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��Collaborative Culture: Leading With Consequence, �Not Consensus�

Nancy Frey, PhD

2026 Association of Seventh-day Adventists School Administrators Conference

PPT available soon at www.fisherandfrey.com

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The question we ask ourselves…

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The answer we strive for.

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Consequential Leadership is the practice of:

making intentional decisions

and

taking purposeful actions

that create positive, measurable improvements for teachers, staff, and students;

ensuring the school is truly better

because of the leader’s influence.

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Every student deserves a great teacher, not by chance, by by design.

Fisher, Frey, & Hattie, 2016

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Every teacher deserves a great leader, not by chance, by by design.

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Make your leadership consequential.

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Connect and Discuss:

Make connections to Ellen G. White’s philosophy of True Education and these next five imperatives.

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Courage, empathy, and

accountability require that we

balance authority with empathy

and foster collective accountability

on our teams.

This is the heart of

consequential leadership—having

sufficient courage to act.

Imperative #1

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Motivation, purpose, and the collective are the pulse of consequential leadership

as it beats through the organization.

Leaders cultivate

collective responsibility for

students’ learning,

collective efficacy

for their impact, and the

Collective effervescence and joy

that comes from working with others.

Imperative #2

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represents the

eyes and ears of consequential leadership.

Collecting and

analyzing evidence require

that we value evidence, intentionally use it

to make decisions and seek evidence that we may be wrong.

Imperative #3

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Promoting and nurturing teacher expertise requires a hands-on approach to how people learn and lead together.

Imperative #4

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Nudging, coaching, and correcting performance supports teachers’ expertise and growth.

This is the voice of consequential

leadership -- the ways in which

conversations convey the

strengths of educators

and their next steps.

Imperative #5

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Connect and Discuss:

What connections do you see between your leadership of True Education and the five imperatives?

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Courage, Empathy, and

Accountability

Imperative #1: The heart of consequential leadership

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If people choose not to follow you, are you a leader?

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Leader credibility is the antecedent to consequential leadership.

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Trustworthy
Competent in Skills and Communication
Dynamic and Enthusiastic
Responsive
Future-thinking

Credible Leaders are perceived to be:

Fisher, D., Frey, N., Lassiter, C., & Smith, D. (2022). Leader credibility: The essential traits of those who engage, inspire, and transform. Corwin.

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When leaders intentionally build trust structures…

relationships flourish

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Morning Meeting Every Day

Every adult in the school
10-minute standing meeting
Three items:

What do we need to know today?
Spotlight for praise and concerns
Rotating culture-building activity

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Connect and Discuss:

What systems do you put in place so that adults interact in meaningful ways?

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Motivation, Purpose, and the Collective

Imperative #2: The Pulse

You’ll find more about the pulse of consequential leadership in the excerpt on the app.

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• A Lack of Sufficient Collaboration Time and Structure

• Lack of Clarity and Shared Purpose

• Confusion about Cooperation and Collaboration

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”Dating is a cooperative venture, while marriage is a collaborative one.”

Hord, 1980

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Freedman, J. M., Freedman, P. E., Choi, D. Y., & Miller, M. (2025). The Emotional Recession: Global declines in emotional intelligence and its impact on organizational retention, burnout, and workforce resilience. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1701703. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1701703

Teams that experience genuine joy at work are more than 10 times as likely to be high-achieving and satisfied.

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Even the best teams are hampered if they rarely get to learn from one another.

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An implemented set of systems can reduce the silos of excellence present in every school.

2 min.

PLCs first emerged to address teacher isolation, which was common in earlier decades. The idea was that by working together, educators could support each other while positively impacting student learning. Over time, research has confirmed that well-implemented PLCs do just that—enhancing instructional practices and boosting student outcomes

Deprivatizing teaching—moving from isolated classroom practice to open collaboration—fosters a culture where educators learn from one another, leading to higher Collective Teacher Efficacy. When teachers regularly observe each other, share strategies, and engage in reflective dialogue, they develop a shared belief in their ability to positively impact student learning. Case studies show that schools implementing learning walks, co-teaching models, and collaborative data discussions see not only improved instructional practices but also increased student achievement, as teachers refine their approaches based on collective insights.

