057: Growing with Grace: Leadership and Authenticity with Dr. Chaunte Garrett

Stepping into the season of rejuvenation, we're thrilled to welcome Dr. Chaunte Garrett, the dynamic mind behind EmpowHer Ed, onto our podcast. This episode blooms with Dr. Garrett's insights on social and emotional learning and its crucial role in fostering equitable academic landscapes. Imagine every young mind accessing the learning they need, not just academically but emotionally, and the societal fabric becomes more vibrant through SEL integration, interwoven with threads of gender, race, and body perception.

Authenticity and integrity take center stage in our dialogue. Discover how these core values shape the very essence of leadership, especially for those who may identify as introverts, and how individuality shines within the tapestry of collaboration. We open up about self-care, a passage of rest, boundary-setting, and spiritual nourishment that balances the scales of service. Dr. Garrett's wisdom on preserving authenticity and stewardship paints a serene landscape for the soul, a calm amidst the storm of guiding others.

Join us on a transformative journey of continuous growth as we hear about the Garrett Collective and embrace the fluidity that leadership demands. Dr. Garrett imparts her invaluable 'gems' of wisdom, underscoring the central theme of our episode – the emancipating power of choice and the significance of unwavering commitment to one's values in the intricate dance of leadership. As you listen to this episode, carry these words with you on your own path: growth is a voyage, not a destination, and within it lies a wealth of support and love, waiting to be embraced.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Connect with Dr. Garrett via her website, X. and Instagram.
• Read her ASCD articles and other publications via LinkTree.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:01

Welcome to SEL and EDU where we discuss all things social and emotional, in education. I'm Krista and I'm Craig and we are your hosts on this journey. Ah, what is going on? Sel and EDU family, we are back, that's right. I got the candles lit, so I got you know, and this is not a sponsorship video, but I got a little Lulu's candle in the background, little red roses it smells so floral, just trying to propel, you know, me and us, to the spring. Just give us growth, jesus, give us growth, but you know that's how I feel, but you know that's how I feel.

Speaker 2: 0:43

I got a little chai tea where you know, at this time of recording we are actually experiencing some winter conditions, but it is all good in the hood. Krista, how are you doing? What is going on on your side of the world?

Speaker 1: 0:57

I'm good. I'm good and I know it is winter, but I'm looking forward to the spring. And we were just talking about colors with our guest who is waiting to come on, and she is again. We keep lamenting that we're not doing video anymore, but she has got this gorgeous yellow color on. I'm like you, look like a ray of sunshine, and so I'm usually kind of in darker shades or like royal kind of colors, like deep colors. But, craig, you've got a really nice sweater on right now. It's kind of like an off-white color.

Speaker 1: 1:31

Yeah, this is a little cream, just to you know do something to just make my shoulder stand up a little bit, because you need to stand up a little bit more on a 6'3 frame. Hey, it's all good.

Speaker 2: 1:44

You're talking on the shorty over here at five four tall and statured. Tall and statured, regardless of whether or not you have a particular height, it's just about how you show up in the world.

Speaker 1: 1:54

I think it's tall well, and you know what, in one of our deep review um recordings, I'm gonna have to tell you that I've been going to get roughing done. So there's this woman named dr Ida Roth and she talked about like clearing out and like stretching your fascia, and so I'm working the last couple months on getting my frame realigned so that I, my stature, is like more. Yeah, we're going to have to talk about this later on, but it's a thing. So even at 5'4", I'm going to be the tallest 5'4 that I can possibly be, okay.

Speaker 2: 2:31

Sounds good.

Speaker 1: 2:33

How are you today?

Speaker 2: 2:36

I'm doing pretty well it is. It has been a very exciting week in regards to there's a book a book club that I led last night focused on the book Belly of the Beast by the Sean L Harrison, and it's this intersection of conversation around our bodies, how we have been socially conditioned to believe these notions of gender and race and so much more, and so this book was such a great read, and I was in company of some really phenomenal folks who had incredibly brave and vulnerable conversations around our bodies. We talked about gender, we talked about race a little bit, and just so much more, and so it really warmed my heart. So I'm feeling really good.

