Blog

  • Justice Coaching Center Receives Accreditation

    Dr. Jan Bouch is pleased to announce that the Justice Coaching Center has received accreditation from the International Coach Federation for its 60-hour Resiliency Coach Training Program. Participants who take this course will fulfill the minimum training requirement needed for an Associate Certified Coach credential.

    Please contact Dr. Bouch directly if you would like more about becoming a resiliency coach. 

  • Education and Curriculum Committee Offers First Zoominar

    NASJE’s Education and Curriculum Committee, is excited to offer the first “zoominar”! This is like the callinars done in the past, just with Zoom so participants can use video or phone. The event will be held Thursday, July 30 @ 2:00 Eastern, 1:00 Central, 12:00 Mountain, 11:00 Pacific. 

    For this zoominar, the committee will host a discussion on the topic of Delivering Training & Education During a Pandemic. The cancellation of live events has impacted the way judicial educators typically approach education. Several colleagues will share the lessons they have learned in moving towards alternative education options. Attendees will be able to ask questions and share their own experiences as well. The goal is for everyone to come away with some tips and tricks to use when delivering training and education in new ways!

    A recording of the zoominar will be posted on the members webpage afterwards.

  • From the President (Spring 2020)

    Janice Calvi-Ruimerman
    NASJE President Janice Calvi-Ruimerman

    It has been just about 50 days of the new “normal”!

    So, what has changed … I now know the precise interval for each news cast in order to move between Lester Holt and Norah O’Donnell to gather the “facts” … I know that there is no actual way to predict New England weather… I MUST suit up to buy groceries … I find it interesting to see how people are creating masks to match personality and mood while ensuring safety … it takes me exactly 1 hour to “Clorox” my groceries and put them all away … I’ve read 6 books that have rested on my shelves collecting dust and binge watched 4 series on NETFLIX … 2 free audiobook downloads fill my ears and push me to walk further just to get to the next chapter…. I love to go walking, walking, and walking some more … FaceTime happy hours are fun and the bar tab is pretty low … virtual birthday parties exist, turning 14 and 13 in 2020 is tough  … I really love hiking in the woods … I actually know who The Tiger King is and still wondering daily, Did Carole Baskin really do it? … I kind of like Tik Tok, but please don’t tell my daughters … I can wear leggings and have my hair in a pony-tail every single day absent repute … I love to make breakfast and dinner daily, lunch is a free-for-all … we own 5 different kinds of Monopoly … google classroom beginning at 7:30 a.m. can engage a teen for ½ a day … and finally, I welcome new technologies, Zoom – Web Ex – Go To Meeting – LMS meeting – Microsoft Teams, which one are we using today?

    Pool balls and table

    This my friends is our Break Shot!

    (Taken from my latest audio biography by my absolute favorite artist, James Taylor).

    Now, what we do after the balls scatter from the break is our choice.

    I choose to seek knowledge, enjoy the simple things before me, be creative with my time, my family and my friends, collaborate through my work, learn new technology, talk to people more, read as much as I can, exercise a lot, eat healthier, listen to music, and breathe…really BREATHE!

    I am amazed, unsurprisingly, by my NASJE colleagues during this time. As I have said in the past, we are Unicorns but are joined in a herd so strong that even a pandemic could not falter our charge. We came together immediately to assess the BREAK and decide our next shot.  Successfully, we moved the 2020 conference to 2021.  Unified, we opened synchronous and asynchronous curricula across state lines sharing nationally and internationally. Collaboratively, we came together to create COVID-19 solutions and continue to join forces to restructure our respective new “normals”.  You all inspire me and I welcome the opportunity to continue as your president along with your Board of Directors through the next year.  Sending each of you virtual hugs, until we meet in person at our NASJE 2021 Annual Conference, in New Haven, Connecticut, August 8 -11.

    Please stay safe, stay well, stay creative, and continue to engage and share.

    The slate is ours, aim and go for the shot!

  • Candid Camera: Tips for When You’re on Webcam

    By Kelly Tait

    Even as social distancing guidelines change, the reality is that many of us will continue to conduct large portions of our jobs remotely. While you’ve probably already been on many video calls, it’s worth re-evaluating your options and considering adjustments that will cost nothing except a few minutes of your time. A few changes could make it a more pleasant and effective experience for everyone involved.

    computer and coffee photo by Chris Montgomery
    Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

    Obviously the connection and the content we get from virtual meetings and webinars are the most important aspects. Yet some attention to how we look and sound could reduce distractions and help concentration, things we all could use because virtual communication takes more energy—both being on video and watching others on video (“The Reason Zoom Calls Drain Your Energy”).

    Many of the tips below apply across platforms. They assume a laptop with built-in webcam (located at the top of the screen in the middle), microphone, and speakers, or relatively basic external equipment that can be connected to a computer. If you want more in-depth information, in addition to the links embedded below, there are numerous articles and instructional videos online for specific platforms and technical aspects.

    The Meeting Space

    If you have some choice in terms of the room to use for a video conference, evaluate the spaces in terms of privacy and sound as well as lighting and background. If your choice of where to conduct the web call is limited, you can still make adjustments that will make a difference in the area that you have.

