Positively Leading

S1E17 - Resilience and Leadership in Inclusive Education with Tegan Greenaway

• Jenny Cole • Season 1 • Episode 17

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Ready to be inspired by a story of resilience and leadership in education? Join us on this episode as we chat with Tegan Greenaway, a dedicated deputy principal, inclusive education specialist, and consultant. Tegan's  journey from struggling with anxiety in high school to becoming an influential leader in education is both moving and motivating. She candidly shares her personal struggles and triumphs, illustrating the power of continuous learning and perseverance. Her unique perspective, shaped by her family's neurodiversity, fuels her passion for creating inclusive educational environments.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into the importance of setting boundaries and the art of effective leadership. Tegan provides practical advice on avoiding burnout by disconnecting from work during off-hours and understanding diverse personalities and working styles. The conversation also highlights how special education strategies can enhance mainstream classrooms, showcasing the value of high expectations and tailored support for all students. Through real-life examples, Tegan demonstrates how flexibility and awareness can significantly improve educational outcomes for everyone.

In the final segment, we explore the core values that underpin successful leadership. Inspired by Brené Brown's advice to prioritize learning over knowing, Tegan emphasizes the importance of respect, transparency, and authenticity in building trust and fostering collaboration. She shares practical tools and strategies, such as to-do lists and the "three C's"—consume, create, and communicate—that can enhance productivity and team communication. By recognizing individual challenges and strengths, Tegan shows how educators can create supportive and empathetic environments that empower both students and teachers. Don't miss this compelling discussion on the transformative power of inclusive education and effective leadership.

Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.

Jenny Cole:

Hello and welcome to Positively Leading. I'm your host, jenny Cole, and it's a privilege to have you on this journey with us. My aim is always to bring you stories from real life people who are actually aspiring new and middle leaders in schools, and they don't get any newer and more aspiring than my next guest, Tegan Greenaway. Nice to have you with us, Tegan.

Tegan Greenaway:

Thanks, Jenny Nice to be here.

Jenny Cole:

So Tegan's work she's currently a member of the leadership team as a deputy principal. However, her leadership work extends beyond schools. She is working part-time in her leadership role and also does relief teaching and is an inclusive education specialist and consultant on her non-contracted days, advocating for inclusive practices in diverse school settings. A really intriguing part of Tegan's life that I hadn't really realised up until now was that she, her husband and both her sons are neurodiverse. So, despite not graduating from year 12, tegan's journey led her to become an education assistant and then a teacher and now into a leadership role. And she didn't do this until she was a mature age and her kids were off at school. And this neurodiversity drives her passion for creating supportive, inclusive educational environments. My goodness me, Tegan. Um, that's huge. You didn't go back to start studying until your little one was in school.

Tegan Greenaway:

Yeah, when he started kindergarten, that's when I went to school um, well, to uni to do my teaching degree. Before that I was a education assistant for 10 years. So I started that when my oldest was born and I actually did my first education assistant track while I was pregnant with my son. So I had to stop doing it and then go back when he was three months old to finish that first EA qualification. And, yeah, then it just grew from there.

Jenny Cole:

Can I ask you what drew you to being an education assistant in the you know? Firstly, what drew you to working in schools.

Tegan Greenaway:

I think so, when I left high school. The reason why I left high school was because I could very easily do work if I was interested in it. I could do work if it was, if it made sense to me. I did have a lot of anxiety when I was a teenager. So it probably peaked around the year 11 stage and at that point, despite me being able to have the ability to do, you know, the study, the anxiety, I think, took over a lot.

Tegan Greenaway:

So I ended up, that's when I left um year 11 and then I went to TAFE and I sort of became like a certificate collector, because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I did want to do something and I knew I could do something.

Tegan Greenaway:

So I actually started off doing some business qualifications and that wasn't for me, um, simply because it was very much sitting in an office at the time and I was more about wanting to help people. So then I did youth work and that was really good, except that I ended up back in a high school doing my youth work as my husband, because I was down south and yeah that that didn't quite work out, but it was getting closer to where I wanted to be. And so then from there, that's when I decided I want to try and help people you know, kids who also struggle to get through their work at school, because I do believe that education is really powerful. My personal belief is that it can make or break somebody's choices and opportunities in life. So then I did my EA in schools and it was really really good.

