People, Practice, and Possibilities:
A Monthly Guide for Educators
A Monthly Guide for Educators
Mike Hanas, Coach in Residence
Mike Hanas, born and raised in Chicago, loves to learn and has been a leader in education and leadership development for nearly 40 years. After falling in love with the classics as a high schooler and an undergraduate, Mike brought his passion for learning to work in schools. He has worked as a teacher and leader in six different independent schools (two boarding and four day), including 20 years as a Head of School in Durham, NC, and in San Francisco, CA, and most recently as an Interim Head in Santa Rosa, CA. Mike's sincere belief in (a) the power of reflection to catalyze wisdom and (b) the deep potential of others led him to launch Furthering in 2018 to advance learning, leadership, and service through individual and team support. His executive coaching and consulting clients include Heads of School, Board Chairs, Boards of Trustees, and Senior Leadership Teams.
Employing the Coaching Mindset
Imagine a colleague slumps into your classroom or office and releases a frustrated sigh. “I’m stuck. I’ve been trying for months—it feels like years—to get this parent’s behavior to change, but nothing works.”
Believe it or not, the question “What’s awesome about that?” is one I find myself asking often these days in my coaching practice. If you find value in adopting a coaching mindset — or at least experimenting with it — I'd like to share some reflections on coaching, particularly the practice of being present and curious.
While I consider my training to become a Certified Executive Coach to be a great gift, I believe that each of us can benefit from a coaching mindset that fosters presence, curiosity, and a desire to help. Practicing with even just a few tools might prove useful to your teammates, colleagues, and anybody wanting to further their effectiveness.
Being Present: Noticing
I believe there’s great benefit in “catching things going right.” Next time you happen upon a classroom that’s humming, or witness a rehearsal or performance in which learning and community are fully alive, or experience a meeting exceedingly well-run, ask the person in charge, “What are you noticing?” Afford them the opportunity to reflect on what’s working and why? And then ask, “What are you noticing in you?” Their reflection -– and your presence to witness what they share — will fuel the learning and trust between you.
Meeting Them Where They Are
A second benefit worth naming comes from asking a person to identify what kind of support they need. Is it a place to vent, a straight answer to a question, or an immediate option to consider? Is it a thought partner or a peer or mentor’s advice? Or is it coaching—through practices like listening, asking questions, and looping—that helps the one seeking help discover new possibilities within themselves? A question like, “What kind of help would be most useful?” – with specific options offered – increases the odds of meeting others where they are and being of use.
Being of Use: Open-Ended Questions
Short of a request for coaching per se, a third benefit takes shape in asking questions like these listed below, which create space for unpacking a challenge or pursuing an opportunity:
- What’s most on your mind?
- What’s the real challenge for you in that?
- What might success look like?
- What’s the easiest next step?
- What would it take to try that, to begin?
To further widen the space for ideas — and generate some energy along the way — I encourage the use of what’s sometimes called “Opposite Thinking.” For example, in response to our “stuck” colleague from the scenario above, you might ask for bad ideas. That’s right, bad ideas. Like what, you ask? How about resignation, alcohol, yelling, silent treatment, threats, and more—you might be surprised by how long this list can get and the relief it affords. And then I suggest taking a close look at the items on the list and asking: What’s the good in any of these “bad” ideas? Or . . . What’s awesome about the fact that this teammate has been “trying for months—it feels like years” and hasn’t given up?
I’ve been told it’s a mistake to make it sound like employing a coaching mindset is easy and always effective. It’s not. And it’s not far removed from the beautiful questions: “What are you noticing?” “What kind of support do you need?” or simply, “ How can I help?”
Where do you go to catch a spark?
I’ve been asking that question a lot since I saw the film “A Complete Unknown.” I can’t claim to have been a lifelong fan of Bob Dylan, but I loved the film.
I especially loved the early scene where Timothée Chalamet’s Dylan visits an ailing Woody Guthrie in a dim, dreary infirmary. At Guthrie’s side sits Ed Norton as Pete Seeger, who asks Dylan what brought him there. The young Dylan replies that he came to see Woody, hoping to catch a spark.
I’ve asked many family members, friends, colleagues, and even clients the same question: Where do you go to find a spark?
