Episode 420

full
Published on:

25th Jul 2025

How to Give and Receive Feedback at School with Clarity, Consistency and Care

Summary:

Join C.T. and guest Charlotte Pickett, Lead Facilitator at Nea Community Learning Center in Alameda, California, as they explore the art of giving and receiving feedback with care, clarity, and consistency in a diverse TK–8 project-based charter school. Charlotte shares her “Three Cs” leadership framework, emphasizing honest communication, clear expectations, and predictable systems that build trust and support. Drawing from her rich experience in both large districts and small schools, she discusses strategies for creating psychological safety, balancing structure with flexibility, and delivering strength-based feedback that fosters growth and positive relationships among staff, students, and families.

Key Takeaways:

  • Three Cs Framework: Leadership anchored in Care, Clarity, and Consistency creates a foundation for trust, respect, and predictable school culture that supports diverse learners and staff.
  • Care as Listening and Honesty: Prioritizing genuine listening, valuing diverse experiences, providing consistent and honest feedback, and fostering open-mindedness strengthen community relationships.
  • Clarity Through Systems: Clear structures, predictable procedures, and transparent communication (especially around behavior and academics) promote fairness and reduce anxiety among students, staff, and families.
  • Consistency Builds Trust: Applying rules and consequences equitably, and maintaining reliable follow-through supports a safe, stable environment.
  • Balancing Structure with Flexibility: Navigating the tension between the intimacy of a small school community and the need for well-defined systems is achieved through feedback cycles and responsiveness to stakeholder input.
  • Effective Feedback Practices: Creating psychological safety for giving and receiving feedback involves honesty, direct but compassionate communication, relationship-building, and follow-up conversations.
  • Personal Growth in Leadership: Charlotte emphasizes ongoing reflection, vulnerability, and support networks as essential for developing the ability to give and receive feedback productively.
  • Project-Based, Inclusive Learning Environment: Nia’s commitment to fostering inquiry, diversity, and student leadership nurtures a rich, culturally responsive educational setting.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Feedback in Leadership

00:28 Meet Charlotte Pickett

01:03 Nia Community Learning Center Overview

02:38 Diversity and Inclusion at Nia

05:22 Framework for the School Year: The Three Cs

07:02 Implementing Care, Clarity, and Consistency

11:41 The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback

16:33 Personal Growth and Leadership

19:48 Balancing Structure and Flexibility

Connect with CT: linkedin.com/in/cheetung

Connect with Charlotte Pickett: linkedin.com/in/pickettcharlotte/



Whether you're currently wearing the principal badge, aspiring to the big chair, or teaching while secretly taking notes on what you'd do differently, Principal Office Hours delivers actionable strategies you can implement faster than a student being sent to detention.

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Warning: May cause spontaneous leadership growth and occasional inappropriate laughter during staff meetings.

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About the Podcast

Principal Office Hours
Real principals. Real talk. No hall passes required.
Finally—a podcast that proves school principals have personalities (and killer insights, too). Every week, join us for candid conversations with K-12 principals who are navigating the beautiful chaos of educational leadership without losing their minds or sense of humor.

Each 40-minute episode features real principals sharing what actually works in school leadership—from handling helicopter parents and budget nightmares to building school culture that doesn't make everyone roll their eyes. Consider this your professional development that doesn't feel like professional development.

Our guests aren't afraid to share their epic fails alongside their victories. They'll tell you about the initiative that spectacularly bombed during assembly, right before revealing how they turned their school's reading scores around. It's educational leadership with the BS filter turned off.

Whether you're currently wearing the principal badge, aspiring to the big chair, or teaching while secretly taking notes on what you'd do differently, Principal Office Hours delivers actionable strategies you can implement faster than a student being sent to detention.

Subscribe now and join the faculty lounge conversation that's too real for the school board meeting. New episodes drop every week. Warning: May cause spontaneous leadership growth and occasional inappropriate laughter during staff meetings.

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CheeTung Leong