Jenny Cole:

We share that in common. I was in EA while I was training to be a teacher, but I was already in teaching when I thought, oh gosh, maybe I should work in schools and find out what these kids are about. And I always love having worked a lot with lots of education assistants. I love it when my education assistants became teachers because sometimes, like you, it was hard graft with families and various other things to get to that point. So congratulations. And you said you were a certificate collector because I think with families and various other things to get to that point, so congratulations, thank you.

Jenny Cole:

And you said you were a certificate collector because I think that's what blew me away when you sent me some information was the sheer volume of professional learning and personal development that you've done over your career. Many of the people listening today also have a love of learning, but yours seems almost compulsive. What drives that for you?

Tegan Greenaway:

I'm just genuinely interested in learning. I actually love learning. I love learning new skills. I love being able to help people also learn new skills. I'm just genuinely fascinated in how people learn.

Tegan Greenaway:

And I really like you know, I do a lot of self-help book type things as well, because I think I'm just always looking for that. You know new strategies to help me as well, and because you know the more I can improve myself, the more I can impart what I know onto other people. If they see it working, then it has a really good effect.

Jenny Cole:

Because staying on top of our professional knowledge is really important. However, when I think the first time you and I met was when we did the WA Ed Support Principles Aspiring Program.

Jenny Cole:

And one of the things in that is the notion that the leader is not necessarily the expert. What have you learned that you needed to know as a leader? That all of your teaching and learning so far didn't kind of prepare you for and learning so far didn't kind of prepare you for. What are some of the realisations that you've maybe made after making mistakes that you didn't know you needed to know?

Tegan Greenaway:

Well, one of the things really which you know comes back to all of those things that I've done is probably learning to disconnect and really focusing on what can I do now? What can I do later? Is it actually somebody else's priority or is it my priority? And really understanding what you know, because you automatically assume when you really care and you're really interested in making a difference. I have really struggled with why aren't people making these things a priority? They're my priorities. There's a reason they're a priority, so why aren't they your priority? So that was a really really big learning curve for me.

Tegan Greenaway:

So you know, I've got a lot of tools now. So even just things like the Eisenhower matrix yeah, yeah, what to do now, what to delegate, that type of thing. That's really helped with that type of thing. Um, also really, um, really trying to not take things personally as well. So boundaries has become a huge part of my way of leading really making sure that who I work with understand my boundaries and that I understand their boundaries as well. That was probably really difficult for me as well to learn, because that comes back to why isn't my priority, your priority type thing. But understanding that, you know, people don't have to go gung-ho to get things done and that it is more effective if we can work together and appreciate that. You know we can all do things together, but just making those very clear understandings of what we need and who we are can help.

Jenny Cole:

Can you give me an example of a boundary, personal or professional, that you now have, that perhaps you didn't have, or one that you realize you needed to have?

Tegan Greenaway:

Oh, there's quite a few, but probably, if we're talking about the taking things home, because I have about five years ago I did actually go through burnout because I was taking everything home with me and not just physically, not just doing it physically, just mentally not letting things go and not going.

Tegan Greenaway:

Okay, it's still going to be there tomorrow. Even if I try and do something tonight or think about something tonight, it's still going to be there tomorrow. So you know I need to respect that other people are also doing what they're needing to do at home. So one huge boundary for me is the communication after school hours. So that's before and after school and on weekends as well. So that's been a really strong and effective strategy for me is making sure that everyone understands that I'm 100% there to help you and answer your questions and be there for you during those work hours and I will get to you as soon as I can. You know when I'm able to, but between you know, 7 pm and 7 am I need to be with my family and trying to decompress and trying to go through what I need to go through to be able to show up, you know, effectively the next day yeah, that's.

Jenny Cole:

That's such such good advice that you cannot be your best anything um teacher, leader, parent if you haven't had that opportunity for some downtime in between, that doesn't mean that you don't choose to go home and study some more or do something else that's going to take energy and brainpower just to turn off from school. I think that's such good advice. Going back to that bit about not everyone's priority, is my priority, can you tell me? For you was about I need to get things done quickly. Once it's you know, once I realized it needs to get done, I need to kind of do it really fast. Or is it about I've had a good idea and your idea seems to be different? Or is it something else completely? When you say you know my idea is not your idea, how did that manifest for you?

