Do big personalities intimidate you? Do you want to learn how to be empathetic while still holding a boundary? Did you know that communicating with courage and bravery can actually make your relationships better?

“A leader is someone who takes responsibility for developing potential in people and processes — and has the courage to develop this potential.”
– Brené Brown

This is especially true in schools. Our school leaders, educators, and staff are called on every day to lead colleagues, families, and students with courage, strength and grace. Yet most educators have little to no training in leadership. Gratefully, courage is a skill we can build and practice every day in our schools!

Daring leadership is a collection of skills that are 100% teachable, observable, and measurable. This workshop empowers educators to become daring leaders by imparting clear strategies and actionable steps including:

• How to share your own vulnerability with others in a way that inspires trust and partnership. We must drop our defensive armor.
• How to respond with empathy while still maintaining a boundary. Clarity is kindness! 
• Tips and tools to approach hard conversations with curiosity and compassion rather than defensiveness. 
• How to tackle challenges with courage. Courage is contagious!

On Day 1,  The role of vulnerability in being a daring leader and daring educator and we will create individual calls to courage. 

On Day 2, Living into our values and how to operationalize them in our personal and professional lives. 

On Day 3, How to show up with curiosity and grounded confidence in hard moments or conversations.   

On Day 4, Trust, boundaries, and how to be sure we are responding from a place of integrity and generosity. 

Join us to build a toolkit for daring leadership, so that you have practical skills for bravely engaging in both joyful and challenging situations in your school community.

About the Presenter

Nicole McDermott

Nicole McDermott (she/her) is a leader, educator, facilitator, and coach with 20+ years of experience. She values courage over comfort and has experience integrating Dr. Brené Brown’s work into the award-winning Northern Virginia independent school she led for eighteen years (2005 – 2023). Nicole has facilitated workshops and educational sessions in person and virtually for 50-100 attendees and spoken to groups up to 1000 people.

Nicole holds a B.S. in Elementary Education (with a minor in English/Journalism) from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, and a M.Ed. in education leadership as well as a certificate in positive leadership from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Nicole was selected via an application process to be part of the inaugural cohort of Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitators, which included being trained directly by Dr. Brené Brown to facilitate a curriculum based on her work, research, and best-selling book. Nicole successfully completed an accredited leadership/organizational well-being coach training program through the Center for the Advancement of Well-being at George Mason University and is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional, earning the ACC distinction in 2023.

Nicole is also a partner with Educational Directions, a nationally-recognized consulting firm for independent schools. With her school leadership experience, values, and skills, she meets schools where they are, assisting and empowering them to reach their next level and helping to connect them with outstanding leaders.

You can learn more about Nicole on her website, www.nmmqualitymatters.com.