I’ve found more sparks than I could have hoped for while working alongside individuals and teams as they launch the 2025-26 school year.
As educators, we know the challenges will come, but we begin the school year with heads full of plans and hearts full of hope. And the launch asks much of us—time, focus, patience, collaboration, and recommitment—and promises much in return: connection, discovery, and, if we’re open to it, awe.
Dr. Dacher Keltner, who studies awe, defines the word not as something reserved for mountaintops or masterpieces, but as a response to anything that expands our sense of what’s possible and connects us to something larger than ourselves. He believes that awe softens the ego, enhances well-being, and invites collaboration. He suggests that awe is not a distraction from the work—it is the work, reframed.
He introduces eight “pillars” of awe, i.e., where to find it:
- In acts of moral beauty that remind us of human goodness
- In the collective effervescence of shared purpose and belonging
- In quiet moments surrounded by nature
- In the stirrings of our souls through music
- In the beauty of art and design
- In sacred rituals and moments of spiritual connection
- In witnessing the sacred transitions of birth and death
- And in the big ideas that reframe what we thought and knew
Or, as we educators know, we find awe in schools.
So here’s an idea for this new year: keep an awe inventory. Not a bulletin board or assessment tool, just a personal record of the moments that give you pause. The student who asks a question no one saw coming. The laughter in the hallway between bells. The way a lesson unexpectedly lands. A morning light on an empty classroom. A seemingly simple “Hello” that you know means more.
What if these aren’t distractions? What if they’re reminders of why we do what we do? Awe, says Keltner, doesn’t just elevate our mood—it expands our thinking. It helps us make room for complexity, for grace, for each other.
In the poem Make the Ordinary Extraordinary, William Martin writes: “Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives… show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples, and pears.” That line reads differently when you teach. It doesn’t mean we ask less of students—it means we show them how to look more closely. How to find meaning not just in outcomes, but in attention.
Educators know in our bones that learning isn’t just about acquiring knowledge, but also about enlarging our capacity to wonder. Still, it’s easy to forget in the blur of schedules, goals, and emails. But we can choose to notice what notices us back. And in doing so, we model for students a different way of moving through the world—not driven only by achievement, but by curiosity and care.
So as the year begins, I invite you to keep your own awe inventory. Just a mental list, a quiet practice. Five seconds to say: “That moved me.” No need to justify or explain. Just name it. Honor it. Savor it.
Because awe isn’t a reward for finishing the work. It’s a companion that makes the work worth doing. And in schoolhouses, classrooms, everywhere, it’s waiting to be noticed.
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may be admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples, and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
William Martin
People, Practice, and Possibilities: A Monthly Guide for Educators
“A great beginning is not about perfection, but connection. Teams that start with empathy build strength that lasts.”
— Original, inspired by Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability and leadership
What’s your one big thing?
Okay, what I really mean is what are your three big things—in three categories?
Kudos to Leah Lambert of the NCAIS team, who came up with the title: People, Practice, and Possibilities: A Monthly Guide for Educators. I appreciate that she did so in response to my expressed interest in applying these three lenses in questions, suggestions, and reflections I share here.
Perhaps my reason for doing so is obvious. In case it isn’t, and because I believe it’s that important, my forty years in independent schools have made me well aware of just how much there is to do—more than we can ever fully get done. But my experiences in day and boarding schools, faith-based and secular, Pre-K - 12, secondary, and K-8 have made me every bit as aware of the importance of our ability to work more effectively with others and to enhance how we do our work. You know it, too. So, how do we make what we know matter?
In August, as you set the stage for and then open the 2025-26 school year, I invite you—implore you—to consider your three big things.
- What’s one way we, as team members, will fortify the connective tissue between us? How will we better equip ourselves for the next tragedy, headline, or moment when we simply disagree?
- What are specific norms or touchstones we will commit and return to when we meet, make decisions, and share responsibility as a team?
- What's the one program or experience we simply must initiate or strengthen to make the experience for teachers, students, and the school community better?
“When a team begins with shared purpose, every challenge becomes part of the mission—not a roadblock.”
— Inspired by Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’
I’d love to know what you come up with.