    Start with the basics: a quiet room is best. If there are other people in your abode, it is helpful to have a room that has a door you can close and that has some floor covering and possibly drapes so sound doesn’t echo. Have a sign for the door, and be sure to remind others to be quiet before you’re on the web call.

    Of course you want to be in an area with a solid internet connection. Also, ask others in your household to stay off bandwidth-draining activities such as streaming videos while you’re on the call. If possible, have a back-up source for connecting. For instance, download the app for your videoconferencing program on your smart phone, and be familiar with how to use it.

    Lighting

    For a quick look at your choices in lighting and backgrounds, put your cell phone in selfie mode and walk around, turning various directions, opening and closing any window coverings and adjusting other lights. It can be eye-opening to see the difference in how you look based on the direction of the source(s) of light. Once you’ve narrowed it down to the best couple of possibilities, activate the camera on your computer to seek how it looks on a larger screen. Check the lighting during the times of the day that you will be on the webcam; light shifts dramatically throughout the day, and even day-to-day depending on the weather. Too bright, too dark, or too many shadows are all potential issues—and the effect we’re aiming for definitely is not ghostly, mysterious, or ghastly.

    Generally try to have the main light source in front of you at no lower than eye level. Soft natural lighting in front of you can be the most flattering, so check if there’s a way to position yourself facing a window where the light will be filtered rather than in direct sunlight. Harsh light from directly overhead or light coming from a source below you can create strange shadows (another reason to raise the camera so that the light from your computer doesn’t illuminate your jowls:-). It’s also best not to have a light source behind you in the camera view. If your setup dictates that you will have light coming from behind you or strongly from one side, balance it by placing numerous other lights to the front and sides of you.

    A strong light pointing directly at your face can be too harsh. Instead have a lamp with a shade directly behind the webcam or slightly offset toward your better side. The best positioning will depend on a variety of factors, but try starting with the light two feet away a little above eye line. Another possibility is to have two lights behind your camera about three feet apart from each other, again above eye level.

    If your lighting seems too dim or severe, you can get diffuse fill light by placing a white tablecloth on your desk or white paper on in front of the keyboard then putting a lamp behind your computer (keep the white surface out of camera view or it could confuse the webcam’s white balance). You can also get nice fill light using a lamp with a flexible goose neck to bounce light off of a pale wall. And don’t forget that your computer is also a source of light—play with the brightness level to see how it looks. If you have an external webcam, you can usually adjust the brightness, hue, and other settings on it.

    Here are some examples of different lighting and composition.

    Background

    Backgrounds should not be distracting; at a bare minimum they shouldn’t be messy or cluttered. There are different schools of thought as to what should be showing in the background, but with social distancing, many people appreciate seeing a human touch. Consider what will look reasonably professional but not sterile. Bookcases, plants, and appropriate artwork often look good, but you can go simpler or personalize more depending on your preferences and the context of the call.

    Neutral colors and many shades of blue are generally good for background walls. “Hot” colors such as red can be too intense and reflective, as can bright white. Here again checking with the camera on your cell phone or laptop can help you choose what’s best. Also consider what you will be wearing—you do not want to fade into the background.

    Many platforms (Zoom, Skype, Cisco Webex, and Microsoft Teams, among others) and external webcams include options for virtual backgrounds, and on most you can customize them. While you can use this feature to set an appropriate visual context (or one that’s just fun), sometimes there is a “cut-out” look to a person using a virtual background, and if you move too quickly the webcam can lose focus—parts of you might temporarily disappear, which can be distracting (and possibly disconcerting) to those watching. You can also blur the background on some platforms, but test out your other options first rather than just relying on that.
    For examples of differences in backgrounds, lighting, and appearance, see “How To Look Fresh and Professional in Videoconferences and Web Meetings” and “How to Look Your Best on a Webcam

    Camera Position

    In addition to lighting, the position of your webcam has a big impact on how you look. It is best to have the camera at eye level or slightly above it; this is a truer and more flattering angle, and it also encourages better eye contact with the camera lens (and therefore the people on the other end of it). You likely will need something to adjust the height; if you don’t have an adjustable standing desk converter, you can just stack something solid (e.g., large books or a box) to get the camera up to eye level. Of course, if you’re using a laptop computer, that can make it difficult to use the built-in keyboard, mouse, and/or touchscreen, so you might want to plug in an external keyboard and mouse if you have them.

    You also need to consider how far from the camera you should be; about an arm’s length or a little more tends to work well (another reason to have an external keyboard). You don’t want to be too close; most webcams are wide angle, which tends to exaggerate things that are close to it. You should have at least your head and shoulders visible in the frame; you also can include more of your upper body. Keep in mind that you don’t want to get too far from the computer’s microphone.

    Sound

    Be familiar with the microphone and speakers on your computer. Limit extraneous sounds whenever possible. Know how to mute and unmute yourself, and on video calls with multiple people, mute your line unless you are speaking. (Bonus shortcut: on Zoom you can temporarily unmute yourself by holding down the space bar.)

