From Judgment to Discernment
As school leaders we can fall into the trap (and it is a trap) of thinking that our job is to pass judgment on things as they are unfolding around us. Is the cafeteria orderly enough? Is this lesson aligned with the learning target? Is this task or assessment significantly rigorous? We can lose ourselves and our sense of presence in a relentless flow of judgment.
And then, of course, there are equally relentless internal judgements that arise moment by moment. Those moments when we’re hard on ourselves if we can’t find the right words of encouragement to a struggling student. Or when the PD session we’ve planned falls apart, we believe, due to our lack of understanding about what teachers needed from the time together. Or when we fail to give effective feedback about some aspect of a lesson that we judged as inadequate. In these cases, we find ourselves judging ourselves for our struggles to communicate our judgements about someone else’s performance!
For many school leaders the sense of their own “professional judgment” is a hard-earned asset that they leverage mindlessly and reflexively as they navigate every day and every interaction. Labeling what we see, hear and feel as right or wrong, good or bad, effective, ineffective or partially effective. We’re surrounded by rubrics and evaluation tools that are built around the mindset and language of judgment. To say nothing of the unspoken internal rubrics we use to assess our own performance - both our successes and our stumbles.
For me, judgment often springs forward fully formed, a knee jerk reaction rooted in the belief that labeling something as a problem is the first step toward a solution. Without thinking or reflection I can pass judgment on a behavior, interaction or instructional practice. I can just as quickly identify what should be different and consider ways to assert my perspective into the situation.
Can we even imagine what leadership looks like without this constant overlay of judgment? What if we were to shift our approach from judgment to discernment?
Discernment is the “ability to grasp and comprehend what is obscure”. It is associated with synonyms like insight, perception and wisdom. When we are able to delay the instinct toward judgment and stay curious about what is arising around us and within us - even for a beat longer than usual - without the rush to judge, we create the spaciousness where discernment can emerge.
Rather than labeling something as effective or ineffective, good or bad, we bring a curious awareness to the situation with the goal of comprehending what might be obscure. Sometimes there is no immediate insight and we simply accept what is arising - internally or externally. Other times this shift toward discernment might result in an insight that we can skillfully share with the individuals involved or a question that we want to pose in our next check in.
The point here is to quiet the judgmental mind by cultivating a more open, curious and discerning presence, whether the object of our discerning is our internal monologue or a classroom lesson.
Try this… When you feel the urge to judge a situation, simply ask yourself questions like: What happening around me? What’s happening inside me? How might these be connected? This questions can shift us back into curiosity and receptivity to what is occurring around us and within us. The intent is not to pass judgment on what is unfolding but rather to pay attention and get curious in order to discern how and if we might take skillful action.