Sometimes you nail it, sometimes you don't. This sentiment runs through my mind often as I critique my presentations, activities, or ideas, that I think will be winners and realize as they're rolling out that they are not. Take last week for example when a festive and what I thought could be fun idea went flat. While pumping up personal tires should not be necessary for experienced leaders, wondering about the leaky valve is. Educational leaders have a responsibility to think deeply about what we put out there and how it is received. Our sensitivity to the wins and the wishes of those we work closely with matters.

The pedantic nature of message delivery is a caution all educational leaders should consider alongside of the awareness that too often we get pulled into the A+B=C managerial play. How to balance creativity with systematic design requires educational leaders to think differently and to communicate carefully, as there is rarely a lock step, turnkey approach to the work we do. Communication is the cornerstone of meaningful, effective educational leadership, how we deliver messages matters big time. Good communicators are able to motivate, inspire, enable human connections, develop trust, and drive a culture of high expectations founded on empathetic interactions. Poor communicators run the danger of fuelling system distrust, missing opportunities to achieve key objectives, creating silos and misunderstandings. When we fail to articulate our priorities clearly, interpersonal disconnects emerge compromising educational integrity and future possibilities. Resistance to change and stress are dangerous offshoots of poor communication when leaders have not clearly articulated the why, what, and how behind initiatives and new innovations. When we fail to communicate effectively we run the risk of leaving individuals with that "good grief, here we go again" feeling.

I have many sweet memories of watching Charlie Brown's Christmas, alongside of other holiday Peanuts specials like The Great Pumpkin with my family. Linus, PigPen, Lucy, Snoopy, Woodstock, and of course Charlie Brown are classic, beloved characters from my childhood who relayed big life lessons in childlike ways. When I replay Charlie Brown quotes, and think about his endearing indecisive, easily embarrassed, stressed protagonist ways, my adult heart strings are pulled. While he tries to be optimistic and persevering he doesn't always get the same kindness shown to him in return. Charlie Brown's woeful catchphrase "Good Grief" is one of deep emotion, a lament of frustration and a little despair. It is not a phrase that we want circulating in our school environments or educational leadership circles, yet when allostatic load increases so does the good grief contagion.

Allostatic load (McEwan & Stellar, 1999) refers to cumulative wear and tear on the body and mind from chronic stress. It results from persistent exposure to physical, emotional or environmental stressors. Allostasis is the body's adaptive mechanism for managing stress, when it is activated too frequently, for too long, or without proper recovery, it can be damaging physiologically and psychologically. While the body knows the difference between good and bad stress (Theimer, 2023), the busy human mind needs frequent reminders. Adopting healthy habits can help and prioritizing stress management are not just nice to haves but essential attributes for humans today.

High allostatic loads impair communication and leadership effectiveness creating negative feedback loops that in turn impact student and system performance (Lucente & Guidi, 2023). Understanding the mechanisms of stress responses and allostatic loads underscores the importance of stress management and recovery to maintain long term health, well being and optimum performance. Shepard and Shanker (2017) emphasize the importance of developing stress-awareness and how this knowledge can support balancing energy expenditure and recovery. I am learning that there is a symbiotic, deeply interconnected relationship between communication, leadership and allostatic load in educational settings. As I reflect on recent experiences, I realize that when I am not been clear in my communication I miss opportunities to galvanize our work together to improve student learning and support adult well being. In doing so, unintentionally I suspect that I have perhaps added to other's stress cycles. While not all stress is bad, it does run the edge of negatively impacting clarity and cohesion when it collides with focus or surpasses levels of peak performance.

Stress in schools has an insidious creep that can take hold of educational environments when system asks collide with human realities. Canadian research and post pandemic Human Early Learning Partnership-UBC population health studies examined the impact of the pandemic and increasing stress levels for teachers and students. Schonert-Reichl (2016) emphasizes the importance of supporting teachers and reducing their stress levels in order "to prevent its collateral damage on students." The creep of stress in schools is real and deserving of greater attention by all educational leaders to ensure we never lose sight of the great joy in our profession.

There is a clear relationship between communication and the contagion of increasing allostatic load. Leaders who experience high levels of allostatic load often struggle to communicate effectively due to fatigue, decision-making difficulties and emotional reactivity. The reality is even the strongest educational leaders get tired and at times may fall victim to the pressures of the complex dynamics of leading learning. The following three considerations can help educational leaders prevent the pile up of allostatic load with intention and attention.

1. Communication and Effectiveness. While there are many compounding influences on the cumulation of stress for humans, effective communication has been proven to reduce allostatic load. Ineffective communication has been proven to increase stress by creating confusion, leaving staff feeling unsupported and increasing workload inefficiencies. Leaders who invest time to reflect on their practices to consider what is working, and what needs work, reduce stress by improving educational clarity and direction so that everyone understands their roles, responsibilities and goals.
2. Communication and Leadership Style. Our leadership practice and style influences whether stressors in schools are managed constructively or exacerbate allostatic load. Micromanagement and ambiguous leadership styles amplify stress levels. Rigid leadership practices have also been proven to push stress to maximum levels. While tight boundaries and timelines are essential to ensure system performance and accountability, empathetic leadership styles have greater success in providing innovative solutions and working to completion. These transformative leadership practices alleviate stress by inspiring, motivating and communicating clearly creating inclusive school cultures and positive working environments.
3. Communication and Resiliency. Supportive, open and receptive communication fosters resilience by providing a sense of control, providing clarity and collegial support. Creating opportunities for collective problem solving empowers teams to address challenges together and to contribute to solutions. Resiliency in education refers to the stability of individuals, schools and communities to recover, adapt and thrive despite adversity; good communication and solid educational leadership are the flourishing catalysts for these processes.

With awareness and attention, thoughtful educational leaders can steer clear of the good grief contagion in schools creating learning environments of hope, honesty and excellence. A colleague, and old friend, recently asked me to share more about allostatic load, this post is my beginning attempt to unpack a complex concept and to contextualize it in the landscape of educational leadership. I want to thank him for his honest asks and his perpetual willingness to communicate. This topic deserves more airtime as we strive for educational excellence in all our schools. I appreciate his nudge to think more about these important connections.