Speaker 1: 3:31

Good, good. I definitely want to tap more into that as well the whole kind of like presence and how we're showing up and perception. But I also want to introduce our dear friend and guest who is also an ASCD emerging leader. We have known her for many, many years and you and I have been talking for quite a while about getting her on this podcast. I don't think she knows that. I don't think she knows that, so I am so excited to welcome Dr Shantae Garrett to our podcast. She is the founder and CEO of L Education and Empowered Ed Now listen, it's Empowered Ed. I love this E-M-P-O-W capital H-E-R Ed, and so we're going to talk to her about that In which she consults and serves to empower learners and leaders to excel.

Speaker 1: 4:22

With decades of experience in education learners and leaders to excel. With decades of experience in education, she has served as chief academic officer, building and district level administrator, teacher and superintendent of a K-12 campus in North Carolina, where the weather, I'm sure, is much warmer than it is up here in the North. In her career she has successfully supported and led school transformation efforts in multiple school districts, achieving improved student achievement and academic growth outcomes. She's got a phenomenal story as superintendent, the campus achieved meeting academic growth across content level content areas with all subgroups of students. Let me say that again, all subgroups of students. The foundation of this work is creating equitable learning opportunities and a whole child approach, emphasizing high quality instruction, stem, sel and college and career preparation. Dr Garrett, how are you today? Welcome and what is on your heart?

Speaker 3: 5:24

Thank you so very much, thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm excited and feel very blessed to be in the company of both of you all Friends, family, family in some of the truest sense of the words. Uh, words, um, some of my, uh, more vulnerable moments have been with the two of you, and I appreciate that, because vulnerability is a place that you definitely have to find safe, safe places, um, in order to do that. So I I'm extremely grateful for well, I think, even before we even knew what social, emotional learning was, True, true.

Speaker 1: 6:12

How are you feeling today? What's on your heart? And you do? You look like a ray of sunshine.

Speaker 3: 6:17

Oh, thank you so much. Thank you, I'll going to pack you up and bring you home. You know, just glad to be here with you all, feeling extremely blessed in these moments in this season. Extremely honored to have been asked, you know, to get to hang out on the SEL and EDU podcast. Y'all been having some heavy, heavy hitter folks and some some great conversations. So I'm just honored to, to have been invited among um, among some folks that I admire, as it was some folks that I love and admire. I've been watching grow and have been learning on my own journey.

Speaker 1: 7:10

So Well, we, before we started, we were talking about this idea of growth and just how it's a journey for all of us, and I think two things that really resonate with me is that you talk a lot about instructional leadership and what that means for folks, and when I think about you and I get a chance to sit in community with you, I walk away always feeling like this calming presence. You're so thoughtful in how you articulate your thinking and when you speak, I think like I feel like you take a lot in, and then when you have something to share, I'm like, dang, that was so profound. And so when you think about instructional leadership, what does that mean for you and how do you aspire to model that for other people so that they can continue to grow?

Speaker 3: 8:09

Yeah, I think I mean you know instructional leadership, you know, I think we take it at its word, right, what is instruction? I think one of the things that we have to be mindful of is especially now is how has instructional leadership changed and what does it require? What is it requiring of those who are put in its charge? Right, I think, especially in post-pandemic schools, with the number of challenges that our schools are facing, it is requiring instructional leadership of folks who may have not traditionally worn that hat right, may have not traditionally worn that hat right. And so how do we build the instructional stamina of folks who are in closer proximity to the instruction, and how much of that do we want to build with the other activity that they already have? So what does that look like? It's always going to be the quality of the instruction, right, and so many people try to figure out what does that look like in terms of a framework? You know, and we always want to know, that students have learned right, but you know realizing that students learn differently. So when you're walking into classrooms, how do you qualify and quantify what students have learned? You know, you can have some of the kids who look the most disengaged, but they have learned. And you have some students who look the most engaged and they haven't. You know they just play in the game, the song and dance, or what have you playing? The game, the song and dance, or what have you? And so you also want to know that the teacher is well prepared, right?

