Wholeness

As Teal School has wholeness on our minds for this month, I found myself rewatching Brené Brown’s talk on Vulnerability (find it on Netflix). Showing up whole and playing full out means we make ourselves vulnerable in front of others. The list on the right in the picture shows what happens when we share our whole self at work, in the home, or community: we increase Love, Belonging and Joy both for ourselves and others. Below the three words you see what we create in the absence of vulnerability, when we do not show up as whole being but hide a part of us. This is the norm in schools today which inflicts both adults and children. We breed shame, scarcity, fear, anxiety and uncertainty.

The list on the left shows what happens in workplaces where your wholeness is encouraged and valued throughout the organisation, it leads to:

• Empathy
• Trust
• Innovation
• Creativity
• Inclusivity
• Equity
• Hard conversations
• Feedback
• Problem solving
• Ethical decision making

At Teal School we encourage wholeness and it is one of three pillars of the organisation. Wholeness can not be achieved fully if it is not recognised throughout the organisation. How can we teach our children to be whole if we disable the possibility amongst all staff in a school?