    Normally there is a sound check when you sign in to GoToMeeting, Zoom, Webex, and other platforms. If you are a participant in a relatively informal meeting, that sound check might be enough. If you are the organizer/host, you definitely should do a full sound check in advance. Ask someone who will also be on the call to try it out with you. Be very familiar with how to mute and unmute participants. Remember that silence during a video call makes people anxious about the technology, so if there will be a period with some silence, for instance while you complete a task such as pulling up a document to share, verbally let people know what you’re doing.

    Know how to troubleshoot sound issues (for echoes, see “How to Fix Voice Echoing in Your Video Conferencing Meeting”). Sometimes the easiest solution is to plug in headphones. You also might have a better microphone on equipment you already own for a cellphone (depending on compatibility, a small adaptor might be needed to use it on your laptop). If you do have an external microphone, keep it away from the speakers.
    Before the meeting starts, make sure whatever device you’re using is plugged in and/or fully charged, and silence phones and email alerts.

    Personal Appearance

    Ideally the clothes you wear will be comfortable, appropriate, and attractive. Appropriate clothing is context-dependent, but if the video call is work-related, your attire probably should be at least business casual unless it’s been specified otherwise. What you wear can affect how you feel, so the way you dress is both for you and for others. Solid colors generally work better on camera, although white, black, and flashy colors can be too intense for the camera. Neutral tones, pastels, and many shades of blue are usually good choices. Choose colors that don’t get lost in your background. Generally avoid patterns, especially checks and narrow stripes which can look wavy on camera; we don’t want anyone getting seasick.

    It’s safer to dress appropriately head to foot even if you think only your upper body will show, as this news anchor on Good Morning America recently discovered.

    Most aspects of appearance should be guided by the motto “don’t be distracting.” Choose a hairstyle that you won’t have to fiddle with during the call. Avoid anything that might make unwanted noise such as metal buttons on your sleeves or a wristwatch that might bang into the keyboard. Avoid accessories that are highly reflective or move a lot, such as dangly earrings.

    Many of us look too shiny on camera; use face powder if you have it, or gently blot your face (or head, if applicable) with a tissue right before the call. Keep in mind that the camera tends to wash people out. If you normally wear make-up, you’ll probably want to do so on camera, too; warm colors, matte, and neutral hues tend to work well. If you wear glasses, choose a pair that has anti-reflective coating if possible, and check to see how lighting placement and camera angle affect any glare from your glasses.

    If you’re feeling the stress and it’s showing on your face, some video conferencing platforms have a feature where you can apply a subtle filter meant to make you look better. On Zoom it’s called “Touch Up My Appearance” (you can find it in Settings > Meetings).

    Nonverbal Communication

    Try to look directly at the camera much of the time when you’re speaking—as you probably know, this is much more difficult than it sounds! We are built to look for nonverbal cues from other people, so we want to watch them while we talk. However, other people are looking at your nonverbal cues, and in the overarching U.S. culture, eye contact is considered critical. This is one of the reasons that video conferencing can be so exhausting; we are social creatures who evolved to interact in person, yet we have to adjust our communication habits to the virtual context to be effective.

    You should practice in advance looking directly at the camera; during the meeting have a sticky note near the camera reminding you to look at it. If there are other people also on webcam, try to balance looking at the screen so you can see them with looking directly at the camera while speaking. It’s also strangely alluring to watch yourself on screen; while it’s good occasionally to check how you look, don’t linger there during the call.

    Good posture while you’re seated not only looks more professional, the way you sit and the way you breathe also have a major impact on how your voice sounds. Your default seated position should include feet on the floor, spine straight without being rigid. Try to remember to use diaphragmatic “belly” breathing; this will give your voice power without sounding strained. Strive to have natural vocal variety, particularly vocal inflections.

    Remember that “monotone” is closely related to “monotonous.”
    While you don’t want distracting movements, it comes across as stilted not to have any movement. Practice to see how gestures show up in the frame; adjust your position if your gestures look cut off because you’re too close to the camera. Avoid fidgeting and swinging around in your chair, or, if you’re using a standing desk, don’t shift around too much. In this day and age especially, seeing people touch their faces frequently is also distracting; the webcam can increase our awareness—and hopefully help us reduce—this common unhygienic habit.

    Set yourself up for success: take care of personal needs before the call, and if you do need to take a “health break,” turn off your webcam and mute yourself so you don’t go viral like this woman. Awkward webcam meeting moments are common enough that Saturday Night Live did a skit on it in April.

    Other Considerations

    Consider having webcams off some of the time—perhaps not everyone needs to have them on the whole time, just at the beginning and the end. If one or two individuals are doing most of the talking or teaching, have just them on camera most of the time. Also be sure it’s necessary even to use video in the first place; it takes up a lot of bandwidth. (For a discussion of when not to choose video as well as tips for reducing the bandwidth use when having video is justified, see “To Save the Economy We Must Reduce Video Bandwidth Use—Now”.)

