If, as an educator, you are undernourished, under-loved, or under-resourced, you’re not going to be good for anyone. Love yourself, treat yourself, look after yourself, and find your sources of nourishment. This will help you nourish others.
Asa part of my interview series about “5 Things You Need To Know To Be A Highly Effective Educator,” I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Mali.
Sarah Mali is Vice President of Masa Israel Journey and head of the Masa Leadership & Impact Center, where she is responsible for the educational impact and the experience of being in Israel, for Masa fellows and alumni.
A graduate of the London School of Economics and The Hebrew University, Mali is an experienced community professional and a Harvard-trained Adaptive Leadership trainer. Mali has dedicated her professional life to advancing the field of leadership education as a vehicle for strengthening Jewish communal capacity.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
I’ll say a little about how I got into this work and a something a little more idiosyncratic. I grew up in northwest London, England, which has a large Jewish population, in a religious home. I attended a Jewish high school that didn’t empower me much as a woman and a teenager who had — at least what felt at the time to be — great aspirations. My youth movement replenished for me much of what was missing in my formal education and, when I found myself in Israel with my movement for a year at the age of 18, I ended up shifting the vision I had for myself of going into government in the UK to getting professionally involved in the Jewish community.
In some ways, as I understand it, there is a relationship to the world of government and what I do today because my work, on a systematic level, involves creating the circumstances for early to mid-career professionals and volunteers to exercise leadership on what matters to them and their communities so they can make a difference.
A neat fact about me is that I am a third-generation twin. Between my twin brother, who’s ultra-Orthodox, and myself, we have 11 children combined. Though none of them are twins, the notion of twin-ship has animated my thinking about why I do what I do working in education and community building. What sticks with me is that I was not born alone. I was born with another human being. We slept in the same crib, and we baby-chatted with each other at night. It’s something that’s foundational to me. It’s imparted on me the idea of not doing things alone and the belief that we are stronger when we work together. We find illumination and power in togetherness and in difference. That is my lifeblood.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your teaching career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was teaching a leadership class for a global group of young Jewish adults who spent some time studying in a leadership institute in Israel. Though they all opt in to take the class, they don’t always know what they are getting themselves into. The leadership style that I teach is based on the adaptive leadership framework from the Harvard Kennedy School — introduced by Marty Linsky, Ron Heifetz, and Alexander Graschow — which posits that leadership is about change. Leadership is a muscle, not a position. We all can exercise leadership. On any given day, ordinary people act to move others and themselves on things that matter and will make a difference. That’s a preview to my story.
On that semester, there was a young woman who sat aloof in the class. She barely spoke, and she didn’t make eye contact with anyone. While sitting in a circle and conducting some group work during the fourth lesson, which is a large workshop different from a standard frontal class, she decided to speak. She said she hated what we were doing and didn’t buy into it.
At the end of the class, I asked her if she wanted to meet to tell me more. “Tell me more,” has been a useful tool for me when faced with opposing or antagonistic opinions, as it invites learning rather than defensiveness. We had a long conversation. She told me that due to persistent bullying she experienced at her school, she didn’t believe you can act on the world because the world acts on you.
I don’t believe she was being trite when she said this. She was describing her own perception of life as she had learnt to understand it. Her experience of being pushed around had led her to believe that she did not have the agency or the ability to make her own choices or her own change. So, I told her that I heard her and was there for her. I challenged her to hold her past instead of letting it hold her, and I urged her to come back to class.
She ended up engaging in and completing the leadership course, eventually returning to her high school to encourage her teachers, the student council, and students to change the school’s culture of bullying. This was a deeply validating experience for me as a leadership educator.
Encounters like this speak to the heart of leadership. At the Masa Leadership & Impact Center, we’re committed to fostering leadership that shapes, diversifies, and strengthens the Jewish world — not for the future but for now. At our leadership summits, such as the one we hosted this May, we create the space for our Masa fellows develop their creativity and find their voice. We know that their communities are strengthened by the involvement of curious and committed Jews with a deep connection with Israel. This is why cultivating leadership while on Masa matters.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
My field allows me to be both diagnostic and practical, which is a lovely mix. Over the last year or so, there have seen many data points showing the need for better mental health awareness and services. Due to the pandemic and the changes that it has brought, there are overwhelming feelings of isolation and shakiness in many people’s lives. It has put a lot of distance between people. For our Fellows, that distance has been geographical, with an indeterminable end.
At our recent leadership summit, one of the participants in my group told me he lost all four grandparents to COVID-19. Being from Russia, he couldn’t go back to see them or say goodbye. In other words, an entire generation was lost to him. While we’ve paid attention to it since the beginning of the pandemic, we recently implemented a robust mental health program to provide what we see as first aid support to educators, counselors, guides, and program managers. Our objective with this initiative is to help them be more present and respond better to the mental health needs of their participants. And this isn’t exclusively for the mental health needs of those who are diagnosed with psychological issues. There are also people who are suffering silently due to the pressures of the pandemic. This program stems from the idea that we must “hold the holder.” That’s the role of Masa — to support the people that are supporting others, and to give them the tools, tactics, and mindset to identify, at least at the preliminary level, when experts are needed.
I am really excited about ILLUMINATE, our new leadership program, which we are in the process of launching. ILLUMINATE provides an opportunity to work, re-tool, and refuel in Israel at the same time. Select participants aged 30 to 40 will receive a certification in Adaptive Leadership and Global Diplomacy and gain a select and diverse global network of peers in the process.