Tegan Greenaway:

Yeah, when I think about, you know, the disk profiling system, that has also been really effective for me. It's been really helpful for me to recognise that people do things a lot differently. So that sort of understanding has also helped me with conflict management and realising, okay, this is what this person you know will respond to better than the way I naturally would do things. So I have worked really hard to develop skills that I can use, you know, when I'm doing my leadership things to the point where my natural way of doing things is quite different to my adjusted way. So it takes a lot of energy, time, effort, it takes a lot of self-awareness and it takes a lot of self-control as well to give to.

Tegan Greenaway:

You know, a big thing was responding versus reacting that type of thing. Because as a teacher, I was go go, go, go go like react, react, react, react. So when it came to people's ideas and all that sort of thing, it's not so much that I didn't understand that they had, you know, different priorities in regards to the concept or the content or whatever it was. It was more about that they take much more time doing something or a different way of organising how to do those things. So, yeah, just understanding the different personalities, I guess, and different characteristics has really helped with that, but it is something that, like I said, my natural way of doing things is a lot different and I guess that comes with parenting as well. You know, I'm different with my own children than I am with children at school. I have a lot more for children at school. My expectations are always high of everyone, including myself, but my expectations are a lot more flexible for other people than my own children.

Jenny Cole:

That's a really great example of how our natural style flexes according to the context that we're in, and so what you discovered was the context of leadership in particular didn't suit that style was come on now, now, now, now, now, you know, some people took more time and they just processed things differently, and so that you needed to be a bit more flexible in order to meet their needs.

Jenny Cole:

The same way we do all day, every day, with kids um, yeah, our own and other people's students. Let's talk a little bit about EdSupport special needs students. They're highly complex and in the sorts of schools and contexts that you've worked in, there'll be a reasonably large group of these students, all who have different needs and complexities and communication styles and behaviours and so forth, and so it's a really highly complex job, and we're lucky in Western Australia in that we've got quite a lot of education assistants, so you're often leading them as well. I've got two questions. One is around what do you wish that other leaders in perhaps more mainstream settings knew about teaching students with disabilities or special educational needs? What's one message you would love to be able to impart to other leaders?

Tegan Greenaway:

I think, first and foremost, that there are a lot of strategies and things that can be used for an entire class of students in a mainstream class that would cater to a lot of students with disabilities. So when we think about, you know ASD, so autism spectrum disorder, or ADHD. You knowD, so autism spectrum disorder or ADHD. You know attention hyperactivity disorder. They're things like um having schedules or first and thens and giving them time to process what you're, you know what you're asking, which is really hard in. In a mainstream classroom, however, um, with the support of an education assistant, that can be a lot easier. But just you know.

Tegan Greenaway:

I think that's the main thing that I really notice through my travels, through both mainstream and ed support, is that a lot of the strategies I use, I can run a mainstream classroom almost identical to how I would run an ed support classroom um, still having the high expectations, having a time you know a timer. Even if I look at exam accommodations and things for mainstream students when they're older, um, you know you have to write how much time they have left for their assessment, their exam, all of that sort of stuff that you can start right back in early childhood in a mainstream class in an ed support classroom, just we're doing this and then we're doing this, and then we're doing this and really making sure that those students are aware of what's coming up, and that reduces a lot of the anxiety.

Tegan Greenaway:

Um, and yeah, probably just that they are very, very capable. All students with disabilities are very capable and I think that was probably so throughout my studies. I did a certificate in complex communication skills and complex communication needs, sorry and the number one thing was always presumed competence. So that has really stuck with me, and it's not just for students with disabilities, it's also for adults, you know just. If we can give a clear understanding of what's expected and how to do these things, then there's no reason why we can't presume that they're actually going to be competent to do those tasks and achieve.

