amazing. And I I can just go and go and go on that, but I'm gonna I'm gonna stop because man, you absolutely like pulled a string on me there. I love that. That that was

Becca Silver (27:23)

Yeah.

Darrin Peppard (27:25)

some some really great stuff. Hey, Becca, we're already at that point. Our time has just flown by. So I wanna I wanna transition here really quick to the same question I ask everybody here on the podcast. It's the leaning into leadership podcast. So Becca, how are you leaning into leadership right now?

Becca Silver (27:41)

I am leaning, this is new for me. I am leading into shared leadership right now. I've actually very newly and freshly created a Facebook group, which I've never had for my community. And I'm creating a leadership team to run the Facebook group. And so what that the leadership for me, right? My growth is training leaders, shared leadership, training leaders to lead this work without me being there.

So that's my leadership is is training myself in that shared leadership.

Darrin Peppard (28:13)

I love that. I think that's fantastic. And man, I I don't have the time to chase it, but I would love to learn more about what you're doing there. Maybe we'll do that after after we stop the recording here and and you can tell me

Becca Silver (28:21)

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Darrin Peppard (28:24)

a little bit more. So people are gonna want to certainly check out the book. They're gonna want to learn more about you. folks on YouTube, I'll hold up a copy of the book so you can see it there. Those of you who are listening, you need to just go click on the stuff in the show notes to go check it out. But

Becca, tell them really quick, how do they find you? How do they get connected? You know, the Facebook group, the book, all of that great stuff, how do they connect with you?

Becca Silver (28:47)

Love it. Okay. So the book is called The Resistance Solution. The Facebook group is called Resistance Solution Community. I wanted it easy to find folks. And and just just one sentence about the Facebook group. I'm very proud of this. I'm building a community of people that are committed to being solution oriented when talking about resistance instead of complaint and venting oriented around resistance. So I just wanted to share that. So go ahead and and by the time this episode comes out, it will be up and running with

With my leadership group intact. if you want to find out more about what I do, my my website is theholeeducator.com. And you can find me on LinkedIn, Becca Silver, and my podcast, which you are gonna be a guest on my podcast, is called Coaching the Whole Educator. And my book can be found on all major booksellers, including Amazon. So you can grab it there. Now, if you want a book.

if you want bulk orders, sorry, bulk orders, feel free to email me and you can email me at becca at the wholeeducator.com, and I can get you a great bulk order price. And the last thing I want to share is this: one of the things I'm really committed to is causing what I'm calling a resistance revolution. And so to support this, I have an offering that I find a bit unique, and that's this: I train folks to lead book studies with my book.

And it's called the Book Study Facilitator Training. And if you're interested in being trained in leading a book study for the leaders in your district, go to the programs tab in my website in the wholeeducator.com and learn more about this training. It is transformational and it's four hours on Zoom. And you're really equipped to cause actual change of mindsets and practice in your district using the book.

Darrin Peppard (30:37)

that is just so awesome. So much good stuff there. Thank you so much, Becca, for joining me here on the Leaning Into Leadership Podcast.

Becca Silver (30:44)

Thank you so much. This was lot of fun.

Alright, awesome conversation there with Becca. Make sure you get down there in the show notes and get connected with her. Check out the whole educator, and make sure you check out her new book, The Resistance Solution. And now it's time for a pep talk. I want to build on something I shared recently in the newsletter because I think it connects really well to the conversation you just heard with Becca. We've talked before about different positions that we lead from. There's the strategic work.

The instructional work, the symbolic work, the inspirational work, and then there's the operational work. And let's be clear: that operational work matters. Schedules have to work. Positions have to be filled. Budgets have to be managed. Problems have to get solved. There are always going to be emails to answer, parent concerns to address, meetings to attend, and a hundred other things that keep the organization moving forward.

Sometimes I think we talk about operational leadership almost like it's the stuff we have to get through so we can finally get to the real leadership work. But here's what I want you to think about this week. What if doing the operational work well actually creates the opportunity for the other leadership work to happen? When the schedule works, you create opportunities for teachers to collaborate.

When expectations and processes are clear, you create space for people to exercise professional judgment. When you solve a staffing issue thoughtfully, you create stability that allows people to focus on their students. When your systems are working, you have a greater capacity to get out of your office, get into classrooms, have meaningful conversations, coach your people, celebrate the great work, and remind everyone why the work matters in the first place.

The operational work is what creates conditions. As leaders, you know I've said this many times, leadership is the intentional creation of conditions where other people can do their best work. So the challenge isn't to avoid the operational work, and it certainly isn't to feel guilty when you have to spend time there. The challenge is making sure you just don't get stuck there.

Because you aren't one of these five positions. You're responsible for all five of the positions. And the goal isn't balance, the goal is movement. So sometime this week, ask yourself two questions. What does this moment require from me? And then am I willing to move there? Maybe right now your organization needs you to solve an operational problem. Great. Solve it.

Get some clarity, build the system, remove the obstacle. But then look up. Because that operational work may have just created the opportunity for you to step into a classroom, to coach another leader, to reconnect your team to the bigger picture, or even just to remind somebody why their work really matters. Do the work that makes the other work possible, and then be intentional enough to move.

That's what I've got for you this week, folks. As always, thank you so much for tuning in to the Leaning Into Leadership podcast. Make sure you rate, review, and subscribe

And share this with somebody else who certainly would find value in leaning into leadership. Get out there, have a road to awesome week.