The 6-week, high-intensity leadership and diplomacy program based in Tel Aviv is run by us, the Masa Leadership & Impact Center with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We are hoping that ILLUMINATE will re-energize those feeling the burn of the great resignation and boost high-talented professionals to new and exciting horizons.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. From your point of view, how would you rate the results of the US education system? Can you identify 5 areas of the US education system that are going really great?
There’s an amazing quote from Benjamin Franklin which goes: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Something about this we’ve lost along the way — the ability to create a space where the learner is involved in and responsible for their own learning.
We’ve reified an old system. The late educational philosopher Ken Robinson famously pointed out that education systems in the Western world, and not exclusively in the US, are designed to teach us from “the neck up,” as walking brains. In other words, education has become a disembodied experience. We need to create spaces that provide full-bodied experiences of who we are, how we grow, and how we learn — emotionally, socially, culturally, as well as intellectually. This Franklin quote, it seems to me, is about the beauty of engagement in the process of learning and the potential curiosity and adventure that such engagement inspires. It’s about a different learning experience wherein we become partners in one’s own education and learning.
The second thing I see as an onlooker, which in the current political climate also feels very global, is the work around difference. By this, I mean the capacity to hold a diversity of viewpoints without radically disregarding people or erasing them. To me, that feels like the educational imperative of the day. We need to figure out how to create spaces where diverse opinions can be held. This doesn’t necessarily mean initiatives that teach how to debate or negotiate or be polite. Rather, it’s about building the capacity to hold our pain, anger, loss, and everything else that comes up when we begin to step out of our own echo chambers to listen deeply to others and engage with voices that are not our own.
Can you identify the 5 key areas of the US education system that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
- Encouraging community and the value of diversity in community.
- Creating the space for students to lead and encouraging the horizontal bonds of peers and peer-learning.
- Cultivating the emotional anchoring to see failure as a learning opportunity: a place for growth and discovery.
- Investing in mental health education and support.
- Building dialogue around values, conflicting values, and a space to explore different beliefs and backgrounds.
Super. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Know To Be A Highly Effective Educator?” Please share a story or example for each.
First, know that you don’t know. Any time I teach in a classroom or conduct a public speaking arrangement, I get sweaty palms. The anticipation of an exchange with a group of people that is largely unknown to me is both daunting and thrilling. That’s the adventure of education. What will transpire between the group and I, and what will emerge from that encounter, is worthy of trepidation and great excitement. So, the first thing to know is that you don’t know.
Second, know that you have range, and that you have the capacity to show up as different parts of yourself. Don’t become trapped in one type of educational style or voice. Understanding this has been of great value to me because it allows me to become more creative and less predictable to my students, as well as to myself.
Third, understand that stories are gold dust for educators. Life is a pallet of stories, and that pallet is available for you at any time. It can be the simplest moments. I’m reminded of an experience I had with a security guard from the campus where I work. Every morning during the pandemic, I’d arrive, and he’d have a big smile. Then he’d take my temperature and say “great picture” as if he was taking a photo of me. This would leave me feeling buoyant and believing that it was going to be a good day. While seemingly a mundane incident, I’ve come to understand it and share it as a story about purpose, embracing your work, and knowing how your role can impact others. A simple act by a security guard shaped my workdays and later became a story to share about human contact. Stories have the incredible capacity to move people, and hopefully you as well.
Number four is to stay close to your sources of nourishment. If, as an educator, you are undernourished, under-loved, or under-resourced, you’re not going to be good for anyone. Love yourself, treat yourself, look after yourself, and find your sources of nourishment. This will help you nourish others.
Finally, connect to your purpose. Education and teaching can be so hard, but also so profoundly rewarding. It’s important to connect to why you’re doing it. Though your purpose might change as nothing is static, it’s worthwhile to understand why it is that you engage in the work of education.
As you know, teachers play such a huge role in shaping young lives. What would you suggest needs to be done to attract top talent to the education field?
I would encourage higher pay, but that is a technical solution. More broadly, educational professionals are ranked low on our societal pecking order. But if your child’s teacher isn’t up to par, then it suddenly becomes important. As a society, we have to reassess and redistribute our values in a way that reflects what we care about, and then let go of some things that we might think are important but aren’t.
Throughout the pandemic, and now in its aftermath, people are beginning to realize what is important. My hope is that education in its truest form — not necessarily kids behind rows of desks writing things down — will help inculcate values and be a guide for how we grow in the world. More than a score or a grade, we need to assess intellectual and emotional growth. For me, this is what really matters. I think we’re going back to that, and that gives me a sense of optimism.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“In pursuit of knowledge, everyday something is acquired;
In pursuit of wisdom, everyday something is dropped.”
I chose this quote, which is an ancient Chinese saying, since it expresses what I understand as the essence of growth, namely the capacity to let go of what no longer serves you and explore the yet to be known possibilities of your own future. What could be more exciting than that?
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Honestly, I am not a fan of the famous. Somebody who’s recently captured my imagination more than I anticipated is Rosa Parks. Though there has been a lot written about this, I still to this day wonder why she sat down at the front of the bus and am in awe of what it must have taken for her to do so. From a leadership perspective, I’d find this conversation tantalizing.