Speaker 3: 10:12

You know we see these debates around lesson plans Should they be checked, should they be made to have them available, should they be turned in, what have you? But we know that there needs to be a plan there. You know, whatever the routine, whatever the structure, we know that there needs to be a plan there. We know it needs to be aligned to learning Right. And who's responsible for making sure that that takes place? That's the instructional, the instructional leader in the building and in those different capacities, or however we do.

Speaker 3: 10:46

However, we're aiming to make sure that those things are in place and happening every single day, and one of the things that I try to stress is not just for all children, right Done with the blankets for each child. That way, we know that each child is getting what they need, and that's the other piece to instructional leadership right. So, when we're looking at these plans and we're looking at all of these different nuances, how do we know that each child is getting what they need? Are we relying solely on looking at the plans? Are we looking at how they manifest within the classroom and without the classroom, as the child goes throughout their day, as they're moving throughout the hallways, as they're moving from space to space, from space to space? We should be able to see evidence of that learning having taken place having taken in and being translated from space to space, that they participate.

Speaker 2: 12:05

I'm going to jump into, you know, cause I, I, you, you shared a lot of incredible insight about being student focused and knowing that when you look, when you work, from the lens of the young people you're serving, or you try to create a culture and conditions where they can thrive, um, I think it requires, uh, someone to have a, you know, a deep insight on who's in the work with you, having a real good pulse on the energy that's in that building, in that community on a day-to-day basis that you're already anticipating where the boundaries may show themselves up and folks may display a level of imposter syndrome to lots of things. And I strongly believe, from all from my years in being connected, that you carry this. But I'm curious from you what do you feel is your superpower today?

Speaker 3: 13:03

Oh, that's funny, my superpower today and there's a lot of learning that's been taking place right, a lot of learning and a lot of shifting that's been happening for me that I'm extremely excited and happy about and happy about. And so I think what I know, you know, one of my superpowers has always been I'm a builder, I'm a creator. That's where I love, that's where I thrive, right, and I think that's one of the places where I get to pull, I can pull people along right. One of my favorite questions to ask in serving, when I was serving my community, was you know, what will we build? Right? Not like oh, what are we going to do? No, like what will we build? Like we got this opportunity, y'all Like everything's on fire. What are we going to build? When we got this opportunity, y'all like it's all, everything's on fire, what we're gonna build when we clean it up, you know like um.

Speaker 3: 14:12

So that that's one of the that's. That's that's where I think my heart, my love is and I think that's where we get to to the heart of what, um, what people need, and I mean that's what communities need, right, when we serve kids, we serve communities. We serve families, we serve communities and I think, from that perspective, we build so much more than just you know grades and report cards and resumes. We build communities, and I think you know, along with that, I think, authenticity. I think that's something I had to learn being able to show up as myself, I think one of the things that Krista and I connect. I think the first time Krista and I connected, she got an introvert too, she. She got when I was an introvert.

Speaker 3: 15:13

Yes, yes, I'm like, oh, there's another one of me um, and just having this conversation with a friend, I have an introverted niece. We're only one letter apart so we decided we're 80% the same person and we're okay with that because you know she's learning at 14. You know what I learned at that age. You know how to advocate for who you are in your space and that's kind of embracing it and putting it up front, you know like I'm not coming in here dancing on tables at all, like that's not my jam.

Speaker 3: 15:56

You know, I'm not doing those things. You know and this is how I come and this is how we work together and bringing yourself to the table rather than it always having to be put on the mask and put on a show and not being authentic, because authenticity is where you win with people, when they know exactly who they're going to get right, and that's where we get respect right.

