Nicole McDermott, a certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator and longtime educational leader, spent the day with the staff of Greenspring Montessori School earlier this month. The Dare to Lead™ curriculum is based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown and her best-selling book, Dare to Lead. Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitators are trained on how to teach the skills, practices, and tools that underpin the four skill sets of courage: Rumbling with Vulnerability, Living into Our Values, Braving Trust, and Learning to Rise. While the full curriculum is 24 hours, Nicole spent the day with Greenspring’s staff, introducing and exploring some key elements of this groundbreaking work like empathy, grounded confidence, values, and courage. In addition to identifying individual calls to courage, the group worked together to brainstorm a group call to courage to align with the Greenspring mission and values. As one participant said afterwards, “We made progress in a very big conversation!”
How To Learn More
Be sure to listen to Nicole’s episode of the Voices in Montessori Podcast, “Skills for Teachers to Step into Daring Leadership” to learn more about how educators can bring the Dare to Lead model to their relationships with parents and colleagues. Nicole also leads a full-day workshop titled Dare to Lead: Brave Leadership for Educators and Schools.
About Nicole McDermott
Nicole McDermott is a leader, educator, facilitator, and coach with 20+ years of experience. She has experience integrating Dr. Brené Brown’s work into the award-winning Northern Virginia independent school she’s led since 2005. Nicole holds a B.S. in elementary education and an M.Ed. in education leadership as well as certificates in leadership/organization well-being coaching and positive leadership. Nicole participated in the inaugural cohort of Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitators in 2019, which included being trained directly by Dr. Brené Brown to facilitate a curriculum based on her work, research, and best-selling book. Through her own company, Quality Matters, she brings her Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator and coaching skills and longtime educational leadership experience to leaders, schools, non-profits, and other organizations or groups seeking to build courage, increase empathy, and develop stronger teams.
