2023-24 Collective Agreements

2023-2024 Collective Agreements 

How do we want to feel when we come together? 

• Heard
• Respected
• Energized
• Optimistic
• Validated
• Secure
• Safe
• Challenged
• Understood
• Helpful
• Engaged
• Curious
• Accepted
• Proud
• Productive
• Open-Minded

What actions will we take to ensure we feel that way? 

• Make it about our kids
• Ask questions
• Be prepared
• Listen to hear not to respond
• Be self-aware and other aware
• Be guided by facts
• Know it's ok to disagree
• Practice empathy
• Listen to understand, not to respond
• Be supportive and affirming
• Keep confidentiality
• Be willing to change perspectives and understand other points of view
• Be accountable for our actions, words and behaviors
• Challenge ideas, not people
• Show kindness by being firm on issues and soft on people

How will we react when someone makes us feel other than the way we want to? 

• Pause and take a breath
• Remember this is for and about the kids
• Know what your purpose is for speaking
• Model the tone and respect you want to feel
• Speak in “I feel…” statements
• Model the change not only with words but also actions
• Ask for clarity and support
• Ask clarifying questions
• Reflect back to the other person “I’m hearing you say…” and “I feel..”
• Pause, take a breath before reacting
• Gather more information and ask for the story behind the emotion
• Go back to a point of agreement
• Address it—that’s not our norm
• Don't leave without sharing your thinking