Speaker 3: 16:23

We don't have to like each other, but we definitely have to respect each other, and if I know who's showing up, I know who to prepare for Right and I know how to prepare to do our work together. I think you know I love and value integrity. I live you know that's what allows me to sleep at night. Integrity A living you know that's what allows me to sleep at night. Stewardship Take anything for granted, and those are some of the things that I mean. You know, like we were talking about, you know work qualities I think data-driven is one you know but that you build, we're going to meet justice and if we can do that, and when we do that with integrity, we're always doing the right thing.

Speaker 1: 17:35

So those are the things that I'm holding near and I think, if they had to be superpowers, I think those would be some of the things that would remind when you mentioned builder and creator, your whole face lit up, like it was a whole other level of just seeing that you were in your moment and how meaningful that was for you, and then also talking about being an introvert. I'm curious. When you were talking about instructional stamina and what it meant to be an instructional leader, you talked about making sure that you're balancing the amount of work and I'm paraphrasing that the educators had so that they weren't being overwhelmed, and that was kind of how I interpreted that the balance of work. And how do you balance, knowing how you interpret the world as an introvert and take things in and being a leader in the community? How do you take care of yourself so that you do show up to be your best self, as authentic as possible, with integrity, and do the work, yet take care of yourself?

Speaker 3: 18:55

Okay, I may be integral about that, I didn't. I didn't balance very well and that's what I have spent, you know time in my transition, being integral with myself. You know, about what I truly value for me. I think, one of those things where I sit and I just retook the personality test right where I sit and I just retook the personality test right because, you know, having this conversation with my knees, you know we're yeah, we're here, so let me just take it, get it fresh, right. So I'm kind of situated between an INFJ and an ISTJ, right. So I lean in those, both of those, right. So I lean in those both of those, um, and but I say that to say, you know, in both of those I'm giving everything, like I'm putting it all on, and that's exactly the way you know, I live relentlessly okay, and so I've had to learn and take and learning what I needed to take care of myself. I had to learn to rest, right. I'm about two years into that learning right.

Speaker 3: 20:26

I'm about two years into that learning. You know what does rest mean for me? You know it goes beyond just kind of taking a nap, which are great, right, naps are great, um, you know, but it's it's finding time to be really intentional about the pause time, to be really intentional about the pause right and shutting things off. It's, you know, creating boundaries, right. So there was the learning how to stop the impulsive. You know the impulsive request, right, and saying no to those, but also'm not living Right, right, it's like god, I'm doing lost, you know, um, and really wanting to be intentional about, about changing that, um. So there's the learning to rest right, there's the, the building of the boundaries.

Speaker 3: 22:05

For me, there's been a lot of spiritual work, you know. So I was very convicted about the time that I was investing in my, in communities, right, but I wasn't investing in my spirit, you know. And so now I'm very intentional. I have about an hour, hour and a half every day that I'm sitting with scripture, that I'm sitting with prayer, that I'm sitting still Right, and I love it, I absolutely love it, I absolutely love it and I'm so grateful, so grateful for that Right. And so these are some of the ways that I'm I'm being very I mean, and just the.

Speaker 3: 22:57

There's a lot of things that I've had to turn off so I can turn off, right, but one of the things that I'm realizing is that there's enjoyment, but there's also like authentic joy, you know, and I get to experience freedom now, right, and so it's taking a lot to cultivate that, and I still have to be very mindful. Sometimes I get productivity anxiety. I didn't finish this and I didn't finish this. I didn't. I had a conversation with my pastor before I came on this, because I was like I wanted to have a website.

Speaker 1: 23:55

I wanted to have this. Oh, that hurts my heart too, because, yeah, you want everything to like be together.