    If you will be organizing and running remote proceedings frequently and want to ramp up your game in the technology department, for very reasonable prices you can purchase items such as an external camera, external microphone, noise cancelling headphones, and/or a ring light that will work with your laptop. For some ideas, see “Best Cheap Gear to Turn your Home Office into a Video Studio”.

    Of course, in addition to virtual meetings and education, many courts are trying to provide increased access to services remotely. The National Center for State Courts has numerous excellent resources on this including “Strategic Issues to Consider when Starting Virtual Hearings”.

    The choices we make now, big and small, can have impacts beyond the usual. Consider your options; with a small investment of time you can make yourself and others a little more comfortable and effective while on webcam. In these challenging times, we should do what we can do to improve all of our connections with others.

    Do you have questions or more tips? Join us on Facebook to continue the discussion.


    Kelly Tait

    Kelly Tait has taught communication at the University of Nevada, Reno, for over twenty years. She is a communication consultant who specializes in justice system education, and she is a past president of NASJE.

  • An ICM First: A Virtual Course Offering

    In the midst of the pandemic, ICM is breaking new ground by offering its first-ever blended online course. The course, Public Relations, is designed to help court managers communicate effectively with the public, justice partners and judges and court staff. 

    The format blends synchronous and asynchronous elements; participants will enjoy interactive sessions with faculty and other participants through lecture, discussion, small group exercises and other virtual learning features, such as polling and breakout rooms.  The asynchronous aspects to the course include pre-course readings, short assignments in between class sessions, and a post-course written assignment.

    The course will be offered on May 6-8 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

    Tuition is $295 and scholarships are available. See more about scholarships below.

    Click here (PDF) to read more about the course, or click here to register.

    Also, ICM online courses are being offered at a 50% discount throughout 2020 both to make education more accessible during the pandemic and to honor 50 years of the ICM Fellows Program.  Scholarships can be applied to these courses as well.

    ICM Scholarship Updates:

    • Scholarship funds are generously provided by the State Justice Institute.
    • When applying for a scholarship, prepayment is not necessary as it was in the past.
    • Applicants can apply for funds up to $1,000 to support attendance at multiple courses while funds are available (previously was an award up to $1,000 for one course).
    • Unless otherwise noted on the application, scholarship applications may now be submitted in consecutive years while funds remain available, as all three ICM certifications programs (Certified Court Manager, Certified Court Executive, ICM Fellows Program) are multiyear programs. 
  • SJI Webinar to Explain Funding Toolkit for State Courts

    Webinar Date & Time: April 10, 2020, at 1:00pm ET

    The State Justice Institute’s mission is to improve the quality of justice in state courts and foster innovative, efficient solutions for common issues faced by all courts.  SJI recognizes that funding plays an important role in fostering innovation.  In recognition that many courts are unfamiliar with these funding opportunities and how these resources can be leveraged, SJI is launching Funding Toolkit for State Courts and Justice System Partners in the coming weeks. 

    On April 10, 2020, at 1:00pm ET, SJI is hosting its inaugural webinar to introduce the toolkit and technical assistance that will be available for state courts, as well as highlight some current federal funding opportunities.  The toolkit and virtual technical assistance will be developed and delivered in the coming 12 months. 

    SJI acknowledges the value of supporting not only the state courts but also their justice partners.  As such, many of the resources in the toolkit will be relevant to your constituency.  SJI would appreciate your assistance in spreading the word to practitioners in the field. See the flyer with links to register for the webinar and to sign-up for the mailing list.

    Additional information regarding the State Justice Institute is accessible at sji.gov.  Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

  • Why Managers should use their ‘three brains’ to Make Decisions

    NASJE member Jan Bouch of the Justice Coaching Center recommends this article because neuroscience is continuing to uncover findings that we have complex and functional neural networks – ‘brains’ in the heart and gut. Current leadership research is showing that leaders who can tap into their multiple intelligences make better decisions, align with their values, and connect deeply with their employees. Over reliance on head competencies is no longer a pathway to success. Happy Reading!
    –Jan Bouch, Psy.D., PCC, CEC, MCCT, mBit Coach
    Justice Coaching Center

    Leaders making difficult choices should learn whether to listen to their head, heart or gut feeling, says Karlien Vanderheyden.

    ‘My head is saying one thing, my heart is saying another.’ A common cliché bandied around when making a tough decision. With business leaders and managers having to make fast, difficult choices on a daily basis, the struggle between what their head is saying and what their heart is saying is likely to be all too familiar.

    However, studies actually suggest that the conflict when making an important decision is often not only between the head and the heart, but also their gut feeling too. Studies into behavioral modeling suggest that we actually have three ‘brains’, all of which can help in important decision-making. But which ‘brain’ should leaders follow? Their head, their heart or their gut? Each of these brains has a specialized purpose and one can be more beneficial than others in particular situations.

    Head Brain

    The ‘head brain’ is specialized in strategic thinking and aids us in producing new ideas. It is responsible for leaders’ rational thinking and, in instances where a strong strategic decision must be made, the head brain should be followed. In today’s fast-paced world, leaders need to be able to develop new ideas to allow their organizations to meet changing conditions at just the right time. If leaders fail to adequately use their head brain, their reasoning might be flawed and as a result they could potentially ignore signals from their environment or make incorrect judgments. 

