Are You Stuck in the Middle?
Caught between admin expectations and your team's resistance—
feeling like you're failing both
You prepare the perfect agenda. You try to keep everyone engaged. But 20 minutes in, you can see it: the glazed-over eyes, the person multitasking on their laptop, the same three voices dominating while everyone else checks out. Another meeting that could have been an email. Another hour that moved nothing forward.
You're Not Alone in This Struggle
As a middle-level leader,you're navigating impossible territory. You're asked to lead without the authority. To inspire without the power. To make everyone happy while getting real work done.
🎭 The Imposter Voice
"Who am I to lead this team? Half of them have been teaching longer than I have. What if they realise I'm just winging it?"
👐🏼 The People-Pleaser Trap
You say yes to everything. You rescue struggling team members. You absorb everyone's stress. And you're drowning, but no one sees it because you're too busy keeping everyone else afloat.
😣 The Meeting Nightmare
You plan. You prepare. But dominant voices hijack discussions, quiet team members disappear, and you leave wondering if anything will actually change.
⚖️ The Authority Gap
Your principal expects you to "lead the team." Your team sees you as one of 'them', not one of 'us'. You're stuck managing both expectations and pleasing neither.
🫣 The Conflict Avoidance
Two teachers aren't speaking. The curriculum isn't being implemented. But addressing it feels impossible—what if you make it worse? What if they stop liking you?
🏝️ The Isolation
Senior leaders don't see you as "real admin." Teachers think you've "gone to the dark side." You socialise with the same people you're supposed to evaluate. Where do you even belong?
Here's what you think your problem is:
"I don't have enough time. I don't have the power. My team doesn't respect me. Admin doesn't support me."
But the real problem? You've never been taught how to facilitate, how to hold boundaries, or how to lead without needing everyone to like you.
Imagine Leading Meetings Where...
Every voice is heard. Decisions are clear. Follow-through actually happens. And your team leaves saying "That was time well spent."
That's not fantasy. That's facilitative leadership.
You solved problems for your team
Your expertise was your authority
Meetings felt like obligations
You create conditions where your team solves problems together
Your facilitation is your leadership
Meetings are engines of collaborative change
Hi, I'm Jo Brown.
Years ago, I was you - the grade-level leader, the subject coordinator, the team lead, and the instructional coach - "stuck in the middle," trying to keep everyone happy and failing miserably.
I've sat in every seat around that meeting table. I've led the awkward PLCs where no one wanted to be there. I've navigated the politics of international schools across multiple continents. I've felt the imposter syndrome, the isolation, and the exhaustion of trying to be everything to everyone.
And I learned the hard way that good intentions aren't enough. You need frameworks. You need facilitation skills. You need to grow into your identity as a leader, not only as a great teacher who got promoted.
After years of facilitating PLCs, curriculum meetings, and school-wide professional learning sessions across international schools, I developed an approach grounded in research-based facilitation practices. This approach wasn't shaped only in theory, but through years of real conversations, real challenges, and the messy, day-to-day reality of middle leadership.
When you work with me, you don't get abstract facilitation models. You get practical, tested strategies that turn meetings from time drains into engines for collaborative change.
What You'll Learn
This isn't about making you a better presenter. It's about transforming you into a facilitative leader who creates the conditions for real collaboration and change
Designing Meetings That Matter
- Purpose-driven meeting design that ensures every gathering delivers real value (no more "this could have been an email" guilt)
- Proven protocols for different meeting types – whether you're running a PLC, grade-level team, or curriculum planning session, you'll have a tested framework to follow
Getting Everyone Meaningfully Involved
Leading a team where 3 people dominate and everyone else checks out? We're changing that.
- Equity structures that draw out even your quietest (or most resistant) team members – not through forced participation, but through smart design
- Real-time facilitation moves to read the room and respond when energy shifts, conflict emerges, or someone's disengaged
Energy & Focus: Keeping Meetings Productive
Tired of meetings that drift, drag, or devolve into complaint sessions?
- Energy management strategies that keep discussions focused, purposeful, and (dare we say it) enjoyable
- Practical techniques to navigate difficult moments without losing control or damaging relationships
The Follow-Through: From Talk to Action
The real challenge isn't the meeting itself – it's what happens after.
- Accountability systems that actually work – close the gap between what you discuss and what gets done
- Strategies to support follow-through without micromanaging or becoming the "rescuer"
👀 Inside: Your 4-Week Transformation 👀
Each week builds on the last, moving you from frustrated middle leader to confident facilitator
Shifting Your Stance + Planning with Purpose
Stop showing up as the expert with all the answers. Start designing meetings where your team's collective wisdom emerges. You'll learn to anchor every meeting in clear purpose, design backwards from outcomes, and step into your identity as a facilitator—not just a presenter.
Creating Conditions Where Everyone Contributes
Those three people who always dominate? The colleague who never speaks up? You'll master structures that balance every voice, deploy questioning that invites thinking (not just answers), and recognise different types of silence—so you can respond with precision instead of panic.
Managing Energy, Participation & the Unexpected
Meetings never go exactly as planned. Learn to read the room in real-time, balance dominant and quiet voices with grace, and deploy facilitation moves with confidence. You'll discover when to follow your agenda and when to follow the learning.
From Meeting to Action + Your Growth Plan
Close the gap between "we decided" and "we did." Build team accountability without micromanaging, create your 90-day action plan for continued growth, and establish sustainable reflection habits that keep you improving long after the course ends.
What You Get
📚 The 4-week curriculum
Self-paced modules (approximately 2 hours per week) covering foundation, engagement, real-time facilitation, and accountability systems
🎯 2 Personal Coaching Calls
One-on-one sessions to troubleshoot your specific team dynamics and get personalised guidance
📹 Video Review Feedback
Submit a recording of your actual meeting facilitation and receive detailed, actionable feedback from Jo
🎁 Complete Protocol Library
Ready-to-use structures, agenda templates, facilitation scripts, and tools for different types of team meeting
✍️ Weekly Reflection & Practice Prompts
Guided questions to deepen your learning and build sustainable facilitative habits
🎓 Certificate of Completion
10 contact hours of professional learning aligned with PSEL, InTASC, and NBPTS standards
Professional Recognition
Certificate of Completion: Graduates of The Facilitative Leader receive a Certificate of Completion documenting 10 contact hours of professional learning in collaborative leadership and facilitation practices.
This course aligns with national standards for educational leadership and teacher professional learning. Click below to learn more:
Graduates are invited to join our ongoing community of practice for continued learning and peer support.