Speaker 3: 24:07

Yeah, okay, yeah and it is, and one of the blessings is so this and it's been a very, it's been a very personal walk for me, right. So I have about four people, my pastor included, who I would say kind of been invited to this wall. So when I get there, like girl, what in the world? You know, you didn't do this today, are you kidding? But you did this and you did this. Like what? And who are what are you stressing over, like you know, and I appreciate that. But they're also the same people that say did you drink your water? Water today? You know, I'm sitting outside of my office, I've been parking on the street and say did you feed the meter today? Right, so I'm not getting a parking ticket. So I love it.

Speaker 3: 24:58

And so, and what I continue to share with people is I just have to believe in God, what God is doing in my life right now and where he's brought me to, because I'm loving connection, right, I am enjoying, like I love my school community and I love who I got to serve and I love where I got to serve, but I'm loving the way that I'm getting to connect with people Now. I love that I was able, even if it was only for 15 minutes able to sit in your session, krista. You know, last year I would have had two phones, I would have had to sit outside the session, you know like and, and not have been able to take, take it in. You know, and take in and sit as a learner, because you're constantly wearing that hat all all the time. Um, so I love.

Speaker 2: 26:06

I love exactly where I'm positioned right now, but yeah, I am curious and thank you for sharing an inner view of your journey and evolution. For those leaders who are standing right next to you in this what sometimes feels very, it can be empowering but can be exhaustive, and they're making decisions, or have made decisions, on whether or not they want to continue this journey further. It doesn't mean that they're not incredible servant leaders like yourself and don't have young people in the communities you serve at the heart of who you are, but they're also human and you know, as you, as you shared, you know layers of your own development and and and um, how deeply tapped you are into your spiritual self and how you are now recreating the conditions and environment where you can thrive by having the key people are who are a part, who you've invited in to call you in where you need to be called in, but to love on you as you continue to fall more into who you want to be. And so my curiosity for leaders who are really thinking about their own social, emotional well-being, their own adult well-being. They're thinking about how are they going to continue to lead this work or be a leader, whatever that means, in whatever context, because it doesn't just mean that you're a principal doesn't mean you're just a superintendent or an executive director. You could be a coach, as you're doing that work as well. You could be someone who is a clinician and leading a team of people and you're doing student support work.

Speaker 2: 28:05

But folks who are listening right now to your journey and you're, and the spiritual elements of this journey are resonating for them. I'm curious what it, what is or would be your advice, standing alongside you in this journey, and what would you advise them to take on for themselves in regards to the levels of introspection, the levels of self-care, the levels of self-accountability and self-efficacy that you have shared with us that maybe they should explore for themselves, but I think, maybe for them to give themselves permission to actually step back and pause, like you talked about, and be able to step into something that actually resonates for their own spirit and well-being.

Speaker 3: 28:56

I think, one of the I think it's funny Because I haven't given this advice any other time, but it's where my heart was situated today and it's one of the things that has sat on my heart as we have seen what has unfolded, even with Claudine Gay over the last week. You know, I think one of the beauties that I had to realize is that I had choice to exercise freedom, right, right, and so I made a choice, you know, to transition, to gain the freedom that I had been praying for. But I don't think that we always envision the fact that we have choice, always envision the fact that we have choice, and I'm situated in my space as a Black woman and I'm using that as two identities in one, and because we can often be thrown into I won't say thrown, but you know, when opportunity knocks, it can be some of the hardest, it can be some of the toughest, and we can receive more and more and more of the weight. If you show that you can carry it, we're going to keep giving it, we're going to keep dumping it, we're going to keep handing it to you, and I think it's also something that we inherently believe that we have to take on. We are, especially in education. We are the nurturers, right, we are the givers and we are. We are. Our value is often questioned, right, our worth is often questioned, our credibility is often questioned. So we always have to prove with whatever is put on the plate, and my advice is to always understand that you can choose, okay, you can choose to stay and you can choose to stay, you can choose to do, but I want you to be able to exercise your choice, right.