Jenny Cole:

Yeah, and it's that unconditional positive regard. You know, we believe that they can and maybe they're actually far more capable than we're giving them credit for, and that applies to students and adults of all abilities. I know that one of the things that you're hugely passionate about is professional learning communities. I started my journey into professional learning communities I've worked out it must have been about 2002. Because I remember having a really bad year and thinking I need to learn my way out of this and I had a staff who just weren't getting on board. And you know how was I going to get them on board? And to me, I did some reading and I thought, oh, this sounds like it. We've got the expertise. We don't need to go outside to find it, it's here. How are we going to harness that and make it easier for teachers and better for kids? Talk to me about your work with professional learning communities, what they look like in in your experience and and how they benefit teachers and kids yeah so.

Tegan Greenaway:

I really thrive on being able to talk to other teachers and other educators about their experiences as well. So it's really been a focus point for me. In whichever school I've been in, I've really tried to, you know, offer those opportunities to have those meeting times, but quite informal. So you know I'll stick around for this amount of time and let's all get together and share what, what's been going on our classes, how can we help, like, what issues are going on? And it just offers that opportunity for people to be able to seek that help without having to put their, you know, put their hand up or interrupt a meeting, which often feels like, especially for people with anxiety and things like that they don't want to be that person holding up the staff meeting at the end of the day, you know, going oh, but oh but. So it gives them that opportunity to have a chat.

Tegan Greenaway:

And most of the time I've actually found, when it is done in a way, that this is about us having opportunities, sort of download what's going on and talk together in a non-judgmental way and offer support and strategies.

Tegan Greenaway:

And it's worked with EAs and teachers as well, but they are usually really keen to do it and then it has led to, you know, bigger and better things.

Tegan Greenaway:

They've, you know, brought in new strategies to the school, to the classrooms, and it's just been really effective and for me as well, from the leadership aspect, being able to understand and really be in touch with what's what the experience is still like in that classroom or that space, which has, of course, helped my relationship with them and it's sort of like a trusting experience as well.

Tegan Greenaway:

So, yeah, I think it's really important. I think teachers do need other teachers, I think EAs do need other EAs and if we're talking about ed supports, you know, specifically ed support centres, they are so busy all the time, all day, every day day, often not getting breaks, and it's really strenuous work, you know, physically, mentally, emotionally, and without that opportunity to be able to catch up together and and talk about work, because, also, you know they probably have friendships outside of work but they're not going to want to talk about work outside of work. So those you know professional learning communities offer them opportunity to have that download, talk about what's going on, get some strategies and, you know, just build a stronger culture.

Jenny Cole:

I agree wholeheartedly. What's the role of the middle leader? I can see groups of teachers getting together in professional learning communities, but you said as a leader, it helps you to build relationships. Um, do you see the leader sort of sitting in as a participant? How does that work in?

Tegan Greenaway:

yeah, so in my experience, each time, you know, because I actually I actually haven't been to a school that already has some really happening, which is, you know, it's still surprising to me really, but then again, also it's not because you know that the teachers and the A's are very exhausted at the end of the day. So I think it's just really, yeah, taking that time from the middle leader's perspective, taking that time to, you know, say to these teachers that I really want to be able to help you, but, you know, maybe you can help me as well understand things. And so why don't we get together? And we have this, you know opportunity to meet up and I'll invite all of the, you know, teachers or E, eas, and so my last one that I was, you know, doing at school, I did EAs and teachers separately and that was just, it was just really really good because they were able to come and meet me in a space whatever space you know we decided was available at the time and I was just, you know, like how's it going?

Tegan Greenaway:

What's happening today? Just really informal sort of discussion, and, yeah, I think it really just helps them understand that you are actually there trying to, you know, get a grip on what's what they need and and it just sort of separates the real right. We're going to do this, this, this, this and this to more of we're people first, you know. So, healthy EAs, healthy school.

Jenny Cole:

Correct and I think you're absolutely right. Teachers and even EAs will give up their time to talk about students. So, they don't want to talk about curriculum or what the latest buzzwords from their system are.

Jenny Cole:

They'll turn up at those meetings and they'll comply if they have to, but if you provide a space where they can share what's actually going on for them and ask for help in a way that's not seen, as you know, that's not judged, and then the, the payoff, I think, for the, for the leader, is it prevents that us and them, well, the admin don't know what we're doing or they don't provide any support. You know you're right there saying I'm here, you know let me know what it is that you need.

