Attitudinal Foundations for Mindful School Leadership:
1. Non-Judgment: Letting go of the automatic judgments that arise in the mind. Not grasping for or resisting an experience.
2. Presence: Be willing to show up authentically and with compassion.
3. Curiosity: Practice not-knowing, open inquiry, investigation, and beginner’s mind.
4. Unity/Whole-Systems Inclusivity: Acknowledge our interdependence and the inherent design of our nervous systems to co-regulate. Recognize implicit bias, blind-spots, and the widespread impact of trauma.
5. Non-striving: Place relationship over achievement, process over content, and connection over discipline; releasing attachment to an outcome.
6. Kindness/Acceptance: Cultivate generosity, gratitude, patience, and non-violence.
7. Responsivity: Commit to non-reactivity, develop skillful coping strategies, and practice pausing and centering in moments of stress.
8. Belonging/Allowing: Welcoming ourselves to fully inhabit our human experience with care. Not needing to “fix” or exile parts of ourselves to “fit” or assimilate.
9. Mind-Body Holism: Recognizing that the mind and body are not separate, and that the body holds wisdom and knowledge that may not be held in conscious awareness.
10. Wellness-Based Mindset: Bring attention to what is working, recognize and appreciate wellbeing and growth. Identify negativity bias and engage in salutogenic systems-level thinking.
Mindful Schools' Agreements for Interpersonal Interactions
We offer the following agreements to ensure that all members of our community are able to bring their whole selves as freely and safely as possible to all of our discussions. We ask that you reflect on these carefully and bring mindful awareness of these intentions to all interactions.
1. TRY IT ON: Be willing to “try on” new ideas or ways of doing things that might not be what you prefer or are familiar with.
2. SEEK UNDERSTANDING INSTEAD OF AGREEMENT: Approach interactions seeking to better understand others, rather than convincing them you’re right. “I don’t understand” instead of “I disagree” helps you learn how the experience of others differs from yours.
3. PRACTICE SELF FOCUS: Attend to and speak about your own experiences and responses. Do not speak for a whole group or express assumptions about the experience of others.
4. UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTENT AND IMPACT: Try to understand and acknowledge impact. Denying the impact of something said by focusing on “good intentions” is often more destructive than the initial interaction.
5. PRACTICE “BOTH / AND”: When speaking, substitute “and” for “but.” This practice acknowledges and honors multiple realities.
6. REFRAIN FROM BLAMING OR SHAMING SELF & OTHERS: Practice giving skillful, non-judgmental feedback. We are all still growing.
7. MOVE UP / MOVE BACK: Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa.
8. PRACTICE MINDFUL LISTENING: Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as you listen to others. Listen with your whole self, and try to maintain awareness of your body as you listen. Be willing to be surprised, to learn something new.
9. CONFIDENTIALITY: Take home learnings but don’t identify anyone other than yourself, now or later. If you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said in this session, ask first and respect their wishes.
10. RIGHT TO PASS: You can say “I pass” if you don’t wish to speak. If someone else chooses to pass, respect their wish rather than trying to change their mind.