Speaker 3: 32:15

The blessing for me is I made some very clear choices to serve a trauma-persistent community. To serve a trauma persistent community. I made those choices not realizing how heavy the trauma was on me, right? And so you know when I'm my day was, because I didn't realize how unbalanced my day was. You know it's trauma persistent, right? So we go to the next thing. I made a comment the other day I had finished coaching, working with a leader on some things, and I was so satisfied. I was on the phone with a friend and I said you know what I love about what I get to do now?

Speaker 3: 33:19

And that immediate response was do you know what I love about hearing you say what you just said now, and you know, and that sat with me, right, because you know the people that you love are loving on you in the space that you're in, right, and you're just going, and you're just going and you're just doing, and you're just doing and you're just doing. And so my advice is to understand that you have a choice and that's the power. The power is the choice, right, and the power is exercising your freedom when you are ready to exercise that freedom. But the power is understanding that you have a choice and being able to exercise that choice and choose your freedom. And that's what I want leaders to do. I don't want you to feel stuck because you're too valuable, especially right now, I don't, you know, and if you go, if you feel stuck, I want you to know you chose them.

Speaker 3: 34:35

I don't want you to know that you chose that, like I know, I know that I am choosing this right and exercise your choice so that you and then exercise your freedom.

Speaker 2: 34:57

Wow, wow, that's all. That's all I'm saying, my goodness.

Speaker 3: 35:08

You know, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 35:11

Yeah, I'm taking notes too for myself. We've been talking like what does rest mean for me? How do I differentiate opportunity and freedom? And this idea that if you feel stuck, you chose stuck and that just you know I walked away from a job and I don't regret it. Was it easy? No, and I'm sure, like you were saying, like your choices might not lead to the easiest you know road, but you still have a choice.

Speaker 3: 35:48

Yeah, you know it's, it's. It's not easy, um, you know, and I'm in, I'm in a season of being led right, you know, you don't. You don't spend an hour, an hour and a half with God every day, and you know, and, and you know, you know, and, and you know, walk away and, and just not when I pray. You know, not have some sense of clarity, um, and duty of obedience, right, um, and, and that's, that's, that's it, you know that's it, you know it's. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's yeah.

Speaker 1: 36:31

So if there are other leaders here who are really feeling all the feels like I think Greg and I are feeling right now, I'm like, Ooh, I have so much to ponder right now and think about, like what is it for me this year? Like what, yeah? And like taking these pieces in, how can people get ahold of you If they're like you know what? I need to hear more of Dr Garrett and listen in or read her work and try to get on this path of discovery that she's been on while serving a community, as you said, that's trauma persistent.

Speaker 3: 37:10

Yes, so you can reach me through my website. I do want to be clear I did transition out of my community Right, and so I am now Right, and so I am now leading the Garrett Collective, which is built off of two DBAs L Education and Empowered a coaching, consulting, capacity enhancing as well as asset acquisition company to empower leaders and learners to excel. So, but through my website, drncgarrettcom, as well as through my social media, all of which are being updated. However, they all still lead to me. So if it starts changing day by day, you know it's just know it's under construction, keep us in touch and please know that after three years I'm still under construction and I'm still updating things.

Speaker 1: 38:23

So it's kind of like that never ending process. Craig and I talk quite a bit about that.

Speaker 3: 38:29

Well, it is. You know, in this, in this process, it has been an evolution. You know, you, you, it's the choice factor. You leave and you are, you have one plan and building and creating leads you to some other things, and you know, go along for the ride.

Speaker 2: 39:01

Wow, right here. So that's the LLEDU family. My goodness, dr Shantae Garrett just gave so many gems, so many gems, and so I wish I had. I wish I could capture in a very concise way how powerful this conversation has been. Um, and no matter when you hear it, I believe that it's done with purpose, like your intersection and your every. All of the things coming together at that moment is especially designed for you to hear this message seriously. So we're going to send everybody lots of love and tons of light, hold you and all you hold dear real tight, and we will be back quite soon with more conversations, more liberation, because you deserve it. So keep standing in the SEL light. We love you, y'all, take care.