Tegan Greenaway:

I think a big part of it. You know, if I'm going to reflect on that a bit, maybe I haven't seen it as much because people are afraid of looking like they don't have answers for things. So that's because I am a learner and I'm wanting to actively hear everybody's ideas and strategies.

Tegan Greenaway:

I don't go into that so much as going right, what are your problems, I'm going to fix them. It's more like tell me your problems so we can talk about this or look it up, or you know where can we find this information? And so it becomes a very collaborative experience.

Tegan Greenaway:

Yeah so maybe that's where you know it would be really, really awesome to be able to have a set staff meeting, as you do, so that you can have the the ins and outs of what's going on that week, but also have an extra type of opportunity where they can all get together or even smaller groups learning. Uh, you know, in high schools you can have english areas, math areas and all that.

Jenny Cole:

Yeah I think, um, it's, it's definitely happening. There's pockets of excellence in some schools happening. But I think you're right where the special needs community have um been slow to harness that, and for good reason you know, most of the time people are exhausted and we're too busy writing curriculum and IEPs and and and all of those things.

Jenny Cole:

But I share I share your optimism that it can be done and it can really benefit. And what I loved is my mate and yours, brené Brown, sprung to mind when you said I'm a learner, and so she's got this saying that says don't be a knower, be a learner. She says it far more eloquently than that. But when we go, oh, oh, I know that shuts down. That's, you know, fixed mindset. You know, I'm trying to prove my point, prove that I know. Whereas if you, as the leader, walk into that and say, look, I don't know, I've never worked with a child like this, I've never seen that syndrome, let's see if we can find it, and you model that, that's modelling being a learner, which is lovely. Yeah, is there anything that we've not talked about that you would like to be able to talk about in terms of leading or working in these really complex environments?

Tegan Greenaway:

One thing that I keep on coming back to is because I've listened to your other podcasts as well, and almost everyone has mentioned about values, and for me was something as well, because I remember hearing you say in in the last one that you were talking about values that were passed on to you, so to speak, so working out what actually are your values, and that has also been something that is really important to me.

Tegan Greenaway:

Um, not just from my own perspective, so mine are, you know, respect, transparency and authenticity.

Tegan Greenaway:

Um, and it did take me a while to know what those were and I had to really break them down, but for me, the the transparency part is about that connection and that collaboration and getting people on the same page as me by saying this is why you know we're doing these things and this is why I'm doing these things, so that you know to build that trust. The authenticity as well, for me, came from the whole wellbeing part, the professional learning communities and understanding that we don't have to put on a show to get people to want to work with us and do what needs to be done Really being informed about what's happening and just acknowledged, being acknowledged as well. So I think when we do those things, people are, regardless of what level leadership they are, regardless of what level they're in in the school. You give them knowledge, you give them acknowledgement. You come across as authentic, well, are authentic and I think every time I've I've just gone in and and been myself and and tried to go yay this is cool.

Tegan Greenaway:

Let's look into this. It's it seemed to work. Um, I really just believe in like the empowerment part of it. So, me, my leadership journey, I don't think I will ever stop wanting to empower people um, empower students, empower teachers, empower other leaders to, um, you know, to achieve what they can achieve and they can if they're given the right tools and if they're willing to listen and learn and and talk to each other. Yeah, absolutely.

Jenny Cole:

Values are so incredibly important and when you're authentic, you can also stuff up, and people will allow you to do that because they can see your humanness. Um, when you said you want to give people some tools, what's a tool that you use? Maybe something that someone shared with you, something that you use day to day that you find really useful in your leadership? That can be anything from using the technology or just a scaffold, a process, anything that you use.

Tegan Greenaway:

So I'm a big fan of to-do lists, you know, big fan of the lists of the do now, do laters, big fan of calendars like booking online. So the Outlook, that type of thing, really helped me, especially because then it's on your phone as well, so you can you know you're not going to miss that appointment, because then it's on your phone as well, so you can you know you're not going to miss that appointment. Probably, one thing that stands out to me is the three C's of a productive day has always stuck with me, and that's about sort of breaking your day up into three areas. So you have your, you're creating time. So in the beginning of the day'd go in and you know, look at whatever what I'm doing and start working on creating whatever task I'm supposed to be doing. Then I have my you know, connection time, where I go and connect with people and, um, I can't think of the third one I hate it as soon as I say five things, I can never remember what the five things are communicate, communicate so so

Tegan Greenaway:

it's actually. It's actually consume, consume, create and communicate. So consume in the morning, so getting to know what I'm doing, looking at what I need to do for the day. Then the next part, creating those things that need to be put together you know, it might be a some sort of project that I'm that is one of my tasks to do and then communication.