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The belief among a group of teachers that they possess the wherewithal to positively impact student learning.

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Collective efficacy can influence a group’s behavior in several ways, including these:

What they choose to focus on

How much effort they put in

Their staying power in the face of extended challenges

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Teams check in with one another every three weeks and receive a meeting recap to amplify ideas.

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3 minutes Presenter	Presenter informally shares CEC team’s progress so far.	What is your common challenge? What have you done to build knowledge and skills? What strategies have you tried so far?
1 minutes Audience Presenter	Audience asks clarifying questions in order to get information that may have been omitted that they feel would help them to understand the context.	1.How did you determine… 2.Why did you include… 3. What do you mean by…
2 minutes Audience	Audience offers feedback based on what was shared. Warm feedback includes comments about how the work shared seems to meet the desired goals. Cool feedback offers ideas or suggestions for strengthening the work shared.	Warm: 1.What I appreciate about what you shared is… 2.The direction of your CEC make sense because… 3.I like the way you … Cool 1.I wonder how you might… 2.One possibility for improving is…
1 minutes Presenter	Presenter reflects on key takeaways and ideas that resonate with them.	•What I am hearing you say… •One thing I’d like to upgrade is… •Based on your feedback…

7-minute Peer Review Tuning Protocol

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Connect and Discuss: What processes do you use to ensure teams interact regularly with one another?

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Imperative #3: Collecting and

Analyzing Evidence

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This might be the most

under-asked question in school leadership.

Clarity Drives Action

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The Goal Isn’t Data: The Goal Is Responsiveness

Data shouldn’t sit idle in dashboards

Purpose is real-time adjustments and long-term planning

Consequences come from our decisions

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Do you seek evidence that you might be wrong?

Or only surround yourself with evidence (and people) that say you’re right?

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An unintended consequence of the Small Schools movement was that dissent, which is vital in measured doses in any organization, was reduced.

And with it, there was a reduction in innovation.

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Different Data Types Tell Different Stories

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Look Beyond Achievement Data

Climate, belonging, daily interactions matter

Evidence lives everywhere in the building

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Assign staff to conduct 5-minute observations, called time samples, in underutilized spaces (e.g.,“lunch duty as data collection”).

Use short surveys or QR check-ins for students in informal settings.

Train student ambassadors or climate teams to help document peer experiences.

Pair observational data with other quantitative sources to triangulate findings.

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Conduct huddles regularly with teachers, coaches, and administrators to build collective efficacy.

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Attendance Huddle

10 minutes every day at 9:35 AM
Run by the attendance clerk
Administrator
A different grade level rep each day
Student support personnel (e.g., counselor, paraprofessional)

It happens no matter who is not there.

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Promoting and Nurturing Teacher Expertise

Imperative #4 is hands-on.

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Actions hands-on actions to strengthen your immediacy.

Photo by marianne bos on Unsplash

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1. Leader Rounding

“What’s working well today?”
“Are there individuals I should recognize?”
“Is there anything we can do better?”
“Do you have the tools and equipment you need to do your job?”

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Write 5 notes weekly to staff members (have them placed on your desk every Monday so you don’t forget).

Mail them home with a real stamp (don’t put them in their school mailboxes).

2. Create a culture of appreciation.

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Acknowledge the problem.
Apologize (even if it’s not your fault.)
Do not manage down the organization or another person.
Make it right as soon as possible.
Let the person know the loop has been closed.

3. Service Recovery

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Connect and Discuss:

How might practices such as huddles, seeking hidden data, or hands-on leadership be useful at your site?

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Nudging, coaching, and correcting performance supports teachers’ expertise and growth.

But only if you have time.

This one is just for you.

Imperative #5

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If you don’t manage your communication, it will manage you.

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If you call, I will answer or return your call within 5 minute. If I can’t, I’ll send you a text reply.

If you text, I will reply within 45 minutes.

If you email, I will reply within 48 hours.

Teach your team how to triage.

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Bonus Tip:

Take email off your phone.

Everyone around you will thank you.

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Be a consequential leader.

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www.fisherandfrey.com

Thank you!

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