    The head brain is best followed in the rational side of decision-making such as drawing up list of pros and cons for each decision, making SWOT analyses, seeking rational arguments and convincing colleagues, interpreting facts and figures related to ideas and collating strong objective information.

    Heart Brain

    The ‘heart brain’ holds a leader’s values and emotional intelligence, allowing them to connect with others and express their feelings and concerns. It also allows them to build relationships and trust with others in a business environment and helps leaders to cooperate with others. The heart should be used in business choices that affect a varied group of people. If leaders use their heart, they can better consider others in decision-making, choosing the best outcome for all involved.

    The heart is best followed in tasks where leaders are required to make decisions that involve connecting with others, listening to their feelings and needs, and showing sincere curiosity for what they have to say. The heart should be followed in instances of conflict resolution, people management and decision-making related to sensitive issues.

    Gut Brain

    The ‘gut brain’, or gut feeling, enables leaders to instinctively respond to challenges, opposition and danger, and gives them the courage to challenge the status quo. It allows leaders to instantly acknowledge threats to their business and stops them from taking any unnecessary risks involved in decision-making. Not making full use of this gut brain will make it difficult for leaders to implement plans and take strong action.

    The gut brain should be utilized in instinctive business decisions, allowing leaders to avert choices that could potentially have disastrous outcomes, such as important financial decisions, the hiring of staff and investment ventures. The gut brain allows us to implement plans and take strong action, ensuring we have a good judgment of the risks involved in doing so. It is important that leaders open up to these gut feelings, and put their intuition front and center when making instinctive decisions.

    For the best outcomes, it is vital for leaders to learn how to utilize all of their ‘brains’ in the most effective way possible. The challenge for organizations is to provide strong training for their leaders, helping them to identify which ‘brain’ is best suited to deal with each situation that they encounter, and which should be listened to when making important individual decisions to ensure leaders are effective as possible in their decision-making.

    Karlien Vanderheyden is professor of people management and leadership at Vlerick BusinessSchool, Belgium, 28 Nov 2018

  • Court Leaders and Coaching

    According to Kevin Cashman in Forbes magazine, coaching and developing others are among the top three most important leadership competencies. Yet, despite such a high rating of importance, coaching scores as the lowest practiced competency around the world.i Leaders today have a real interest in learning skills that benefit their organizations, especially in the constantly changing world in which they operate. The courts are no exception.

    Time and again when interviewing court leaders around the country, the same pain points come up:

    • Low employee retention, especially of younger workers
    • Lack of engagement
    • Resistance to change
    • Poor teamwork

    While several factors contribute to these problems, like low pay and difficult clients, research also shows that employees who feel empowered, respected and like they’re making a difference are more likely to stay onboard. In addition, effective managers who are good communicators can boost a company’s retention — and its bottom line.ii

    One way to solve these problems is to develop a culture of coaching, that is, a coach approach to leadership. When leaders learn and practice coaching skills with their direct reports, their working relationships are improved, job satisfaction and productivity go up, conflicts are reduced, employees feel empowered and more loyal to the organization. In other words, the pain points mentioned above are reduced, and courts, as well as the public, benefit.

    In this article, coaching is defined, leadership trends explored, the relationship between coaching and productivity explained, and the application to court leaders, including judges, spelled out.

    What is coaching?

    The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.iii Coaching creates a dialogue between a coach and coachee that moves a conversation forward and towards goals the coachee is seeking to attain. Unlike mentoring, which draws upon the experience of the mentor, coaching encourages the coachee to find their own solutions to the problems they face. Unlike training, which follows a plan that leads the student to a set learning objective, in coaching, the coachee decides the direction they wish to take and the objectives they wish to achieve. Unlike therapy, which helps the client come to terms with their past, coaching is forward thinking.

    Many kinds of coaching and coaches exist, in fact the world of coaching has proliferated over the last two decades. Executive coaching, wellness coaching, personal coaching, performance coaching and many more categories exist. This article discusses how performance coaching impacts organizations like the courts. Performance Coaching is a process where one person (supervisor, manager, leader) facilitates the development and action planning of another (employee, direct report), in order that the individual can bring about changes in their lives and work.

    The research shows that coaching can have a very positive effect on employee performance. Individuals who partner with coaches have reported several benefits, including those in the chart below.iv

    All coaches, including leaders who coach their employees, are trained to have a particular mindset: they exhibit a coach approach to leadership. This mindset can be summarized as follows:

    • Coaches don’t talk, they listen.
    • Coaches don’t give information, they ask questions.
    • Coaches don’t offer ideas, they generate ideas from employees.
    • Coaches don’t share their story, they tap into the employee’s experience.
    • Coaches don’t present solutions, they expand the employee’s thinking.
    • Coaches don’t give recommendations, they empower employees to choose.v

    Most leaders say they know how to coach their employees, yet when asked to demonstrate coaching, they instead demonstrated a form of consulting, essentially giving advice or making suggestions such as “First you do this” or “Why don’t you…” or “This worked for me…”. For many, coaching skills are a new skill to learn, a new tool for their leadership toolbox. Leaders do not need to be certified coaches to successfully coach their employees to higher performance and engagement. They need to invest in learning coaching skills and then hone these skills over time. Even a short training targeted at essential skills, along with a safe environment to practice in, leads to a marked improvement in coaching skills.vi

    Leadership trends

    In addition to understanding what coaching is and that learning and practicing skills is important, leaders watch trends before they commit valuable resources to training.

