Lessons for Creating a Healthy School Community Using the Bowen Theory

Kathy Minardi joins us to talk about applying the Bowen Theory of family systems to create a healthy school community. Edwin Friedman, author of A Failure of Nerve, was the first to apply Bowen’s family systems theory to professional organizations, which he argued have personalities, just like families. Friedman’s approach focuses on the importance of leaders being self-differentiated, being non-anxious, and being present with those one is leading. According to Friedman, self-differentiated leadership involves:

• the capacity to separate oneself from surrounding emotional processes
• the capacity to obtain clarity about one’s principles and vision
• the willingness to be exposed and be vulnerable
• the persistence to face inertial resistance
• the self-regulation of emotions in the face of reactive sabotage

Kathy provides an overview of how Bowen Theory can apply to a school community, providing specific examples of how she did this in her own school community.