Tegan Greenaway:

So then going out, checking in with staff and going into classrooms and, you know, checking in with parents as well, just making sure that I'm covering all those bases and for me, particularly, being able to do that consume part in the morning, um, taking in what I'm doing and planning ahead, knowing what's coming. It's no different to those students and what they need classrooms. So really, you know explicitly outlining what am I doing, why am I doing it, how am I going to do it, what do I need to do to be able to do it? And then spending the time creating it and creating the, the vision and doing, creating those things, and then, at the end, cool. Now it's time to go and check in with everyone, communicate with everyone.

Jenny Cole:

So everyone's on board and you know everyone's having, you know, a good day yeah, I see that it's not only the check-in communication and the just the chatty stuff. It's also whatever you've created as a leader, then making sure that that is communicated effectively to the people who are going to then need to consume and create whatever it is that comes after that.

Tegan Greenaway:

Yeah.

Jenny Cole:

I like that. It's always good to have a new kind of way of looking at your day, because we all have preferences, don't we? Some people are communicators, some people just prefer to beaver away at the task, but our lives involve all three of those things, so that's really interesting thank you so much.

Tegan Greenaway:

I like it because it can be, you know, you can use it, you can switch it around you know, if you want to you can consumption of stuff at the end, do it at the end, but for me it is.

Tegan Greenaway:

I do need that time in the morning to get myself together and understand, you know, and get myself in the mode, so to speak, and then I can. You know, I'm a late night type person, so I could get like a second wind at the end. You know, you finish the work day and then you're exhausted, but then you get a second wind and then you can do a bit more, which I have also tried to stop doing because I'm trying to get that, you know, that balance right.

Jenny Cole:

My guess is, that's when you did your study. Is it late at night when kids were asleep?

Tegan Greenaway:

yeah, it was, it was yeah, so really that is a huge focus for me and it will probably take me as many years as what I was doing it for me to stop doing it. Yeah, yeah, back it. You know, back it down, so yeah, but yeah, but it is yeah, just really yeah, finding those strategies and it does work for students as well.

Jenny Cole:

And swapping it out, as you say, depending on how you prefer to work, whereas I'm so highly productive in the morning that I just need to get my stuff done, whereas I waffle around in the afternoon trying to, you know, make myself organised for tomorrow, so you can swap it out, which I really like. I also like that for you, and even talking about sleep and managing your day is a wellbeing strategy. I know you also meditate, but it's taken you a while to get on top of that, and I know it is difficult for people who are anxious. How did you get on top of, and manage to master the meditation?

Tegan Greenaway:

Prioritising it. It really took a long time and I'm not great at it, I still have to. So I downloaded an app and it helps me. It just does short five-minute ones. So I actually started at lunchtime, so when it was a lunch break I would just put it on. And for me, um, for me in particular, I find that if I'm laying down on the ground, I can do it much easier. Um, I think that's because my body has nothing else to do, so I I can't look at a screen or I can't look around or you know I can, but, um, my body is relaxed fully when it's when it's laying flat, so just laying down. Um, some people do sit up, but for me, laying down and do five minutes with the app and it was just basically a five minute reset, it was, and it was amazing.

Tegan Greenaway:

Oh, I was really skeptical because it is really, really hard. Um, it was really hard to start with because I would be thinking to myself all these things and I'd have to go back and and go. I shouldn't be thinking these things, but this, this, this actually helped me understand that. Just acknowledge that you're thinking those things and then you go back to not thinking about it. So it was just the it's okay, it's okay, keep going back, trying it, trying it, trying it.

Tegan Greenaway:

And you know, now sometimes I can do, when you know, in the afternoon, once I've got home, I can do 15 minutes after school and it really helps me do that separation that that put down.