    Here are what some of the experts are seeing as trends in leadership.

    • Need for agility. Leaders and their organizations are becoming / must become more agile to survive and thrive. As leaders, it’s important to adopt a nimble mindset and culture.
    • Evolving leadership norms. The age range in the workforce will continue to expand. With the decrease of age-based seniority, leadership will be taken by the best person for the role and will likely shift frequently in an agile environment.
    • Foster and sustain employee engagement. Leaders and organizations need to focus on soft skills such as emotional intelligence that have a strong impact on engagement and the effort employees put into communicating.
    • Taking a holistic approach to human capital development. Helping employees thrive in all areas of their lives (not just work), will create more engagement, productivity and overall happier employees.
    • Leadership empathy. Gen Y and Gen Z talent will continue to leave command-and-control cultures for collaborative workplaces. The ability to understand, relate to and be sensitive to employees, colleagues and communities will be paramount. We will see an even greater emphasis on listening, relating and coaching to drive effective leadership.
    • A focus on individual growth. Leaders need to identify and build talent quickly. Helping employees reach their peak potential will be required to help the organization stay competitive and thrive.vii

    These trends influence industry and business, as well as courts and other government agencies. Coaching is taking off because it is helping individuals and organizations not only adapt to change but thrive, and it fits well with the trends outlined above. Courts must change and adapt, or the problems cited in the first paragraph of this article will tear at their very fabric. As one court administrator in Arizona said about the bleeding of younger employees to other industries, “If we don’t change what we are doing, when we retire, no one will be left to run the courts.” As court leaders know, losing an employee costs up to one-and-one-half to two times that employee’s salary. The costs include recruitment, onboarding, training, ramp time to peak performance, loss of engagement of others due to high turnover, higher error rates, and general culture impacts. Several critical areas have a large effect on employee retention, and coaching is by its nature a means to remedy them: Employee engagement (or disengagement), adaptability to change, team building and burnout.

    Employee engagement

    A Gallup report called “The State of the American Workplace,” published in 2017 estimates that 67% of employees in U.S. companies are disengaged. Of that 67%, 16% are actively disengaged. Disengagement leads to employee turnover, conflict in the workplace, high rates of absenteeism, workers just hanging on until they can retire, and the like. Actively disengaged employees can even sabotage a workplace. On the other hand, highly engaged workplaces are:

    • 50% more likely to have lower turnover
    • 56% more likely to have higher-than-average customer loyalty (think public trust and confidence)
    • 38% more likely to have above average productivity
    • 27% more likely to report higher profitability (think more efficient case management)viii

    A coach approach to leadership fosters engagement of employees because it facilitates clear communication about expectations:

    • Coaching uncovers blocks to resources
    • Dialogues shift from what must be done to what can be done
    • Authentic acknowledgement takes place
    • The focus is on the person, not just the result
    • Shifts in awareness result in sustainable behavioral and developmental change
    • Coaching gives space for opinions and ideas
    • Coaching connects personal goals and organizational goals

    Change management

    Another area of serious need as cited by the educators and court administrators interviewed by the author is change management. Courts are places of continuous change, as well as places loyal to precedent and tradition. Change is constant, yet change can cause some of the highest areas of friction or conflict in an organization. People fear change, and coaching can help work through the fear and resistance commonly seen when change is forecast or implemented. Coaching

    • Provides a platform to discuss resistance, fear and confusion
    • Helps teams and individuals understand the connection between the coming change and their goals
    • Allows for discussion about possibilities
    • Addresses resource needs
    • Addresses obstacles

    A coach approach supports employees to move farther, faster, easier, quicker than they would have without a coach. Coaching becomes a “safe container” to discuss and address the INTERNAL fears and resistance individuals have that often affect EXTERNAL behaviors during times of change.

    Teamwork

    Another area of challenge often cited by court administrators was poor teamwork. Research shows that when coaching is embedded in the culture of an organization, average or even dysfunctional teams begin to turn around and become high performing teams. This happens because coaching

    • Models a new, more productive, way of communication
    • Promotes trust
    • Embeds accountability
    • Clears pathways to clarity and focus on common goals and results
    • Models acceptance of other’s ideas, opinions and ways of being, even when there isn’t agreement.

