The "Problem" Isn't Your People. It's the Space Between Them.

It was happening again. The meeting I'd scheduled with our French teacher, Louis- the conversation that was finally going to clear the air and let us work together more productively... was going sideways. Again. Anxiety, defensiveness, hurt feelings. They were all in the room, making a productive exchange of ideas impossible. Here was someone who connected easily with students and parents, held a deep commitment to our mission, and had boundless energy. He brought so much, but friction with colleagues and the leadership team kept knocking us off track, taking time and momentum away from our progress. Other instances of miscommunication and distrust were cropping up across the team too, even with great new hires. As Head of School, I was confused and frustrated. We worked hard to attract, retain, and support talented, mission-driven people. What was the problem?

Turns out, the problem wasn't our people. It was the space between them. It was the way these wonderful, gifted people interacted with some of their colleagues: the way they talked with each other (or didn't), the tension that was felt but never named, the in-jokes, the silences in meetings. All of it was pulling time and energy away from the work of educating students, and I needed a way for us to talk about it, effectively and efficiently. That's where DiSC came in.

At first, I was skeptical. Would DiSC be another esoteric exercise, ending up dusty and forgotten in a desk drawer? Thankfully, no. One of the first things I noticed was how actionable it was. And when I found the online Catalyst platform, I was hooked. Before a meeting, I could take two minutes with the "Build Better Relationships" tool and get a cheat sheet for how to communicate with someone on my team. I had more pieces of the leadership puzzle than I'd ever had. And as a team, we finally had a common language to understand ourselves and each other, one that was straightforward and easy to use, not jargony. It made the space between us easier to navigate. We had stepping stones across it.

With Louis, I started to understand what motivated him and what stressed him. Once I learned that his "i" style craves social interaction and recognition, I looked for chances to celebrate his enthusiasm publicly. Instead of thinking, "I don't have time for this," I decided that a few minutes of appreciation now might head off his feeling taken for granted later. Plus, it was fun!

Of course, DiSC didn't magically fix everything. Friction still surfaced now and then, and we found we had to keep working with the tools on Catalyst and keep choosing to work well together. Culture work is hard and time-consuming. But a shared language and easy-to-use tools can speed it up considerably.

So here's an invitation. Are there key conversations in your organization you're avoiding, like my meeting with Louis? If so, you're not alone. The space between people holds real power, and tools like DiSC, the ones that build stepping stones across it, can make a real difference.

At Eddyline, this is the work we love most: helping school leaders navigate the space between good people so more energy goes where it belongs, to the students. If you're curious what DiSC could look like on your team, let's talk.

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Connect with Amy here , and learn more about her experience here