Tegan Greenaway:

I've now checked out for the afternoon, yeah, so that I can, you know, enjoy time with my family and then go back um, good, to go the next day, but for during school time it was a five minute, two to five minute, just taking that moment to sit there and give myself permission to take that five minutes, and that is really hard to do. Even as a teacher, it was really hard to give myself that permission to take that five minutes for myself, because so many times, you know, you just wouldn't even have lunch or go to the bathroom all day. But it's, I think, really understanding that things like that, giving yourself the permission, permission, is a huge thing for somebody like me with ADHD, I think, because we automatically want to do it. Sometimes we feel so.

Tegan Greenaway:

Rejection, sensitivity disorder is a big issue as well for a lot of people with ADHD, and so you feel like you have to overcompensate for things, or you have to do things right, otherwise you're going to feel like you're not doing a good enough job. So in that comes imposter syndrome and all that sort of stuff as well.

Tegan Greenaway:

So giving yourself permission to not be perfect, giving yourself permission to have that five minute break, that two minute break in the day to just collect yourself, get a breath, that five minutes really helps to continue on it doesn't feel like it will work, but it does.

Jenny Cole:

If you can deliberately practice and that's why mindfulness and meditation are both practices. If you can practice slipping into that state where where you're aware of your thoughts but you let them pass and you just notice them, the results are phenomenal and you can do it in five minutes. And so that's such a good tip for newbies who want to do all the things all the time that that it's actually good for you to take a break and deliberately practice there's something you can do in the car you know because mindfulness, I think as well.

Tegan Greenaway:

For me, I always thought meditation, mindfulness, but it's it's not actually all that, it's just being mindful. So you know those five things. You can see four things. You can hear three things. You can taste. You know two things. You can smell. You know those five things. You can see four things. You can hear three things. You can taste. You know two things. You can smell. You know that type of thing. Um, and driving in your car oh that's a sign, oh that's a road, oh that's a line and actually focusing your thoughts on just random things but intentional things, kind of you intentionally focusing on things that are different to those stresses and those things that are worrying you at that time, can really help.

Jenny Cole:

The person who taught me how to do mindfulness said mindfulness and meditation is not clearing your brain, it's actually noticing the new. And what you did, lying on the floor, is go. Oh my God, there's thought number one, there's another one, there's another, that's, and that's the point is, you know, look at all those thoughts. But let's replace those thoughts with oh, look, the carpet feels pretty and the, you know, the birds are singing, and what else can we do besides think? We can feel and see and taste, and all of those other things. Oh, tegan girl, after my own heart, is there any final pieces of advice or anything that you would like to share with our audience today?

Tegan Greenaway:

I just really, really just hope that everybody does really focus on looking after themselves this year, really focus on looking after themselves this year, because it is amazing at how much a person again, regardless of what level you're at in a school, um, but you know very much so with leadership, how much we're actually responsible for.

Tegan Greenaway:

And I and I do remember having a discussion with you know, one of my principals at one point and we were talking about leaders and leadership roles and titles, and she was saying that my idea of a leadership role was different to hers, because I felt at the time that, you know, a title does make a difference to what you can achieve, and I still wholeheartedly believe that. However, I do believe as well now that it does not matter what your title is. The level of responsibility that you have in a school and an education environment I don't think will ever match, it will always be higher than what your title is, because there are so many different aspects and areas in education that you know, you think about that, you know the circle of influence and all that sort of stuff. And it's not just educating students, it's families, it's community. It's huge, it's bigger than educating students, it's families, it's community, it's huge, it's bigger than a title.

Tegan Greenaway:

So I think it's really just important, when somebody's got so much on their shoulders, to remember that they are human themselves and I think just understanding and recognising their own challenges, what makes their daily work challenging for them, or what they're really good at, then helps them realise that of other people and then that then helps those other people, help the students. So for me it's just a huge big cyclic just because we're adults doesn't mean it's any different to the students, and just because they're students doesn't mean it's any different to the students. And just because they're students doesn't mean it's any different to the adults. Um, just recognizing that we're we're all individuals and taking that time to give that individualism, yes, yes, give it some space and and work with it, yeah that's.

Jenny Cole:

That's beautiful advice. So again, it's been a pleasure having you with me today and if you liked this episode, we would love it if you follow, rate and review, because that way other people can access this wonderful information for new middle and aspiring leaders in schools. Bye for now.