    Burnout

    Finally, when it comes to employee burnout, how can a coach approach to leadership help? In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, foremost expert on burnout, Christina Maslach, points out that burnout is a company problem, not an employee problem. In other words, a company’s culture and leadership create the environment that burns people out. She describes employee motivators as challenging work; recognition of one’s achievements; responsibility; the opportunity to do something meaningful; involvement in decision making; and a sense of importance to the organization. Leaders, Maslach states, could save themselves a huge amount of employee stress and subsequent burnout, if they were just better at asking people what they need.ix Coaching skills provide the means to ask.

    Judges and coaching skills

    How can judges use coaching skills? For presiding judges, who are court leaders, the answer is that they can use them in the same way as their court administrator. For other judges, coaching has wide applicability for judges working in family court, where self-represented litigants have become the rule. Since coaching questions are designed to help people arrive at what they need and want, rather than tell them what to do, they are perfect questions for judges to ask self-represented litigants. Coaching questions by design avoid putting people on the defensive. In specialty courts, where judges often interact directly with defendants, the same applies. Using a coach approach helps people in front of the court figure out what they need for themselves and from the courts, while avoiding telling people how to proceed.

    In conclusion, a coach approach to leadership involves learning and practicing a specific set of skills designed to bring out the best in people. In the administration of justice, employees of the courts are critical to the courts’ success. Court leaders, from the line supervisor to the presiding judge, can learn and use coaching skills to keep these critical people on board, as well as increasing their engagement, teamwork and adaptability to change. Court leaders don’t need to become certified coaches, rather, they can learn coaching skills and adopt a coach approach to leadership. They will benefit themselves, their employees and their courts in the process.

    NOTES

    i Cashman, Kevin. “Five Coaching Practices to accelerate the growth of others.” Forbes, January 29, 2018.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevincashman/2018/01/29/five-coaching-practices-to-accelerate-the-growth-of-others/#5fe5daa05388

    ii Cheng, Candace. “3 Factors Strongly Linked to Better Employee Retention, According to 32 Million LinkedIn Profiles.” November 20, 2019. https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/trends-and-research/2019/3-factors-linked-to-better-employee-retention

    iii International Coaching Federation. Accessed January 15, 2020. http://becomea.coach/?navItemNumber=4090

    iv 2017 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study. https://coachfederation.org/research/consumer-awareness-study

    v Webb, Keith. “What it Really Means to be a Coach.” Accessed at https://keithwebb.com/what-really-means-to-be-coach/, January, 2020.

    vi Milner, Julia and Trenton Milner. “Most Managers Don’t Know How to Coach but They can Learn,” HBR, August 2018. https://hbr.org/2018/08/most-managers-dont-know-how-to-coach-people-but-they-can-learn

    vii “Leadership Trends To Watch For From Now To 2022,” accessed at  https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/08/21/leadership-trends-to-watch-for-from-now-to-2022/#70df3c936658 and “14 Leadership Trends That Will Shape Organizations In 2018,” accessed at https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/01/30/14-leadership-trends-that-will-shape-organizations-in-2018/#50ce4fe15307 from https://www.coachingoutofthebox.com/coaching-resources/blog .

    viii Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx

    ix Harvard Business Review, “Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People,” 2019. https://hbr.org/2019/12/burnout-is-about-your-workplace-not-your-people


    Nancy Fahey Smith is a coach, teacher, trainer and facilitator with over 10 years of experience working in court training and education, first at the Washington State AOC and then at Arizona Superior Court in Pima County (Tucson, AZ). She is co-owner of Sustainable Change Coaching and Consulting. Nancy branched out into this new business where she and her partner, Leslie Gross, teach court and non-profit leaders coaching skills to improve employee performance, satisfaction, retention, and adaptability to change. She is passionate about helping court leaders create a culture of coaching in their organizations through a coach approach to leadership. She came to the courts with 16 years of experience in education, both as a community college instructor and a high school teacher in Tucson, and as a curriculum coordinator at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Nancy taught many kinds of court related classes while at the courts, and has a special interest in adult learning theory and application. She speaks periodically at conferences on topics related to judicial education and publishes articles for the National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE). Currently, she serves on the NASJE the Communication Committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in French and History at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and her Master’s in French from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. Nancy grew up in a Navy family, married into an Army family and served four years as an Army Intelligence officer. She has traveled widely around the United States and Europe as well as to Peru, Mexico and China. She likes the outdoors, and swims, hikes, bikes and does yoga for fun and fitness. She can be reached at nancy@sustainablechangecoaching.com.

  • Opioid Task Force Calls for Judicial Training, Provides Resources

    Courts as Leaders in the Crisis of Addiction

    In November, the National Judicial Opioid Task Force released a wide-ranging report examining how courts can best address the ongoing opioid epidemic. The task force was created by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators.

    Among the task force recommendations was more training for judges and court staff on opioids, the impact of addiction on the brain, and evidence-based treatment for all substance use disorders. The recommendation in the report specifically states, “It is critical that judges understand the basics of addiction, treatment, and recovery and how to best understand and address addiction within the justice system, which currently stands as the primary referral source to get individuals to treatment.”

    To begin to address the educational need, the NJOTF, in partnership with the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatrists and the National Judicial College, assembled a cadre of expert judicial and medical trainers to provide specialized education for judges in every state and U.S. territory. In November 2019, the NJOTF offered a three-day training that featured top faculty and specialists from the judicial and medical communities. Participants included one state court judge from each state and territory, nominated by that jurisdiction’s chief justice. Participants sat in on expert presentations of the materials, and participated in discussions about the subject matter and effective adult learning techniques. Participants committed to making themselves available to serve as judicial faculty members in their own states and regions during 2020, as a way to deliver training on substance use disorders and reach judges in every state.

    NASJE was contracted through the task force to provide follow-up assistance to these judges and to provide a directory to its members of the faculty willing to teach on substance use disorder topics. That directory can be found in the Members Only section of the NASJE website.

    In addition to providing the specialized education for judges, other resources were developed by the NJOTF that are beneficial for judges and staff. The primary resource is the Opioid Resource Center for Courts found at https://www.ncsc.org/opioids. This is a comprehensive tool kit for courts and justice professionals to address the addiction crisis. The website provides publications, current best practices, policies, research, statistics and bench cards related to opioids in the courts.

    Another resource available for educators is the Opioid Response Network funded through a grant by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). The network was created to provide education and training at a local level free of charge for specific needs. Requests for assistance can be submitted online.

    For more information regarding the NJOTF or its resources, please contact Lee Ann Barnhardt at lbarnhardt@ndcourts.gov.

  • From the President (Winter 2020)

    Creating a Unified Vision

    By NASJE President Janice Calvi-Ruimerman

    Desktop with coffee, keyboard, mouse, books, and papers

    My space is not my own.  Articles that speak to me are kept close to remind me of my vision and my professional focus.  My desk, seemingly large, has become ever so crowded by these professional reminders of what, I feel, are important or timely.  On the plus side, these items prompt me daily to stay the course.  In 2009, I came across an article about education and visioning for the future of the Courts; this has been my Codex ever since. As so pointedly stated in the article, Courts as a Learning Organization: Towards a Unifying Vision, “A learning organization is intended to be a catalyst for continual change.”  That became my vision, my proposed unified vision.  

    Janice Calvi-Ruimerman
    NASJE President Janice Calvi-Ruimerman

    In 2015, Connecticut began its journey through the second phase of our Strategic Plan, focusing on our “greatest assets”: our colleagues.  With this opportunity came the hope for the continued development of a true learning organization.  Turning to the highlighted, worn, tattered article, I asked myself, what will sustain us for the future and unify our vision for ourselves and the Court overall?  It’s a unified vision for a true learning organization.

    In 2009, Pat Murrell, Gary Schneider and Philip Gould knew that based on the Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge, “a learning organization is one that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future.:  Additionally, the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management defined a learning organization as an “organization in which individuals continually expand their capacity, where people learn to learn together, where knowledge is managed and shared, where innovative and expanded patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is valued, where everyone participates in the organization’s continued evolution.”  This is what I want for us all.

    According to Murrell, Schneider and Gould, “building a shared vision, striving for commonality of purpose that fosters initiative and community, and team learning to generate communal development, are among the core elements of a learning organization.” I know that we all have been crippled by budgetary constraints, staff reduction due to attrition, retirements and “hard hiring freezes.”   I also know that each of us has been asked to “do more and more with less” but expected to deliver the same quality of services as in times when we were fully staffed.  It is, however, also true that we can learn to “work smarter, not harder,” and be more resourceful with what we have – the key is education.  In order for us to do this we, according to Peter Senge, must commit to becoming a learning organization. As such, we will have to commit to “continually expand [our] capacity to create [our] future.” The axiom “knowledge is power” applies directly to every job in the functionality of the Court as an organization.  According to NACM’s Educational Development competency, “a key function for the court leader is the assurance of excellent court performance by actively leading judicial branch education in their courts.” Therefore, identifying untapped potential, maximizing our resources, and creating new ways to do something better, more efficiently and effectively, while getting the “best” out of our colleagues is contingent upon fully educating our employees, colleagues, and the Bench. We, as educators, often become entrenched in our daily “to do’s” and forget our pivotal role in building our learning organizations.  Remembering my pivotal role in creating a learning organization is my way of keeping an eye on the prize, so to speak. 

    In this critical time, we have the unique opportunity to establish our organizations as learning organizations. Our competency rests in our leadership’s support, and the fundamental truth that “education and development is a critical means to advance the court’s values, vision, and achieve desired goals.” See: NACM Educational Development Competency.  I challenge you to be that visionary, that driving force, that person, who continuously reminds leadership that “judicial branch education helps bring about all other competencies.”  In conclusion, I know that an investment in education is an investment in our organization.  I continue to be honored to be a judicial educator in this time of change, engagement, and educational growth.  And lastly, I am confident that together, we can create the unified vision of courts as learning organizations.

    Let’s keep the conversation going.  Is there an article/concept/theory/etc. that is front and center on your desk as a motivator?  Please share by posting to our Facebook page or sending to our Communications Committee co-chairs Lynne Alexander and Nancy Fahey Smith